Jane Fonda makes heartbreaking confession about her past and reveals why she didn't think she'd live past 30
Jane Fonda told Michelle Obama that she did not think she would make it to 30, let alone her ninth decade
Jane Fonda has seen it all during her iconic career, from starring alongside all-time greats like Marlon Brando in her early film career to stirring controversy by visiting Vietnam to document US war crimes in the midst of the conflict.
But it was not her left-wing political activism or daring ambition that made the now 87-year-old star 'sure' she would not even make it to 30, Fonda revealed on the latest instalment of Michelle Obama's podcast 'The Look.'
With her 88th birthday coming next month, the Grace and Frankie actor struck a pensive tone while reflecting on her 'not especially happy' youth, which could have ended prematurely due to substance use and her sense of isolation.
"I'm not addictive, but I thought I was going to die from drugs and loneliness," she said on Obama's podcast this week, where she appeared alongside activist Bethann Hardison and the Real Housewives of New York's Jenna Lyons to discuss the process of aging.
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"So the fact that I'm almost 88 is astonishing to me," she added.
Despite the privilege of being born to Hollywood everyman Henry Fonda, her early life began with tragedy and sadness, which could easily have set her down the wrong path. "My mother died when I was 12," Fonda explained on the show.
Her mother, Frances Ford Seymour, tragically died in 1950 from suicide.
But despite her early issues with drugs and her mental health, 60 years on, Fonda refuses to dwell on the past.
She told the podcast: “And what is even more astonishing is that I’m better now. I wouldn’t go back for anything. I feel more centered, more whole, more complete. I’m very happy. Single.”
Michelle Obama, 27 years her junior, responded to the heartfelt moment by saying 'I’m a fan of you.'
Later in the discussion, the Hollywood legend expanded on how she had moved on from the fragility of her youth to accepting the inevitability of mortality.
“I’ve never been afraid of aging, and more importantly, I’m not afraid of dying,” she shared during the lengthy discussion.
When she reached 60, Fonda added that she was left feeling unmoored, saying, 'this is the beginning of my final act, and I didn’t know how to live it.'
But reaching this milestone also forced her to confront her own fears, which include dying with regrets. “I watched my dad die with a lot of regrets,” she said.
“That was an important realization for me, because if you don’t want to die with regrets, then you have to live the last part of your life in such a way that there won’t be any regrets.”
She also spoke about the moments before her famous father's death, sharing: “I was able to tell him that I loved him and that I forgave him for, you know, whatever didn't happen.
"And I hope that he would forgive me for not being a better daughter. I got to say that to him."
After this raw moment, the famed actor was left lost for words. She said: "He didn't say anything. But he wept.
"I had never seen that before. I'd never seen my father break down and weep. And I— it was, it was powerful."
Topics: Michelle Obama, Podcast, Mental Health, Hollywood
William Morgan