Instead of a rise and fall, she’s living on a staircase
We’re celebrating amazing people doing fascinating and wonderful things – people who just happen to be over 65, and whose age is the least interesting thing about them. Here, we’re happy to introduce actress Jane Fonda, who is still acting in her 80s.
You might remember Jane Fonda from long-ago hit movies like Barbarella, or more recently binge-watched her show Grace and Frankie on Netflicks. Aged 81 this year, Jane is still working the magic, starring in a new movie, Book Club, and she makes it all seem so easy. You wouldn’t think she ever had any trouble in her life. But you’d be wrong.
Anxiety and an eating disorder
The daughter of Hollywood actor Henry Fonda, Jane had a lot to live up to. She was raised to believe that her looks were her ticket to success, and there’s no question that her success in the entertainment industry was ongoing. However, after more than three decades of living with body-image anxiety and bulimia, something had to give. It was at that point that Jane decided to live a healthy life, and that involved getting fit.
“Gloria Steinem said empowering begins in the muscles,” she says, so in her 40s she built a ground-breaking fitness empire, BeFit, that’s still in business today – producing videos, books and more recently DVDs that guide people into exercise and health. Jane had a second career as a fitness guru, and although these days she doesn’t attempt the hard-core crunches, lunges and heavier weights she used in the past, she still keeps active.
Health issues and ‘bionic’ joints
Jane says she has “a fake knee and a fake hip”, which makes her “sort of half-metal and half-bionic.” She’s also had back surgery and recently had a cancerous growth removed from her lower lip. Plagued with osteoarthritis like so many people her age, Jane finds getting in and out of cars a challenge.
Plastic surgery to her face gave Jane an extra decade of film and television work, but also attracted a storm of derision. She was accused of cynical hypocrisy, of targeting the growing older market for gain with her fitness company, but that didn’t stop her. At 81, she’s not ready to give up on her passions – or her work.
“It’s hard to be an older actor and be in regular work. People forget this is how we earn our living. I need to work – I support other people besides myself,” Jane explains. “Plus, it’s fun!”
Jane the activist
Feminism, civil rights, anti-war, pro-Native American – Jane has jumped into almost every worthy cause, boots and all – but not without plenty of criticism, even from other activists. More recently she focussed on aging and ageism, with an autobiography, My Life So Far, TED-talk Life’s third act and a self-help guide, Prime Time: Making the most of all your life. Jane presents her view of aging not as an arc – going up and coming down – but rather as a staircase that you continue to climb, albeit more slowly and mindfully.
“It’s not over just because you’re old,” says Jane. “I would never go back to my younger days. I thought I would die lonely, probably from alcohol! I didn’t think I would live this long. Every day I get up and I want to pinch myself. I feel very blessed.”
Although Jane has recently turned her activist’s gaze on democracy and the planet, she hasn’t forgotten feminism, attending women’s marches at the Sundance Film Festival and other public gatherings.
“The patriarchy is a wounded beast,” she warns. “Nothing’s more dangerous than a wounded beast.”
Life lessons from the fitness guru turned ageism activist
Getting wiser
Jane values the advantage of experience – older people are more empathetic, and getting wiser is pretty nice, too.
“There’s not as much ego staked in outcomes,” she says. “If things don’t turn out, well, pfft! You can tell yourself, ‘I’ve survived that!’ You don’t sweat the small stuff.”
The trouble with alcohol
“I was married to three alcoholics, but I never had a bar [of it]. Now I have one drink, and it’s a great social point. But [if] I’m working tomorrow, and I have even one drink tonight, I’ll be half-mast in the morning!”
Keep moving!
Jane credits her good health and fitness now with the exercise she took up in her 40s. Although she’s toned down the vigour of previous routines, she still walks for an hour every day and keeps up a fitness regime she can cope with.
“Some people think that if they can’t do what they once did, they don’t do anything. Big mistake. I want to stay independent as long as possible. I want to sit on the floor and play with my grandchildren. I don’t want to take 15 minutes to get out of a car.”
Don’t diet, change your lifestyle
“Diets set us up to fail,” says Jane. “They focus on weight loss, and often on unhealthy, restrictive behaviour.” She instead recommends a permanent change of lifestyle – healthy eating, regular exercise and the company of friends who like-minded. You can ditch the scales and stop worrying about your body image – just have a nutritious breakfast, and do what makes you happy.
Don’t try to be perfect
“You’ll just make yourself unhappy,” says Jane. What you want, she adds, are meaningful relationships and meditation. She meditates for up to an hour each day, to keep herself calm and grounded.
“Staying curious, paying attention to young people, cultivating young friends – these kinds of things, I think, are important.”