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Quick Facts
- NAME: Jane Fonda
- OCCUPATION: Actress
- BIRTH DATE: December 21, 1937 (Age: 75)
- EDUCATION: Vassar College
- PLACE OF BIRTH: New York, New York
- Originally: Lady Jayne Seymour Fonda
- AKA: Jayne Seymour Fonda
- AKA: Jane Fonda
- AKA: Jayne Fonda
- ZODIAC SIGN: Sagittarius
Best Known For
Jane Fonda is an American actress best known for her acting career, political activism and aerobic-exercise videos. The daughter of acclaimed actor Henry Fonda, the actress has won two Oscars.
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Play NowJane Fonda. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 12:05, May 22, 2013, from http://www.biography.com/people/jane-fonda-9298034.
Jane Fonda. [Internet]. 2013. The Biography Channel website. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/jane-fonda-9298034 [Accessed 22 May 2013].
"Jane Fonda." 2013. The Biography Channel website. May 22 2013, 12:05 http://www.biography.com/people/jane-fonda-9298034.
"Jane Fonda," The Biography Channel website, 2013, http://www.biography.com/people/jane-fonda-9298034 [accessed May 22, 2013].
"Jane Fonda," The Biography Channel website, http://www.biography.com/people/jane-fonda-9298034 (accessed May 22, 2013).
Jane Fonda [Internet]. The Biography Channel website; 2013 [cited 2013 May 22] Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/jane-fonda-9298034.
Jane Fonda, http://www.biography.com/people/jane-fonda-9298034 (last visited May 22, 2013).
Jane Fonda. The Biography Channel website. 2013. Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/jane-fonda-9298034. Accessed May 22, 2013.
Synopsis
Jane Fonda is an American actress born on December 21, 1937, in New York City. The daughter of acclaimed actor Henry Fonda, Jane starred in the acclaimed films Klute and Coming Home, winning Oscars for both. Off screen, she was a civil rights and anti-war activist. In the 1980s, the actress found success launching a series of aerobic-exercise videos.
Contents
Quotes
"It's never too late—never too late to start over, never too late to be happy."
"A good many dramatic situations begin with screaming."
Early Life
Born Lady Jayne Seymour Fonda on December 21, 1937, in New York City, Jane Fonda has enjoyed a tremendous career as an actress. She comes from a Hollywood dynasty of sorts. Her father Henry was one of the top actors of the 20th century. Her brother Peter and her niece Bridget have also had their share of success on the big screen.
Fonda faced some challenges growing up. Her father could be cold and distant. Her mother, socialite Frances Seymour Brokaw, committed suicide when Fonda was 12 years old. Not long after her mother's death, Fonda developed an eating disorder, which she struggled with for years. She attended boarding school and then went to Vassar College. Leaving college, Fonda went to Paris to study art.
Fonda returned to New York and did a bit of modeling for a time. Before long, she decided to follow in her father's footsteps. In 1954 she co-starred with her father, Henry Fonda, in a production of The Country Girl. Fonda began to study her craft with Lee Strasberg at the famed Actors Studio a few years later.
Career Beginnings
Fonda's career seemed to really take off in 1960. She made her film debut Tall Story (1960) with Anthony Perkins. On Broadway, Fonda netted a Tony Award nomination for There Was a Little Girl. She continued to juggle theatrical and film work over the next few years. Working with director George Cukor, Fonda starred in the romantic comedy The Chapman Report (1962). She shared the Broadway stage with Celeste Holm in Invitation to a March and Dyan Cannon in The Fun Couple around this time.
In the late 1960s, Fonda recreated herself as a type of sex kitten under the direction of her French filmmaker husband Roger Vadim. This new look was most evident in the 1968 science fiction tale Barbarella
She soon shed this image for more serious dramatic roles. She scored her first Academy Award nomination for 1969's They Shoot Horses, Don't They?. Two years later, Fonda took home her first Academy Award for her work on Sydney Pollack's thriller Klute, which co-starred Donald Sutherland.
Film Actress and Activist
In addition to her acting, Fonda became an outspoken critic of the Vietnam War. She traveled to North Vietnam in 1972—a visit that caused an uproar back at home. Many were particularly upset by Fonda's decision to pose for photos while sitting on an antiaircraft gun, one used to shoot at American troops. She was given the nickname "Hanoi Jane" and seen as a traitor for her support of the North Vietnamese. Fonda also fought for social causes, serving as a spokesperson on issues of civil rights and women's rights.
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