Jane Fonda, 73, got some work done on her face in early 2010. She was pretty open about it at the time, and just admitted she’d done it and even listed off the procedures she’d had. This came after Fonda swore off additional plastic surgery about a decade ago, having had a face lift and boob job by then. She realized that she was going back on her word, and she was very open and honest about it. I thought it was refreshing to hear a celebrity take that stance on plastic surgery and be like “yeah, I did it.” Plus Jane’s results were good. She looked a little puffy and pulled at first, but it settled for her and now she looks fabulous and not at all fake. In a recent interview on Rosie O’Donnell’s talk show (video above), Jane said that she wanted to get more done when she caught a glimpse of herself and realized that she wasn’t looking as good as she felt.

Jane explained the turning point that led to her decision, saying, “I was walking down the street and I saw a reflection of myself in the window and it scared me, because I feel so good and I look so tired.”

Jane had minimal work done — only requesting to remove the bags from under her eyes and to have a little nip/tuck just underneath her chin.

Ironically, her career in front of the camera was one of the reasons Jane remained adamant about keeping her crow’s feet and other signs of age.

Jane admitted to Rosie that an artificial look could have taken away from her ability to play women in her age bracket.

“I’m not proud of it at all,” Jane said of her procedures. “I wish I was braver.”

[From ET Online]

As Rosie mentioned, Jane did it the right way. She didn’t fill her face full of fillers and she didn’t ‘tox the hell out of herself. Plus she’s got a normal-looking nose that isn’t all shaved down. She doesn’t “look like that alien pulled Hollywood thing,” as Rosie puts it. I doubt she wishes she was braver, though. She looks good and she knows it. Sign me up for some of that, seriously. Just looking at Tom Cruise lately is convincing me that there are some gifted magicians among the hacks who work on celebrity faces.

Jane Fonda is shown on 12/7 11/30 and 10/26/11. Look at her working those high waist animal print pants! Credit: WENN.com.

Jane Fonda has a new book, Prime Time, and she’s in the midst of a major promotional campaign for it, for better or for worse. In last week’s post about Jane, I gave my general thoughts on her Vietnam past, and many of you disagreed with me, so you’re going to hate part of this new interview where Jane discusses it. This new interview comes courtesy of Time Magazine, and once again, Jane’s topics range from the superficial to… well, she’s pretty superficial, but I find it interesting.

One theme of your life is gutsiness, which I guess is why you devoted almost 50 pages of this book to sex advice.
Fonda: I have never found a book that talks about everything from the psyche and spirit and wisdom to penile implants. So I decided that I’d write about as much of the research as I possibly could—everything I wanted to know as a woman who is 73 years old and still sexually active. I see people who aren’t traditionally beautiful, but if they’re having good sex, you can tell.

Recently you had an appear­ance on the QVC home-shopping network canceled because of that photo of you in North Vietnam. Why is that one so hard for people to let go?
Fonda: That picture was a terrible mistake, and I’m prepared to apologize for it until I go to my grave, because it hurt servicemen and their families in ways that are very profound. But I’m getting comments on my blog from veterans saying, “I’ve hated you for years, and now I am able to forgive you and ask for forgiveness,” and I cannot tell you what that means to me.

You have married three very alpha men, as you put it: Roger Vadim, the creative alpha; Tom Hayden, the political alpha; and Ted Turner, the wealth alpha.
Fonda: No, no, no, Ted isn’t a wealth alpha. Ted is an explorer alpha.

O.K. Which is the bigger aphrodisiac?
Fonda: Ah. Well. [Laughs.] I would say someone who was an explorer like I am but in a different direction. I’ve never been turned on to a man who couldn’t teach me new things. They all taught me new things, but Ted taught me so much.

Do you find you’re mellowing with age?
Fonda: Yes, and it’s wonderful. The natural slowing down that comes with age is really important. One of the reasons Ted and I split up is that Ted does not slow down. Ted lives horizontally, moving across his land and then across the world horizontally—chased, I believe, by demons. I wanted to live vertically, and I told him so, and he wasn’t able to change.

Where do you fall on the spectrum of faith?
Fonda: I’m a Christian. I study the teachings of Jesus, which are that we have to overcome differences, we have to forgive. I was particularly drawn to black churches when I lived in Atlanta, but I do not now go to church.

