Jane Fonda is 77 years old and still shilling. She’s shilling her newest book, Being a Teen: Everything Teen Girls & Boys Should Know About Relationships, Sex, Love, Health, Identity & More, and she’s shilling some various projects, like Grace & Frankie, with Lily Tomlin. While I admire the fact that Fonda still feels like she has stuff to say to the world and art to create, I hope when I’m 77 years old, I don’t still feel like “look at me, I have something to say!” Jane covers the new issue of DuJour – you can read the full interview here. It’s actually a pretty long piece and she covers a wide variety of topics, so if you’re into Jane Fonda, I would recommend reading the full piece. It reads as a retrospective of her life and career, but what’s startling is how many times she’s completely changed her personality/life/career, etc. Some highlights:
Winning her first Oscar in 1972: “I wore a Saint Laurent wool suit—black. A Mao wool suit that I’d had for five years. I never had a stylist. I didn’t know you could get someone to come and do your makeup. I thought you had to buy a dress.”
Ted Turner told her ‘People aren’t supposed to change after 60’: “I think about that all the time. He has hardly changed. And I feel like a different human being.”
Her second marriage to Tom Hayden & winning her second Oscar in 1979: “I wore a dress that a Tom supporter had made. I went home after. In a station wagon. Because Tom didn’t like going to those parties. I never went to a party. Ever.”
Looking young: “People always say, Oh my god, how do you stay looking so blah blah blah. I’ve had plastic surgery. I’ve talked about that. That doesn’t matter. What matters is realizing you can always get better. That you have to keep taking leaps of faith. It gets harder as you get older. You have to stay brave and keep trying to go beyond your comfort zone and see what you need to get to become who you’re supposed to be.”
Questioning her priorities over the years: “As I look back over my life, which I do a lot, I sometimes wonder if it was a mistake that I had so many other things besides acting. Would it have been better if I had focused more?”
She’s still scattered: “It started maybe six or seven months ago. I have to be very intentional about keeping myself grounded and centered. I can fly off and become scattered and lose confidence…In everything.”
Who she is now: “A feminist, small-c Christian who is studying Buddhism.”
Whether she would stump for Hillary Clinton: “No. Not because I don’t care for her and admire her and respect her, but I don’t stump for anybody anymore.” Because you’re polarizing? “Hmm hmm. They don’t ask me. But you know, I hope she wins. More than that, I hope if she wins that it will make a difference.”
She still smokes weed: “I’ll smoke pot every now and then. I cannot see a movie on pot. The number of movies I’ve seen thinking, This is probably the best I have ever seen, and then I’ll see it again sober and think, What was I thinking?”
Yeah, it would be bad if Jane Fonda came out to stump for Hillary Clinton. I think it’s politically smart for Fonda to be the one to say “I don’t stump for anyone now.” We know she’s a liberal. I’m glad she’s not putting her face on political campaigns these days. Beyond politics, I think it would be fun to sit around with Jane and get high and talk about all the dudes she’s dated over the years.
Jane’s outfit at the Grammys was crazy, right?
Photos courtesy of WENN, Fame/Flynet, Thomas Whiteside/DuJour.
I think she looks good in the green outfit. I also love that she admits to smoking weed too. She’s right about watching movies stoned. When you watch the movie again sober it’s like a whole different movie. Usually the exact opposite of what you thought it was when you were stoned.
So, some of you think its okay to smoke pot? Well, it’s never okay and to compliment anything about this horrid woman just proves that the pot has done the damage to your brains.
Dang Mo, judge mutch? My father is a Viet Nam veteran and he has both smoked pot and forgiven Jane Fonda, Why is it not okay to smoke pot? Why is Jane so horrid?
You need an education Mo. Maybe you should have a huff and chill.
Lol to the pot comment but I’m the opposite. I will once or maybe 3-4 times a year smoke a joint and I’ve tried to watch a movie but it all just was to weird for me. I love me some downton Abby ( yes I know) , and tried to watch it stoned once, but it all just seemed to weird and not good……. And wait for the comments 😉
Lol! I like to watch dramatic movies when I partake it makes them much more emotional for me. 😉 I wanna watch a movie with Jane Fonda.
