Jane Seymour Fonda (born December 21, 1937) is an American actress and activist. Recognized as a film icon, Fonda is the recipient of various accolades, including two Academy Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, seven Golden Globe Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, the AFI Life Achievement Award, the Honorary Palme d'Or, and the Cecil B. DeMille Award.
Born to socialite Frances Ford Seymour and actor Henry Fonda, Fonda made her acting debut with the 1960 Broadway play There Was a Little Girl, for which she received a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play, and made her screen debut later the same year with the romantic comedy
Fonda was a political activist in the counterculture era during the Vietnam War. She was photographed sitting on a North Vietnamese anti-aircraft gun on a 1972 visit to Hanoi, during which she gained the nickname "Hanoi Jane". During this time, she was effectively blacklisted in Hollywood. She has also protested the Iraq War and violence against women and describes herself as a feminist and environmental activist. In 2005, along with Robin Morgan and Gloria Steinem, she confounded the Women's Media Center, an organization that works to amplify the voices of women in the media through advocacy, media and leadership training, and the creation of original content. Fonda serves on the board of the organization. Based in Los Angeles, she has lived all over the world, including six years in France and 20 in Atlanta.
Jane Seymour Fonda was born via cesarean section on December 21, 1937, at Doctors Hospital in New York City. Her parents were Canadian-born socialite Frances Ford Seymour and American actor Henry Fonda. According to her father, the surname Fonda came from an Italian ancestor who immigrated to the Netherlands in the 1500s. There, he intermarried; the resultant family began to use Dutch given names, with Jane's first Fonda ancestor reaching New York in 1650. Fonda also has English, French, and Scottish ancestry. She was named for the third wife of Henry VIII, Jane Seymour, to whom she is distantly related on her mother's side, and because of whom, until she was in fourth grade, Fonda said she was called "Lady" (as in Lady Jane). Her brother, Peter Fonda, was also an actor, and her maternal half-sister is Frances de Villers Brokaw (also known as "Pan"), whose daughter is Pilar Corrias, the owner of the Pilar Corrias Gallery in London.
1970 arrest
On November 2, 1970, Fonda was arrested by authorities at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport on suspicion of drug trafficking. Her luggage was searched when she re-entered the United States after participating in an anti-war college speaking tour in Canada, and several small baggies containing pills were seized. Although Fonda protested that the pills were harmless vitamins, she was booked by police and then released on bond. Fonda alleged that the arresting officer told her he was acting on direct orders from the Nixon White House. As she wrote in 2009, "I told them what [the vitamins] were but they said they were getting orders from the White House. I think they hoped this 'scandal' would cause the college speeches to be canceled and ruin my respectability." After lab tests confirmed the pills were vitamins, the charges were dropped with little media attention.
Fonda married her third husband, cable television tycoon and CNN founder Ted Turner, on December 21, 1991, at a ranch near Capps, Florida, about 20 miles east of Tallahassee. The pair separated in 2000 and divorced on May 22, 2001, in Atlanta.
- SERVES
- 4
- COOK TIME
- 15 Min
You'll impress everyone at the dinner table with this recipe for Grape Stompin' Chicken. The light cream sauce that goes over the chicken breasts is delicious, especially since it's accented with the flavors of fresh grapes and a splash of wine.
- 4 boneless, skinless, chicken breast halves
- 1/4 teaspoon salt, plus extra for sprinkling
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper, plus extra for sprinkling
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 6 tablespoons butter, divided
- 1/2 cup thinly sliced onion
- 3/4 cup white wine
- 3/4 cup chicken broth
- 1 cup seedless red grapes, halved
- Sprinkle chicken evenly with salt and pepper. Place flour in a shallow dish and lightly dredge chicken in flour; reserve flour for later use.
- In a large skillet over medium heat, melt 4 tablespoons butter, and saute chicken 4 to 5 minutes per side or until golden. Remove chicken to a plate; set aside.
- Melt remaining 2 tablespoons butter in skillet over medium heat, and saute onions for 5 minutes or until softened. Stir reserved flour into skillet. Add wine, broth, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/8 teaspoon pepper, and grapes; cook 5 to 7 minutes or until slightly thickened. Add chicken back into skillet and heat 3 to 5 minutes or until heated through.
***This recipe is inspired by the 1950s TV show, I Love Lucy. In an episode titled, "Lucy's Italian Movie," Lucy visits an old-fashioned winery to learn how to make wine. As you can imagine, it turns out to be quite an experience for her!