What would the older you say to the younger you?
Fonda: This too shall pass. It’s much more important to be interested than to be interesting.

[From Time Magazine]

Veterans write to her and say, “I’ve hated you for years, and now I am able to forgive you and ask for forgiveness”? Is the subtext that the veterans are asking for forgiveness because of Vietnam specifically, or that they are simply asking for a greater forgiveness, like a crisis of faith or something? I don’t get it. Are they asking for Jane’s forgiveness, or…? Eh.

CB wants to know what Jane has to say about penile implants too. Gross.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

Jane Fonda is shilling a new book,Prime Time, so she’s going to be making the interview rounds starting now. She sat down for a piece with Harper’s Bazaar for the September issue, and as much as I wanted to roll my eyes, I actually found much of the piece fascinating. You can read the whole Bazaar piece here, and some highlights are below. I know that some of you are going to bring up Vietnam and Hanoi Jane and all of the stuff that gets recycled endlessly whenever Jane’s name is mentioned. Here’s the thing: I do think Jane was really stupid back then, and her actions were ridiculous and completely inappropriate, if not criminal. But I also think that if Robert McNamara gets away with the “fog of war” excuse, maybe we should cut Jane a little slack, especially since her many, many apologies have seemed sincere and honest. That’s just my opinion.

Her 1970 mug shot for “drug smuggling” (they were vitamins): “It was like I had Richard Avedon in that jailhouse taking my mug shot; it’s a beautiful mug shot,” she pronounces. “My hair was in Klute mode. About four years ago, I went to the Sally Hershberger salon in New York and one entire wall, like six feet, was my mug shot!”

On her many changes over the years: In her new book, Prime Time, Fonda mentions daughter Vanessa’s suggestion that she illustrate the cover with a chameleon. “That was the rap on me,” she says. “When I was researching myself, I wondered, is there a ‘there’ there? Or am I just a hollow person who gets filled up by whatever man I’m with?” (She is currently dating music producer Richard Perry.) “I’m fine with women. My problem is always with men — you know, pleasing a man, turning myself into a pretzel to be who the man I’m with wants me to be. I’m not saying that that’s gone away 100 percent, but maybe 90 percent, 95 percent even.”

Jane’s Third Act: “Instead of viewing an arch — you rise, you peak, you decline — view it as a staircase,” she explains. “Your body may fall apart, but on every level that really matters, you can ascend toward enlightenment, wisdom, and authenticity. That’s what I’m going for.” Fonda is climbing the “staircase” two at a time. Prime Time is filled with advice ranging from pragmatic (“Figure out a baseline budget”) to penile. (“The penis starts to get smaller with age.”) What makes it so readable is her advice comes filtered through her personal experience.

Body image, the 1950s, and Henry Fonda: “I was raised in the ’50s,” she explains. “I was taught by my father that how I looked was all that mattered, frankly. He was a good man, and I was mad for him, but he sent messages to me that fathers should not send: Unless you look perfect, you’re not going to be loved.”

She was a fanatic for exercise, and she battled bulimia for decades: “I wasn’t very happy from, I would say, puberty to 50? It took me a long time. It was in my 40s, and if you suffer from bulimia, the older you get, the worse it gets. It takes longer to recover from a bout. I had a career, I was winning awards, I was supporting nonprofits, I had a family.” One day she just stopped. “I had to make a choice: I live or I die.” She refocused, trying to “fill that empty space with something.” Then came the workouts. “Gloria Steinem said empowerment begins in the muscles.”

She still exercises: In 30 years, Fonda has sold more than 17 million fitness books and videos, with Fit & Strong and Walk Out the latest. “I have a six-pack back,” she laughs about modeling a backless number in Naomi Campbell’s Fashion for Relief runway show in Cannes. “I don’t do lunges, though, because I have a fake knee and a fake hip. I set off as many bells and whistles at an airport as I did on that runway!”

Vanities: “I’m vain. My arms are thin, but I’m vain about loose flesh. And so I’m careful that what I wear will show off my best parts, which are my waist and my butt.” That said, “I have people in my life who will say, ‘Honey, you’re trying too hard.’ I like being saucy, but I’m 73 and a half. I’m still trying to find my way between matronly and coltishness. Colt, not cult: C-O-L-T.”

