Jane Fonda delivered one of her most personal reflections yet during her November 19 appearance on Michelle Obama’s podcast “The Look.” Joined by model and activist Bethann Hardison and Real Housewives of New York star Jenna Lyons, the Oscar winner opened up about the challenges of aging, and the bleak expectations she once held for her own life.
Jane Fonda can’t believe she’s nearly 88 as she talks about youth days
“I didn’t think I’d live past 30,” Fonda said, sharing that she believed drugs and loneliness would end her life before adulthood. “I was sure I was going to die.” Fonda, now 87, traced her early fears back to her turbulent youth. Her mother, Frances Ford Seymour, died by suicide when Fonda was just 12 years old, a loss that left a mark on her. “My youth was not especially happy,” she said. “I’m not addictive, but I thought I was going to die from drugs and loneliness.”
Fonda expressed amazement at her life today. “The fact that I’m almost 88 is astonishing to me,” she admitted. “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 responded warmly: “I’m a fan of you.”
During the conversation, Fonda emphazized that aging has never frightened her. She recalled turning 60 and thinking, This is the beginning of my final act, yet not knowing how to live it. Her perspective shifted after witnessing her father, actor Henry Fonda, pass away with lingering regrets. “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 explained. Before his death at 77 in 1982, Fonda managed to share a moment of vulnerability with her father. “I told him that I loved him and that I forgave him,” she said. “He didn’t say anything. But he wept. I had never seen my father break down like that. It was powerful.”
Fonda has spent the last three decades living with intention, guided by the desire to avoid unfinished emotional business. “I also want to be surrounded by people who love me. Forgiveness comes into play, including forgiving myself,” she shared. “That actually has guided me in the last 30 years. I’ve been living not to have regrets.”
