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Jane Fonda

Having enjoyed tremendous success as a stage and screen actress, Jane Fonda now focuses much of her time on activism and social change-with much of her work devoted to the program she founded in 1995, the Georgia Campaign for Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention (G-CAPP). Fonda chairs this statewide effort to reduce the high rates of adolescent pregnancy in Georgia through community, youth and family development, sustainable economic development and legislative advocacy.

Fonda has long been known for activism and advocacy on environmental issues, human rights and the empowerment of women and girls. Among the scores of community projects she has spearheaded is the Laurel Springs Children's Camp. This summer program ran for 15 years at her ranch in Santa Barbara, California, using performing arts to build self-esteem and cooperation among children of all races and socioeconomic backgrounds.

In 2000, Fonda traveled to Nigeria and produced a film in collaboration with the International Women's Health Coalition, entitled Generation 2000: Changing Girls' Realities.

Fonda is a member of the Women and Foreign Policy Advisory Committee of the Council on Foreign Relations; the board of The Women's Media Center, which she helped found in 2004; GreenStone Media, the women-owned, women-run national women's talk radio network which launched in fall of 2006; and the Advisory Board of the Native American Rights Fund. Additionally, she sits on The V-Counsel of V-Day: Until the Violence Stops.

At the Emory School of Medicine, Fonda established the Jane Fonda Center for Adolescent Reproductive Health, which engages in research, education and training activities that have the potential for creating needed social change, as well as enhancing service delivery to children, youth and families, including adolescent reproductive health. In addition, Fonda's gift has endowed a faculty chair in the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics at Emory University School of Medicine, named the Marion Howard Chair in Adolescent Reproductive Health.

In 1994, Fonda was named Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Population Fund.

Fonda was born in New York City in 1937, the daughter of Henry Fonda and Frances Seymour Fonda. She attended the Emma Willard School in Troy, New York, and Vassar College. In her late teens, Fonda studied with renowned acting coach Lee Strasberg and became a member of the Actors Studio in New York.

Her subsequent work on stage and screen earned numerous nominations and awards, including Oscars (Best Actress in 1971 for Klute and in 1978 for Coming Home) and an Emmy for her performance in The Dollmaker. Along with starring roles in dozens of highly acclaimed productions, Fonda also took on responsibilities as a film and television producer. Her additional credits include The China Syndrome, 9 to 5, Rollover, On Golden Pond and The Morning After.

Fonda revolutionized the fitness industry with the release of Jane Fonda's Workout in 1982. She followed with the production of 23 home exercise videos, 13 audio recordings and 5 books-selling a total of 16 million copies. The original Jane Fonda's Workout video remains the top-grossing home video of all time.

In May 2005, Random House published Fonda's memoirs, My Life So Far, which immediately went to No. 1 on The New York Times Best Sellers list. That same spring, Monster-in-Law, her first film in 15 years, also became a No. 1 box-office hit, making Fonda the first person to simultaneously have a No. 1 book and a No. 1 movie.

Fonda is an avid reader, hiker, fly fisherwoman and yoga enthusiast. She lives in Atlanta along with her daughter Vanessa Vadim and her two grandchildren. Her son, Troy Garity, lives in Los Angeles and is an actor.


Note: This profile was written in or before 2007.
Read earlier biographies on this page.

Jane Fonda Facts

Birth NameJane Seymour Fonda
OccupationActress
BirthdayDecember 21, 1937 (86)
SignSagittarius
BirthplaceNew York, New York, USA
Height5' 7" (1m70)  How tall is Jane Fonda compared to you?
Awards1979 Academy Awards: Best Actress (for Coming Home)
1979 Golden Globe Awards: Best Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama (for Coming Home)
1978 Golden Globe Awards: Best Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama (for Julia)
1972 Academy Awards: Best Actress (for Klute)
1972 Golden Globe Awards: Best Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama (for Klute)
Social Media Janefonda

Selected Filmography

Grace And Frankie: Season 2
Grace And Frankie Season 1
9 To 5
Monster-In-Law
This is Where I Leave You
Yours, Mine & Ours
The Grapes Of Wrath
Lee Daniels' The Butler
Jane Fonda's Original Workout
Continue » Find more details on the Jane Fonda Movies page