Jane’s thoughts on Lindsay Lohan: “I have nothing but compassion for her. I don’t think she has ever experienced a chaos-free life.” Leaving Hollywood would help. “It would require someone to put their arms around her and take her away someplace, maybe New Zealand, where she had absolutely no temptation. She would have to be surrounded with love.”

[From Harper’s Bazaar]

It’s interesting that she still won’t say one bad word about her father. Everyone else has talked sh-t about what a bastard Henry Fonda was in real life, but Jane has never gotten on that bandwagon. I also like Jane’s thoughts on Linnocent – the subtext being that Linnocent will never “get better” if she stays in Hollywood, or New York, or any place where she has easy access to a dealer. Of course, you could drop Linnocent in the Sahara and she would find something to snort.

Photos courtesy of WENN, Bazaar.

This story cracks me up. According to the National Enquirer, not only was Jane Fonda smoking at the Vanity Fair Oscar party, a definite no-no inside in California, she was smoking pot. Jane was reportedly seen lighting up with her boyfriend and her brother. There was a distinct odor wafting from their corner of the party, where they were giggling hysterically and hoarding several hors d’oeuvres trays. (I made that last part up.)

Forget about plastic surgery and aerobics – Jane Fonda says her real fountain of youth is the occasional puff of marijuana!

The 73 year-old Hollywood legend reportedly was spotted smoking a joint at a post-Oscar party on Feb. 27 – and pals say the counterculture icon credits the illegal herb for helping her grow old gracefully and stay young at heart.

“Jane’s always been very frank about being a fan of marijuana,” a close pal told The Enquirer. “She thinks pot is way healthier than alcohol.

“Pot helps Jane relax.”

Three times married Jane and her music-producer fiance, 68 year-old Richard Perry, stepped out together at the ultra exclusive “Vanity Fair” Oscar party.

According to reports, the smell of wacky weed wafted around Jane, Richard and Jane’s brother, “Easy Rider” star Peter Fonda.

Jane, who was seated next to “Glee” star Jane Lynch – covered her mouth while puffing away on what looked like pot, the source said.

“Jane didn’t care who saw her,” continued the insider. “She thinks marijuana should be legalized.”

[From The National Enquirer, print edition, March 21, 2011]

Let’s give the old broad the benefit of the doubt. Medical marijuana is legal in California and Fonda, 73, recently had knee replacement surgery. (Ok it was the summer of ’09, but still.) She needs a little something to take the edge off and it’s better than pain pills or booze. Who am I kidding, she was toking up at a party like so many people do. Apart from the smoking inside part I can’t fault her for that.

Jane recently put out exercise videos for older adults and finished a six week performance of the play “33 Variations” in Los Angeles. On her blog she writes that she plans to “take a vacation; begin my next books about adolescent sexuality and gender and start preparing and rehearsing the next 2 Prime Time workouts.”

Here’s Jane at the VF Oscar party with Richard Perry on 2/27/11. Credit: WENN.com. She’s also shown with Ron Kovac, the guy who “Born on The Fourth of July” was based on. That photo is from her website.

News has come out that Jane Fonda, 72, was diagnosed with a non-invasive form of breast cancer after a routine scan at her doctor’s office. Fonda addressed this on her blog, writing simply that it’s true and that she’s fine now. She wrote “As the press has reported today, I had a scare with a non-invasive breast cancer but it is ALL OUT NOW!!! I am so lucky. We got it early and it was, as I said, non-invasive. I want to thanks my friends and fans who have written beautiful letters. It has meant a lot to me.” It sounds like she doesn’t want to make a big deal out of it and that she’s not going to address it much further. Here’s what her rep told People:

Jane Fonda has revealed that she recently had a breast cancer scare, but after a successful procedure is free of the disease.

The actress and fitness guru, 72, is “completely fine,” her rep tells PEOPLE.

A small tumor was discovered during a routine checkup a few weeks ago. The cancer was found to be non-invasive, and Fonda had a procedure earlier this week to remove the tumor.

“She’s 100 percent cancer-free,” says her rep. “She’s completely fine and it’s business as usual for her.

The fitness dynamo is currently promoting her new Primetime Fitness DVDs, which will hit stores on Nov. 30. She will be re-launching her Fonda Workout brand with a series of DVDs that will also feature fitness experts such as Tara Stiles, Jeanette Jenkins, Karena Dawn and Katrina Hodgson, on December 26.