Watch The Electric Horseman with Jane and Robert Redford – amazing movie.
When I watched the intro to the Fincher version of Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, it blew my mind.
I fall asleep watching movies after a smoke now lol.
And what, pray tell, damaged yours?
It’s amazing how much she looks like her father now. I never saw it in her young face, but that’s all I see now.
77 year old women should speak out at every opportunity. I love that she is still working and she stole every scene she was in on The Newsroom.
Exactly! I HOPE that at 77 I still have something to say and want people to know that. I plan to be a very fierce senior citizen!
Go for it. I have had co-workers who were women in their late 70s, 80s, and even a 90 year old paralegal. They were fascinating and brought so much to every conversation.
+1 This so much. Who says after a certain age, you don’t have anything to say?
100% right! This attitude that once you’re past your 40th birthday you’re expected to curl up & die or shut up for the rest of your life is gross. We seem to be living in a world where wisdom & experience count for nothing & only novelty matters
AGREE 100 %
Damn, not only do they expect you to curl up and die, they practically run you down crossing the street if you’re not 16, hot, and showing some leg.
Absolutely!! And love Jane Fonda so she should keep it up as long as she can!!
YES!!!!
This bit “I hope when I’m 77 years old, I don’t still feel like “look at me, I have something to say!”, made me sad. Out of ANYONE in our society, I think 77 year olds are people that we should be listening to.
I heard this bit of the new podcast Illuminosity (I think that is what it is called) and they were talking about how as people age, they feel invisible. Society stops listening to them, stops valuing them. This makes people want to go back to the culture they knew as kids, because it was when they were heard and seen.
I called my grandparents Monday just because, and I was really glad I did.
When I turn her age I reckon I’ll start smoking pot.
Love that Grammys outfit.
I love that outfit too; she could lose the belt, but the rest is awesome!
Tom Hayden and Jane Fonda threw A LOT of weekend parties back in the day. Political volunteers, not showbiz. Very, very welcoming to kids in their 20’s. The next weekend another party with kids in their 20’s. I had a housemate who sometimes went.
They had an open marriage is what my friend told me.
She’s right about the smoking pot and watching movies thing. Any movie is better when ur high but when ur sober u do say what was I thinking, this is horrible lol.
I totally admire her. She’s made mistakes, but she has LIVED life, and she continues to. I don’t understand why there should be an age limit on having things to say to the world. That is one of the strangest, scariest and most offensive things I hear people say – this idea that once you reach a certain age, you can no longer contribute to society in the same way everyone else can. Especially as a woman – there’s a finite bracket where you’re allowed to do so – maybe 22 – 55. After that, you should just sit back and wait for death.
Right. Other cultures really respect and look up to their elders,they understand the value of their experiences and wisdom. It is sad that we do pretty much the exact opposite here (in America).
+1. I hope older women (70+) speak out much more in the next few decades to show people that they have something to say!!! That they are still learning, loving, laughing, LIVING. I hope to be like that myself when I reach that age, and I applaud Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Betty White, and others who can demonstrate that they are not resigned to being mute retirees.
Agree OP!
She was awesome on Oprah channel show, “Masters Class”. I never knew her mother was institutionalized and killed herself by slicing her throat open with a razor. 🙁
Wow. I didn’t know that.
The story is worse than that. Her mother was institutionalized, and was allowed a day visit to see her children. When she got home, she ran up the stairs and found the razor she had previously hidden.
She looks absolutely gorgeous, and I really like her. My only problem with her is that she has always tried to change herself for the man she’s with. Maybe she has finally learned not to do that, but I side-eye her claims to be a feminist a little, because she seems to drop everything she believes in to please the man. But I think she has a lot of wisdom to share other than that.
I think she’s been open about her struggles to find her “authentic self”. I was reading a piece on Robert Vadim recently and there were a lot of quotes from her about this very thing – her tendancy to be chameleon like and be a people pleaser, esp with men. It was very interesting to read about her faimly history in regards to this facet of her personality. She seems like a very self aware person who has come a long way.
