Jane Fonda Talks Mugshots, Men & Loving Her Body
Still looking fabulous at the age of 73, Jane Fonda is featured in the September 2011 issue of Harper's Bazaar.
Set to hit newsstands August 16, the legendary actress opened up with the magazine about mug shots, men, and finally learning to love her body.
Highlights from Miss Fonda's interview are as follows. For more, be sure to visit Harper's Bazaar!
In the lesson she learned from her battle with body image: “I was raised in the ’50s,” she explains. “I was taught by my father that how I looked was all that mattered, frankly. He was a good man, and I was mad for him, but he sent messages to me that fathers should not send: Unless you look perfect, you’re not going to be loved.”
On enjoying her fashion moment: “I’m vain. My arms are thin, but I’m vain about loose flesh. And so I’m careful that what I wear will show off my best parts, which are my waist and my butt.” That said, “I have people in my life who will say, ‘Honey, you’re trying too hard.’ I like being saucy, but I’m 73 and a half. I’m still trying to find my way between matronly and coltishness.”
On working on her new book, Prime Time: “When I was researching myself, I wondered, is there a ‘there’ there? Or am I just a hollow person who gets filled up by whatever man I’m with?” (She is currently dating music producer Richard Perry.) “I’m fine with women. My problem is always with men—you know, pleasing a man, turning myself into a pretzel to be who the man I’m with wants me to be. I’m not saying that that’s gone away 100 percent, but maybe 90 percent, 95 percent even.”
On her infamous 1970 mug shot, from her arrest for “drug smuggling” in Ohio (the charge was dropped when it was revealed they were vitamins): “It was like I had Richard Avedon in that jailhouse taking my mug shot; it’s a beautiful mug shot,” she pronounces.
Lea Michele
In the lesson she learned from her battle with body image: “I was raised in the ’50s,” she explains. “I was taught by my father that how I looked was all that mattered, frankly. He was a good man, and I was mad for him, but he sent messages to me that fathers should not send: Unless you look perfect, you’re not going to be loved.”
On enjoying her fashion moment: “I’m vain. My arms are thin, but I’m vain about loose flesh. And so I’m careful that what I wear will show off my best parts, which are my waist and my butt.” That said, “I have people in my life who will say, ‘Honey, you’re trying too hard.’ I like being saucy, but I’m 73 and a half. I’m still trying to find my way between matronly and coltishness.”
On working on her new book, Prime Time: “When I was researching myself, I wondered, is there a ‘there’ there? Or am I just a hollow person who gets filled up by whatever man I’m with?” (She is currently dating music producer Richard Perry.) “I’m fine with women. My problem is always with men—you know, pleasing a man, turning myself into a pretzel to be who the man I’m with wants me to be. I’m not saying that that’s gone away 100 percent, but maybe 90 percent, 95 percent even.”
On her infamous 1970 mug shot, from her arrest for “drug smuggling” in Ohio (the charge was dropped when it was revealed they were vitamins): “It was like I had Richard Avedon in that jailhouse taking my mug shot; it’s a beautiful mug shot,” she pronounces.
Jane Fonda