[From People]

This came out last week but I missed it for some reason. I love that Fonda has a DVD to promote but that she’s completely blowing off her cancer scare and is acting like it’s not a big deal. I’m glad she’s ok and that this was caught very early. The National Cancer institute recommends that women in their 40s and up have a routine mammogram every 1-2 years.

Meanwhile Rosie O’Donnell is undergoing her own cancer scare after doctors found two lumps in her breasts. She had an MRI and a biopsy and is waiting for the results. Rosie’s mom died from breast cancer at just 39 years old. Be well Rosie!

Note by Kaiser: Isn’t her son Troy Garity hot? I love him. He’s a good actor too.

Jane Fonda, 72, is promoting her new workout DVD for older people and a new book she has coming out on aging. I love how honest she is about the fact that she’s had plastic surgery, which she’s admitted to before, and that it’s not easy for her to stay in shape. In a new interview with ET, she talks about how older people can become disassociated with their bodies if they’re not careful and how she has to pay attention and work hard to stay slim. “I’m careful about how I eat, I stay active, I walk a lot. I have good genes, and money… money helps.” She also talked about her hip and knee replacement and how she has to “take my body where it is” and not try to push herself past her limits.

Jane Fonda has been open about her plastic surgery since she had her eyes, chin and neck done earlier this year and now she tells Entertainment Tonight more about the procedures.

“I recently had plastic surgery,” she said. “It was a hard decision to make, and I decided if I’m going to do it, I’m going to tell the truth. I’m writing a book about aging, so I can’t write that book and not say I’ve had plastic surgery. And you know, I just decided it was for me — I don’t want to have bags under my eyes that make me look tired, and so forth and so on.”

Fonda, 72, has struggled with bulimia and admits her workouts have been excessive but she is trying to find moderation in walking hills, lifting weights and swimming.

“I have, in my life, been obsessive about exercise, about most everything,” she said. “But one of the good things that happens when you get older is everything comes into perspective. I don’t want to get hurt.”

[From The Huffington Post]

I really like Jane and how matter-of-fact and open she is about everything. She doesn’t have to own up to plastic surgery or to doing anything to maintain her figure at 72, but she’s admitting what it takes and that it’s easier because she’s loaded. I want to do leg lifts with her in her tricked out home gym. Then we can retire to her gorgeous living room, drink vodka martinis together and gossip. I wouldn’t even tell a soul, and you know that woman has some awesome stories.

Jane Fonda is shown on 7/4/10, 8/9/10, 8/16/10 and 8/26/10. Credit: WENN

This is Fonda after the latest round of surgery

In February, Jane Fonda admitted to having plastic surgery on her eyes, chin and neck. She’d previously vowed not to have any more work done (it’s unclear but I think she had a face lift years prior) but said she got this latest round because “I got tired of not looking like how I feel… I wanted a more refined chin line like I used to have so I changed my mind.” Fonda looks like a different person to me, and while I understand the urge to want to look like you feel it’s one you have to balance with an understanding of the capabilities of plastic surgery. One round can yield decent results, but more than that can result in a mask-like look and permanently freaky features.

The 72 year-old actress was on Larry King earlier this week, and she explained that she’s not proud of her surgery but she had things she wanted to change. Her face looks better to me now than in the grainy photographs she put up on Twitter after the surgery. It probably “settled” into the surgery and she’s no longer swollen. She has crow’s feet, but still looks strange and artificial, though, when compared to how she looked before. On Larry King Fonda kind of played down her surgery as if it wasn’t a big deal. At least she’s still admitting to it and isn’t acting as if her unnaturally smooth tight look is due to some nonexistent genetic miracle.

Jane Fonda “caved” in to getting plastic surgery after vowing in 2000 she would not get any more work done, she told Larry King Monday night.

“If I was really brave, I would have not,” she said. “I vowed I wouldn’t–I did, and I don’t feel proud of it.”

Fonda, 72, has been upfront about the procedures she had done on her jawline and eye bags in February. She told Larry King she purposely left some of her wrinkles in place.

“I like my crow’s feet and I like my little laugh lines,” she said. “It was just the little jowls away, that’s all.

“I didn’t want to lie about it. I’m writing a book about getting older, so I had to admit it. I feel so good. I’m so happy.”