I’ve very glad to hear that, lirko, thank you. It’s a mistake I made when younger, too. I’m glad she’s aware of it and has worked it out. I like her, as I said. And heaven knows I was a total twit in my twenties, so I shouldn’t throw stones.
Amen, GNAT. That’s why I’m loving her these days…she is willing to put her stuff out there in hopes other women can learn from it. And I didn’t see any stones 😉
She has done a lot of work over the years, esp in Georgia, towards adolescent pregnancy prevention. I don’t think she gets enough credit for that. And her and Ted Turner’s relationship- I think it was too hot not to burn out, but she clearly still cares for him a great deal.
My perception is that she became a bit self righteous with age. Especially when she talks about the Oscars. Probably a normal developement with the time pasing but not only people change with it, life changes too.
At 77, she’s vital, still into many things, and has a lot to say and I’m glad of it. It shows me how much there still is to life and learning and involvement in many things after 65. And I love her look at me attitude on the red carpet. She is still bringing it.
Rock on, Jane.
At 24 most of my friends complain they are getting old, and I’m just thinking that there is more life after 30 than before! This is just the start of a (god willing) long life.
I’m sure she has a lot to say, and good for her, but do you think teens are going to read about being a teenager written by a woman who is almost 80? That seems so weird to me. Why not write about life at her age for all the women in her age group?
I think she still heads the charity she started in Atlanta for underprivileged girls and young women. Maybe this is why she feels compelled to address this age bracket? Agree with you that vast majority of teens would know who she was, though.
Any mickey Avalon fans now singing 1, 2, 3, 4 get your booty on the dance floor, work it out, shake it little mumma, let me see you do the Jane Fonda
I got super baked last night and watched “Dumb & Dumber To.” It was SO hilarious, so I think I get what she’s saying 😉 haha
My grandma is 74 and runs circles around us all. She still goes out dancing on the weekends. She keeps herself busy(too busy) till she falls asleep once she sits down at night lol. My friends are always in awe of her! She is full of life and lives it to the fullest. She was the first female marine of Rhode Island(still acts like it) I feel bad for her because at her age she’s a oddball. Not too many like her. I can’t imagine how difficult that can be, not having others to relate to in your own age bracket! You just gotta remain open minded!
Your grandma is an inspiration! Thanks for sharing. 🙂
I want to meet your grandmother. Not sure if I would be able to keep up though!
That is awesome! My granny turned 100 today (literally) and the one downside I see to living that long is that everyone you’ve known and shared your life with is gone. I remember looking at old photos with her and she would tell me who the other people in the photos were and how/when they died. I had never thought about that aspect of growing old before.
I would love, love, love to get high with Jane. That would be hilarious, it kind of reminds of that part in the movie 9 to 5, where Jane, Dolly Parton and Lilly Tomlin get high together before they hang their boss from the ceiling! I love that movie. Anyway, I love me some Jane Fonda.
Many thanks for featuring Camilla and Jane Fonda in the same day. I love seeing another generation and celebrating how extraordinary they are.
My mom is 90 and every year gets happier and wiser, and funnier and smarter. She also has a lot of regrets, which she has passed on to me, and which I have learned from. And personally, at 55, I find I have a lot more deep and meaningful thoughts and feelings than I did even 10 years ago. Once you’ve stood by the bedside of people you deeply love and watched them take their last breath; once you’ve held more than a few hands of someone suffering; once you’ve realized the fragility of life and love; you definitely have a lot to say. And these experiences generally only come with time. I change very year, and like who I am better every year. I doubt/ hope that won’t change when I am 77.
Wow. Thanks for that…words to live by.
She an embarrassment to the Fonda family and to the US of A! Just my opinion!!
she’s an embarrassment to the Fonda family and to the: U S of A! Just my opinion!!!!
HANOI JANE, enough said!
The GREEN Jumpsuit makes her look like the Geico Gecko …
Of COURSE she smokes pot: she owns a home in British Columbia. It’s basically mandatory.