Jane Fonda: A woman of many faces

The woman has many faces – Jane Fonda (84) has clearly proven that in her life. She’s an award-winning character actress, worshiped sex symbol, wealthy aerobics queen, ardent feminist and uncompromising activist. A role model for every woman.

She is currently involved in L’Oréal Paris’ Lessons of Worth campaign. Together with other brand ambassadors such as Viola Davis (56), Eva Longoria (46), Kate Winslet (46) and Helen Mirren (76), she redefines the famous advertising slogan “Because I’m worth it”. For Fonda, it becomes – unsurprisingly – a feminist declaration of war. For her, it means “that I deserve to feel safe, to be loved and respected and to be paid as much as a man for the same work.”

An unprecedented career

Fonda has had an incredible Hollywood career spanning over 60 years. It never occurred to her to follow in the footsteps of her famous father, Henry Fonda (1905-1982). A friend encouraged her to learn from him. After a few months, he finally told her: “You really have talent”. The world saw it similarly: In 1962, she received the Golden Globe for best young actress for her first film “The Longer – The Lover”. She made her breakthrough in the same year alongside Alain Delon (86) in the psychological thriller “Like Big Cats”. Her first husband, Roger Vadim (1928-2000), finally made her a sex symbol a few years later with “Barbarella”. Parallel to her film career, Fonda created a multi-million dollar aerobics empire. Several workouts, movies and two Oscars later, Fonda is still going strong, most recently starring as Grace in the Netflix series Grace and Frankie.

Uncompromising fights away from the glamor world

What’s particularly admirable is that neither sex symbol nor fitness queen are the words that spring to mind when people think of Fonda – Fonda has made too many headlines for that with her uncompromising struggles outside of the glamor world. In the 70s she protested against the Vietnam War, in the 80s against the use of nuclear energy, and since 2019 she has been involved in climate protection with the “Fire Drill Fridays” every week. She has been taken away by the police several times. But Fonda keeps fighting when an issue is important to her. Like climate change right now: “If we can’t force the fossil fuel industry to halve its CO2 emissions in the next ten years, nothing else will matter,” she says in an interview.

Clarity, openness, honesty – that’s what Jane Fonda stands for. And she doesn’t shy away from addressing her failures and doubts or admitting mistakes. She publicly reflected on her three divorces, her feeling of having failed as a mother, and her years of eating disorders. And took a stone from the hearts of many women.

Cover model with Ü80

She still does that today – if only because of her age. In 2021 she was the oldest woman to grace the cover of “Harper’s Bazaar”, recently she was again on the cover of “Vogue”. She has also been a brand ambassador for L’Oréal Paris for over 15 years. Part of the reason why Fonda promotes the brand is its attitude towards the older target group: “Judging by the fact that I’m 84 years old shows that the brand respects the age – not just the youth.”

Above all, she wishes young women one thing: “That they realize that they deserve respect, security and the same opportunities as men. They shouldn’t have the feeling that they have to pretend just to be accepted.” Fonda has already made it clear in several interviews that the fight for equal rights can also be fought with make-up on your face. For more self-confidence, she advises girls and women to use another means: feminism. “Meet with feminists. Study the meaning of patriarchy. Befriend women and girls who have found their voices.” Because every woman could use a Jane Fonda in her life.