[From Huffington Post]

I like how Fonda explained it, “I feel so good, I’m so happy. I didn’t want to look kind of tired and jowly anymore.” She also said she didn’t “do a lot. I don’t look weird.” She doesn’t look that weird, but it’s not like you can’t tell she had something done. I’m kind of torn about this. On one hand I’m for plastic surgery and think that it’s a personal choice. Not everyone who does it is an insecure wreck like Heidi Montag who only sees minor barely noticeable flaws. Not everyone ends up looking like a warped wax version of themselves. On the other hand when older outspoken feminists like Fonda get work done and then act like it’s no biggie it makes me feel crappy inside, like I’ll have to make those kind of decisions in 40 years too.

Also Fonda after – not a flattering pic

Fonda before the surgery

Before:

Actress Jane Fonda, 72, most likely had a face lift prior to her recent round of plastic surgery. Her neck was tight and her face looked very fresh and young, although she did have lines around her eyes. I would guess that she had surgery a few years ago and let it settle without getting excessive botox or fillers that would give her a waxy look. Jane had even more work done recently. She blogged that she had surgery to remove the bags under her eyes and have her chin lifted. It’s hard to tell how much different she looks as the photos she’s posting are small, but from what I’ve seen she doesn’t look like herself. Good for her for admitting it, though, and for saying that it wasn’t the first time. I’m guessing that the 2000 procedure she mentions was either her first or second face lift.

Bob Evans complimented me on my new, short haircut and I said, “Thanks. I just had some ‘work’ done on my chin and neck and had the bags taken away from under my eyes so I decided it would be good to get a new hair cut so people will think it’s my new hair.” He thought that was so funny he actually toasted me for doing what he said he’d never heard anyone do before: admit they’d had work done. I was planning on blogging about it anyway so who cares? I’m writing a book about aging so I couldn’t very well NOT talk about it. It’s been 2 weeks. I was in front of the camera all day yesterday and was photographed at Eve Ensler’s luncheon 9 days after the procedure so, obviously, it went well. I swore in 2000 I’d never have anything done again but this year I got tired of not looking like how I feel and I wanted a more refined chin line like I used to have so I changed my mind. I’m still a little swollen but not much and what pleases me is that I won’t looked pulled or weird…or tired all the time. And my crows feet are still alive and well. I wish I’d been brave enough to not do anything but, instead, I chose to be a somewhat more glamorous grandma.

[From Jane Fonda's blog via Huffington Post]

It’s kind of refreshing to hear a celebrity admit to getting work done without using it for PR like Heidi Montag. Fonda was a Loreal representative, though, so how is this going to jibe with the cosmetics giant? She advertises for anti-aging cream and surely they don’t want her admitting to going under the knife. I checked Loreal’s website and Fonda isn’t shown. She had a contract in 2006, but might not be working for them at this point.

I really think she looked better before, but again these photos are far away and maybe her face is still swollen. I’ve said this before, but I’m all for face lifts as long as you keep the procedures to a minimum and don’t end up looking like a puppet face. Just let it settle and then resist the urge to get maintenance work done. That never ends well.

In 2006, Fonda vowed off additional plastic surgery, saying “I’m not going to do it, somebody’s got to give a face to getting old.” It just won’t be her I guess.

After all this time, Jane Fonda still cannot completely get rid of her “Hanoi Jane” image. Recently she started a blog and said that she’d address some of the rumors, which have gotten out of control thanks to the internet. There are a lot of servicemen and women who fought in Vietnam that are still profoundly upset with her – and a small group recently took to protesting outside of the Manhattan theater where Fonda is performing in the play “33 Variations.”

It’s been decades, but Jane Fonda still can’t shake her “Hanoi Jane” image from the Vietnam War.

About a dozen Vietnam veterans and other protesters on Saturday picketed the theater where the 71-year-old actress is starring in the Broadway play “33 Variations,” telling passers-by that she had once visited their communist enemy in Hanoi.

“Jane Fonda is a traitor,” said Dan Maloney of the Gathering of Eagles, which bills itself as a national, nonpartisan veterans group. “She got on Hanoi radio and called every U.S. serviceman a war criminal.”

