Jane Fonda Goes 'Full Circle' as She Covers 'Glamour' Magazine for the First Time in 60 Years

The 84-year-old Hollywood legend reflects on her outstanding career from film to activism as she poses on the cover for Glamour magazine for the first time since 1959

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Published on May 5, 2022 03:09 PM

Glamour_jane-fonda-cover — Photo: Lauren Dukoff / GLAMOUR

Jane Fonda is serving high-fashion supermodel on her latest magazine cover.

The actor, activist and fitness legend has a full circle moment as she grazes the cover of Glamour's latest issue six decades after her first appearance in the magazine.

"When I saw that cover from 60 years ago, the first thing I was reminded of is how things have changed. I wasn't famous," Fonda recalled of her original 1959 Glamour cover in conversation with Black-ish star Yara Shahidi for the magazine's May issue.

In the interview, the former model also reflected on her long-standing acting career and her inspiring work as a political activist.

"I thought, If somebody had told me that, at almost 85 years old, I'd still be working as much as I am and feeling as good as I do, I wouldn't have believed them," she revealed. "At that time in my life, I doubted I would live past 30. Just thinking about that filled me with hope. I didn't give up. I kept going. I tried to get better. I did."

She added: "When I was about to turn 60, I realized that I was approaching my third act—my final act—and that it wasn't a dress rehearsal," she shared. "One of the things that I knew for sure is that I didn't want to get to the end with a lot of regrets. I realized the importance of being intentional about how we go through life."

The Academy Award winner also talked about her role in Grace and Frankie and what the show's portrayal of womanhood, friendship and "real betrayal bond" has taught her.

"It questions your very identity," she noted on the show's plot, which follows the friendship between Grace (Fonda) and Frankie (Lily Tomlin) who find out their husbands leave them to marry each other.

The dynamic between the show's titular characters is what makes the series so special for her.

"Being able to show that two women who were in their early 70s when that [happened.] I mean, what the hell do you do? How do you come back from that? And they did. They don't simply survive," she told Shahidi. "Because of their friendship, they're able to become better people."

She continued:"I thought, I'm going to be on global television, loving on another woman and her beautiful skin, not in a sexual way, but just friendship, two women loving each other. And it made me so profoundly happy because you just don't see it very often."

Embodying such a "lifesaving" and "unique" relationship has been a "real privilege and joy" Fonda noted.

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The Butler star also touched upon her industry mentors, noting Katharine Hepburn as one of them.

"I was in my 40s while we were making [1981 drama] On Golden Pond, and she didn't like me. She let me know that," Fonda remembered of the Old Hollywood actress. "She said she learned to admire me but she didn't really like me. She took me under her wing in a certain way and that was important."

Although Fonda is still delving into her acting career at 84-years-old, with an upcoming feature in animated film Luck, she still makes her role as a social and political activist a priority.

"We all depend on each other and we have to protect each other—and that's not just verbiage. This is an actual reality," she said of her belief that all causes are is interconnected on multiple fronts.

And of how she maintains hope when she tackles those deep-seated issues on a daily basis she said, "There are victories everywhere, and we have to celebrate those and allow those to remind us of what's possible because they usually come from people who individually have no power but collectively have huge power."