The Fonda surname has been a staple of Hollywood royalty spanning decades. But when it comes to Jane Fonda, she’s been an actress, activist and undeniable icon — the figure that transcends generations of cinephiles.
To celebrate Fonda’s 85th birthday, Variety ranks her 11 best film performances of her career so far.
As a millennial who fell in love with movies at an early age, unfortunately, Fonda was one of my cinematic blind spots. I was not yet aware of the vital role that the daughter of Oscar winner Henry Fonda (“On Golden Pond”) and sister to Oscar nominee Peter Fonda (“Ulee’s Gold”) would have, not only in the industry but also in the global climate, where she demonstrated in protests and unapologetically fought for equality.
In a home where VHS cassette tapes came in and out via purchase or rentals, my mother was among the millions that owned her “Jane Fonda Workout” tapes, which started the fitness craze amidst baby boomers. I saw that million-dollar smile at varying times throughout my early childhood when my mother was inspired to do an at-home routine. While playing with G.I. Joe’s on our apartment floor, I remember intermittingly looking up and getting hypnotized by the small tube TV. Her voice’s energy and motivational tone would exude getting people on their feet.
It wasn’t long after I saw my first movie from the actress – the classic workplace comedy “9 to 5” (1980) from Colin Higgins, playing on channel 11 WPIX on a random weekend day. Fonda plays the recently divorced Judy, alongside her future “Grace and Frankie” co-star, Lily Tomlin, and country musical wonder, Dolly Parton. The trio garnered boisterous laughs and became a hallmark example of cinematic girl power for future adult millennials.
From there, Fonda was sprinkled throughout my adolescent and formative adult years. I would see the depth of her range with roles such as Dr. Martha Livingston in “Agnes of God” (1985), Jane Harper in “Fun with Dick and Jane” (1977) and the titular space traveler “Barbarella” (1968). I would discover her frequent collaborations with playwright Neil Simon: charmers like “Barefoot in the Park” (1967) and “California Suite” (1978).
When I began my deep dive into Academy Awards history, I was floored by nearly all of her seven Oscar-nominated roles, including Gloria Beatty in “They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?” (1969) and news reporter Kimberly Wells in “The China Syndrome” (1979). However, her two-winning turns for best actress are almost unmatched by the few who have picked up multiple statuettes – “Klute” (1971) and “Coming Home” (1978).
Fonda’s 15-year movie pause from 1990 until 2005 left many young cinephiles like me able to discover her filmography without the distraction of something contemporary. But when she did return, a new legion of followers was born, able to worship at the feet of her overbearing Viola Fields in “Monster in Law” (2005) opposite Jennifer Lopez and the diva Brenda Morel from “Youth” (2015).
But I refuse to believe that Fonda is done. She’s reuniting with Tomlin for two features — Paul Weitz’s “Moving On,” which premiered at TIFF, and the comedy “80 for Brady” alongside other legends, Sally Field and Rita Moreno. Fonda is also reprising her role in “Book Club 2 – The Next Chapter.”
Read Variety’s list of her 11 best film performances below, along with watching the clip of “the scene that proves it.”
Honorable mentions: “Fun with Dick and Jane” (1977); “Agnes of God” (1985); “Stanley & Iris” (1990); “Monster in Law” (2005)
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Barbarella (1968)
Role: Barbarella
Director: Roger Vadim
Writer(s): Terry Southern, Roger Vadim, Claude Brulé, Vittorio Bonicelli, Clement Biddle Wood, Brian Degas, Tudor Gates, Jean-Claude Forest (based on “Barbarella” by Jean-Claude Forest)
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
The scene that proves it: Opening credits.
Depending on who you are conversing with about the adaptation of the French comic series “Barbarella,” you’ll find varied responses on its overall quality. Even Variety at the time called it “flawed with a cast that is not particularly adept at comedy, a flat script and direction which can’t get this beached whale afloat.”
With the gift of time, Fonda’s work has become iconic, with her signature styles and a go-for-broke performance that features a zero-gravity striptease opener that remains as engaging as it is completely bonkers.
