Actress, Writer, Model, Producer, Activist, Fitness Guru; born in New York City, daughter of legendary screen star Henry Fonda and New York socialite Frances Seymour Brokaw; sister of Peter Fonda, aunt of Bridget Fonda. Jane was named after one of Henry VIII's wives, Lady Jane Seymour; since coincidently, her father's middle name was Jaynes and her mother's maiden name was Seymour. She graduated from the Emma Willard School , Troy, NY in 1955 and Vassar College , Poughkeepsie, NY in 1960. Tragically, her mother committed suicide in 1950, when Jane was 12; that same year, her father married Susan Blanchard (step-daughter of Oscar Hammerstein II, and eventually wife of Richard Widmark), who became a second mother to her until 1956.

Interpretive color portrait of Henry Fonda with Jane Fonda and Peter Fonda posed together.
Henry Fonda and his children Jane and Peter became one of the most recognizable family groups in American film and popular culture. This interpretive family portrait evokes the Fondas’ multigenerational place in twentieth-century American entertainment. Historical reconstruction; details and likenesses are interpretive.

Jane has been married three times; her first husband (1965-73) was French film director Roger Vadim (b.1928-d.2000) with whom she had a daughter, Vanessa, named for Vanessa Redgrave, the well-known actor and activist member of the Workers' Revolutionary Party. Her second husband (1973-1990) was author and politician Tom Hayden, by whom she has a son, Troy Garity, and an adopted daughter. Her third husband (1991-2001) was American cable-television tycoon, sportsman and philanthropist, Ted Turner.

Jane Fonda in an evening gown holds two Oscar statuettes on a brightly lit awards stage.
Jane Fonda won Academy Awards for Best Actress for Klute (1971) and Coming Home (1978), achievements that secured her place among the leading performers of her generation. The glamorous awards-stage setting symbolizes that double Oscar success. Historical reconstruction; details and likenesses are interpretive.

She was destined early to an uncommon and influential life in the limelight. Although she initially showed little inclination to follow her father's trade, she was prompted by Joshua Logan to appear with her father in the 1954 Omaha Community Theatre production of 'The Country Girl'. Her interest in acting grew after meeting Lee Strasberg in 1958 and joining the Actors Studio. Her screen debut in Tall Story (1960) marked the beginning of a highly successful and respected acting career highlighted by 2 Academy Awards for her performance in Klute (1971) and Coming Home (1978) and 5 Oscar nominations for Best Actress in: They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969), Julia (1977), Morning After, The (1986) and On Golden Pond (1981) which was the only film she made with her father.

Jane Fonda's professional success contrasted with her personal life, often laden with scandal and controversy. Her appearance in several risque movies (including Barbarella, 1968) by then husband Roger Vadim was followed by what was to become Jane Fonda's most debated and controversial period: her espousal of anti-Establishment causes and especially her anti-War activities during the Vietnam War.

A woman resembling Jane Fonda addresses a mixed crowd at a 1970s-style public protest rally.
Jane Fonda’s public life extended well beyond acting into controversial political activism, especially during the Vietnam era and later social movements. This rally scene evokes her role as a visible, outspoken participant in public protest. Historical reconstruction; details and likenesses are interpretive.

She became the target of hatred from many Americans for her visit to Hanoi where she advocated opposition to the war; during this visit she acquired the nickname Hanoi Jane. Her political involvement continued with fellow activist and husband Tom Hayden in the 70s and early 80s. In 1988, Fonda apologized for her actions to the American POWs and their families. Jane continues to participate in peace activism, in particular regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

In the 80's Fonda started the aerobic exercise craze with the publication of "Jane Fonda's Workout Book", through which she reinvented herself in a series of workout videos. She retired from acting in 1991 after her marriage to Ted Turner. She has since divorced and has become a born-again Christian. In 2004, her name has been used as a disparaging epithet against Democratic Party presidential candidate John Kerry by Republican National Committee Chairman Ed Gillespie, who called Kerry a "Jane Fonda Democrat". Her out-of-retirement movie, Monster-in-Law (2004), will come out the same time as her autobiography, "My Life So Far" and her Workouts are re-released to DVD.

Sources and references

  • American Film Institute, AFI Catalog, filmographies for Jane Fonda, Peter Fonda, and Bridget Fonda; Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Academy Awards records for Jane Fonda, Klute (1971) and Coming Home (1978). The cited film and award records establish screen credits and Oscar recognition, not every biographical or genealogical connection.
  • D. J. van der Meer, “De Fryske ôfstamming fan myn fiere efternicht Jane Fonda,” Genealogysk Jierboekje (Leeuwarden: Fryske Akademy, 1986), 64–68. The proposed connection between Jelle Douwes and Douwe Everts of Eagum remains unproved by a decisive linking record. A reported 1980 Jane Fonda visit to Montgomery County archives, mentioned separately in the manuscript, remains uncorroborated by a contemporary account.
  • Jane Fonda’s 1972 Vietnam visit and subsequent public statements are matters of contemporaneous press coverage and her later recollections. The chapter summarizes her publicly documented position; this note does not attribute those views to other Fonda descendants. A precise contemporaneous source pinpoint for this summary remains a research follow-up.
  • Internet Movie Database,: http://imdb.com/name/nm0000404/bio (legacy website reference; article-level relevance and current accessibility unverified).
  • Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Fonda (legacy website reference; article-level relevance and current accessibility unverified).