Now 80, Jane Fonda says she didn’t think she’d live to 30

Jane Fonda
Jane Fonda

LOS ANGELES, (Reuters) – Actress Jane Fonda, who celebrated her 80th birthday last week, says that growing up she never expected to reach 30.

“I never pictured 30,” Fonda told People magazine in an interview published on Wednesday.

“I assumed I wouldn’t live very long and that I would die lonely and an addict of some sort. I didn’t think if I did live this long, that I would be vibrant and healthy and still working. I’m grateful,” she added.

Fonda’s mother committed suicide when she was 12 years old and the same year her actor father, Henry Fonda, remarried. She has spoken in the past about suffering from bulimia, taking hallucinogenic drugs and being abused as a child.

Fonda won her first Oscar in 1972, at age 35, for the movie “Klute” and went on to win her second for the 1978 Vietnam War drama “Coming Home.” She became an anti-war and women’s activist, launched a fitness craze with her 1980s workout videos, married three times, and is nominated at January’s Screen Actors Guild awards for her lead role in TV series “Grace and Frankie”.

The actress turned 80 on Dec. 21.

“I’m thankful that I’ve gotten better over the 80 years,” she told People. “I’m less judgmental. I’m forgiving. It wasn’t always true. I’ve really worked hard to get better as a human being.”