If you or anyone in your life loved the Jane Fonda workout tapes of the 80s and 90s, you have “Barbarella” to thank. -
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? (1969)
Role: Gloria Beatty
Director: Sydney Pollack
Writer(s): Robert E. Thompson, James Poe (based on “They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?” by Horace McCoy)
Distributor: Cinerama Releasing
The scene that proves it: “That puts ’em one up on us.”
When Fonda teamed up with director Sydney Pollack to play Gloria Beatty, a failed actress who sets out to run a marathon to get notoriety from talent scouts, it did exactly that for Fonda. Picking up her first Oscar nod for best actress, her performance was lauded by critics including Variety, who said Fonda “gives a dramatic performance that gives the film a personal focus and an emotionally gripping power.”
The depression-era picture also made history within the Academy, which as of 2022, holds the record for the most Oscar nominations without receiving one for best picture. It received nine. -
Youth (2015)
Role: Brenda Morel
Director: Paolo Sorrentino
Writer(s): Paolo Sorrentino
Distributor: Fox Searchlight Pictures (now Searchlight Pictures)
The scene that proves it: “Stop licking my ass.”
Fonda knows how to make the most of any given moment, shown by her short but effective role as the aging diva Brenda Morel, the muse of Harvey Keitel’s Mick Boyle, a director who worked with her on many previous movies. Under the thumb of writer-director Paolo Sorrentino, Fonda brings glamour, radiance and fierce delivery to an utterly riveting role that just missed the cut in supporting actress during its awards year. -
The China Syndrome (1979)
Role: Kimberly Wells
Director: James Bridges
Writer(s): Mike Gray, T.S. Cook, James Bridges
Distributor: Columbia Pictures
The scene that proves it: “Please, let me ask a question…”
Jane Fonda’s fearless turn as a news reporter who unintentionally witnesses an emergency core shutdown at a nuclear plant is engrained in the pantheon of great journalism movies. 12 days after its release, the Three Mile Island nuclear plant in Pennsylvania had its partial meltdown incident, which became the most significant accident in U.S. history. This made the subject matter even more pronounced.
The movie was a box office hit and earned Fonda her fifth career Oscar nod, along with Jack Lemmon in best actor, as well as original screenplay and production design. -
Julia (1977)
Role: Lillian Hellman
Director: Fred Zinnermann
Writer(s): Alvin Sargent (based on the book “Pentimento” by Lilliam Hellman)
Distributor: 20th Century Fox (now 20th Century Studios)
The scene that proves it: “Does Julia live there, or doesn’t she?”
In what would kick off an incredible three-year run of consecutive Oscar-nominated performances, “Julia” finds Fonda playing writer Lillian Hellman, who would later be accused of embellishing the events that the film depicts.
Nonetheless, Fonda gives a confident performance, conveying the friendship between her character and Julia (played by the Oscar-winning Vanessa Redgrave). Along with the film’s other milestones, including Meryl Streep’s debut role and an Academy Award win for Jason Robards in supporting actor (his first of two), Fonda is wickedly vivacious. -
9 to 5 (1980)
Role: Judy Bernly
Director: Colin Higgins
Writer(s): Colin Higgs, Patricia Resnick
Distributor: 20th Century Fox (now 20th Century Studios)
The scene that proves it: “As a matter of fact, I smoke pot.”
Fonda’s ability to bounce off her co-stars was clear when I first watched “9 to 5.” With Lily Tomlin and Dolly Parton by her side, the film became the second highest-grossing film of the year, cementing her as not just an incredible dramatic performer, but a deftly acute comedic one.
Fonda’s plays the recently divorced Judy, whose assertive stances become a symbol of feminism for years to come. With many tummy-hurting laugh scenes, including standing up to her ex-husband, one thing is clear: the comedy (and Fonda) still rules. -
California Suite (1978)
Role: Hannah Warren
Director: Herbert Ross
Writer(s): Neil Simon (based on the play by Simon)
Distributor: Columbia Pictures
The scene that proves it: “Fit? You think I look fit? You awful little shit, I look gorgeous.”
One year before “Kramer vs. Kramer” (1979) took a hard look at divorce and custody battles, director Herbert Ross took a softer approach with the adaptation of the Neil Simon play where Fonda plays Hannah, an almost impenetrable New Yorker who goes to Los Angeles to retrieve her daughter from her screenwriting husband.
