The lesson Katherine Hepburn taught Jane Fonda
American actor Jane Fonda was a defining cinematic presence in the 1960s, known for her roles in movies such as Cat Ballou, Barbarella, and They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?, with the latter earning the star her first Academy Award nomination. The ‘70s were even more fruitful, and Fonda won her first Oscar for 1971’s Klute.
Fonda ensured that her parts reflected her politics, often championing well-written, nuanced female characters that reflected her interest in women’s rights. As a passionate social and political activist, Fonda wasn’t afraid to make statements through her work, starring in Jean-Luc Godard and Jean-Pierre Gorin’s Marxist drama Tout Va Bien. Through the ‘70s, Fonda protested against the Vietnam War and used her celebrity to advocate for Black civil rights, feminism, environmentalism and more.
As the ‘80s rolled around, Fonda’s star power remained strong, and she landed herself another Academy Award nomination after appearing in the hit movie On Golden Pond. It made Oscar history due to the fact that Fonda and her father, who stars as her on-screen father, were both nominated for an Academy Award in the same year for the same film.
On Golden Pond, which was directed by Mark Rydell, was a huge success, becoming the second-highest-grossing film of 1981. It also starred Hollywood icon Katherine Hepburn, who won her fourth Oscar for the role. Yet, Fonda and her co-star didn’t enjoy the smoothest of relationships.
Talking to Harper’s Bazaar in 2021, Fonda revealed, “She was really competitive. She really thought that I was out to win more Academy Awards than she was, and when she won for On Golden Pond, I called to congratulate her, and she said, ‘You’ll never catch me now.’”
Fonda believes that the reason for Hepburn’s hostility towards her was due to the way she presented herself. Yet, by working with Hepburn, Fonda took away a valuable life lesson that she has carried with her ever since. She revealed on SiriusXM how she “taught me that self-conscious isn’t necessarily bad, that it’s important to be aware of how you present [yourself]. Not just… what you have on and how you look, but your presentation as a human being on all levels was important.”
She continued: “I’m thinking I give her more credit than she deserves, but at least how you look and what you dress, she felt, was very important, and she hated the fact that, at the time, I didn’t put any attention to it.”
While Fonda might not have loved working with the screen legend, the experience of filming On Golden Pond provided the star with the chance to appear alongside her father, who would pass away just one year later.