Fonda was tagged with the sobriquet “Hanoi Jane” after visiting the North Vietnamese capital in 1972, where she made radio broadcasts critical of U.S. policy and sat on an anti-aircraft gun laughing and clapping, as she describes in her autobiography, “My Life So Far.”

Though she still defends her anti-war activism, Fonda has acknowledged that the incident was “a betrayal” of American forces.

“That two-minute lapse of sanity will haunt me until the day I die,” she wrote.

Fonda currently plays a musicologist in the Moises Kaufman play about reconciliation, set against the woman’s obsession with Beethoven’s 33 variations on a waltz. It marks her return to Broadway after 46 years.

[From the San Francisco Gate via Gossip Rocks]

Jane hasn’t mentioned anything about the protestors in her blog. Emotions obviously run very high on this issue, but I will point out that Fonda did apologize for her actions in her autobiography. I’m not sure what these protestors want from her. The goal of standing outside with signs is to… what? She can’t go back in time. She’s acknowledged the error of her ways. What else should Fonda do at this point? I’m not trying to defend or castigate her; I’m just confused about what the protestors’ purpose is.

In related news, Jane is getting fabulous reviews for her role in “33 Variations” – as is the play in general. Perhaps the protestors are trying to drive down ticket sales – though it doesn’t seem to be working.

Here’s Jane Fonda at the photocall for ’33 Variations’ held at the New York Theatre Workshop on January 29th. Images thanks to WENN.

Jane Fonda, 71, has gotten in a great deal of hot water for her visit to Hanoi in the summer of 1972. And the rumors about her supposed pro-Vietnam activities have only increased as the Internet has grown. It’s a quick and easy way to pass information – and to distort information and pass that along too. In 1999, several emails started making the rounds claiming that Fonda gave the names of American POWs to the North Vietnamese. The highly-circulated email also claimed American POWs passed crumpled bits of paper to her, which is also untrue.

Jane says she will address all these rumors in her blog, which she recently started in advance of her return to Broadway in “33 Variations” in March.

Yesterday my blog went up online although I’ve been writing blogs almost daily since January 5th. Blogging just to record what’s happening day to day feels different than blogging when there’s starting to be a buzz about the very fact of my blog and people are beginning to actually visit my site.

I haven’t had a chance to read all the feedback and comments that have come in this far but I will over time. As I expected, there are a few people who want to know whether the things that have been said about me over the years, the things that I have been accused of — the Hanoi Jane stuff– are true. There are also those who need to believe they are true and, as a consequence, have nasty things to say. I intend to answer these questions. I would like nothing better than to put these lies and myths to rest once and for all. I will try to do this as soon as possible but these tech rehearsals are really exhausting and I can’t imagine being able to get to it until Sunday. But then, my daughter, Vanessa will be in New York this weekend doing a media training with the Women’s Media Center and Sunday is the day we’ll get to spend some time together, so even getting to it then isn’t a sure thing.

I encourage those folks who want to know about my activities during the Vietnam years to read my book, “My Life So Far.” The chapters entitled ‘Hanoi,’ ‘Bamboo’ and ‘Framed’ deal with all this. There is also an excellent and exceedingly well researched book, “Jane Fonda’s War,” by Mary Hershberger that answers all these questions in great detail.

[From Jane Fonda’s Blog]

Fox News has written several articles on Jane’s Vietnam trip, all of which refute the internet rumors. And it’s important to note that they don’t have any agenda or reason to side with her – she’s very liberal (they’re… not), and her ex-husband (with whom she’s still on good terms) is Ted Turner, the owner and founder of CNN – and Fox’s competition. They acknowledge that she shouldn’t have gone to Vietnam, made a radio address, or posed for pictures. But they clearly point out that the Internet has been a breeding ground for all sorts of urban legends, and Fonda is a great example of that.

It’s also important to note that Jane did apologize over 20 years ago for going to Vietnam. Nonetheless, it’ll be interesting to hear what new things she has to say about the fiasco. Her blog is very well-written and honest, without being completely soul-baring. As time has passed I’m sure her thoughts have changed a bit, and she’ll hopefully expand on her previous statements, and also address the Internet rumors herself.

Jane Fonda is shown on 2/2/09 in NY with her dog Tulea “talking on a panel for the re-released film ‘FTA’. A documentary made in 1972 of the Anti-War Touring group ‘Free Theatre Association’.” Credit: WENN