In a wise-cracking exchange between Fonda and her co-star Alan Alda, she runs the gamut of acting techniques with a gorgeously choreographed movement on the screen and the precise beats she chooses to deliver her lines.
It’s also a rare case that begs the Academy to change its rules regarding an actor being nominated for two performances in the same category. She won the Oscar for best actress for “Coming Home,” while her co-star from “California” Maggie Smith took home the statuette in supporting actress after winning the Globe in lead (comedy). Fonda was more than worthy of double citations. -
Coming Home (1978)
Role: Sally Hyde
Director: Hal Ashby
Writer(s): Waldo Salt, Robert C. Jones, Nancy Dowd
Distributor: United Artists
The scene that proves it: “He’s not going to like the fact that I’ve changed. I have changed.”
Fonda bares her soul in the role that earned her second Academy Award for best actress. In Ashby’s drama, Fonda plays Sally, the wife of a U.S. Marine officer who leaves for Vietnam (played splendidly by nominee Bruce Dern) and later befriends Luke (played by Oscar winner Jon Voight), a wheelchair-bound veteran.
“Coming Home” also marked the first feature made under Fonda’s production company IPC Films, with the story being inspired by Fonda’s real-life friendship with her friend and activist Ron Kovic. Her capacity to firmly place the viewer in Sally’s love triangle is why she’s remained one of the staples in cinema history. There’s no one like her. -
Barefoot in the Park (1967)
Role: Corie Bratter
Director: Gene Saks
Writer(s): Neil Simon (based on the play by Simon)
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
The scene that proves it: “Was that a kiss?”
It was movie stars galore in one of Fonda’s earliest successes, another Neil Simon joint. Fonda is ravishing as she shares the screen with Robert Redford in the breathtaking romantic comedy. Directed by Gene Saks, the film follows a newlywed couple who seem as wrong for each other as they seem right.
Fonda’s Corie is a free-spirited woman, hilariously trying to get her husband Paul, to loosen up through stories of her mother (played incredibly by Oscar nominee Mildred Natwick) and asking him to be home by 5:30. The fiery chemistry between the two became one of their paramount successes, which led to more challenging and dynamic roles throughout their careers. -
On Golden Pond (1981)
Role: Chelsea Thayer Wayne
Director: Mark Rydell
Writer(s): Ernest Thompson (based on the play by Thompson)
Distributor: Universal Pictures
The scene that proves it: “I want to be your friend.”
Jane Fonda’s sole nod in supporting actress came when she shared the silver screen with her father Henry Fonda in Mark Rydell’s family drama. Vastly different from real life, Henry and Jane play an estranged father and daughter who try to come to grips with their complicated relationship.
The movie would mark the final screen performance of Henry Fonda and the role that earned him the Oscar for best actor after two previous nods: “The Grapes of Wrath” (1940) in best actor and as a producer for “12 Angry Men” (1957) in best picture. The movie also marked the final nominated (and winning) performance of Katharine Hepburn.
Jane’s work as Chelsea is sublime and hearing her talk about filming the big scene for American Film Institute, where her character reconciles with her father as his memory goes, is a treat to listen to.
The two Fondas would become the first father-daughter duo to be nominated alongside one another. Her talented father passed away five months after Jane accepted the statuette on his behalf. -
Klute (1971)
Role: Bree Daniels
Director: Alan J. Pakula
Writer(s): Andy Lewis, Dave Lewis
Distributor: Warner Bros.
The scene that proves it: “Therapy session.”
If you took all of Fonda’s career roles and blended them all together, you’d get Fonda’s fearless portrayal of the high-priced sex-worker Bree Daniels, who helps John Klute (Donald Sutherland) investigate the disappearance of an executive in Alan J. Pakula’s timeless thriller.
Fonda commands the screen with her beauty, charisma and haunting persona. For all the “hookers with a heart of gold” characters that would follow in the future, you can trace their dimension back to Fonda’s turn. Her second Oscar nod and her first win for best actress, stands as one of the best delivered by any winner (or actress) in all of cinema.