Two-time Academy Award-winning actress Jane Fonda has undergone nearly as many transformations throughout her career as a cat has lives, and each new phase of her life, however scandalous or controversial, has kept the general public fascinated. The daughter of film legend Henry Fonda (and sister of Peter) parlayed the family name into a modeling career followed rapidly by a movie debut in “Tall Story” (1960). Her title role in “Cat Ballou” (1965) confirmed her as a full-fledged Hollywood princess just as she was metamorphosing to the 60s sex kitten embodied in decadent French director and then-husband Roger Vadim’s “Barbarella” (1968). Disturbed by this sexual exploitation, Fonda recreated herself as the cause-conscious champion of Black Panthers and Native Americans, and her visit to Hanoi in 1972 earned her the lasting enmity of the Right, who dubbed her with the moniker “Hanoi Jane.” Though she continued to advance a leftist agenda and second husband Tom Hayden’s political career, she simultaneously produced successful films like “Coming Home” (1978) and “9 to 5″ (1980) while segueing into her life as “Queen of the Exercise Video” when her workout tapes helped popularize aerobic exercise across America and raked in mega-millions. When her marriage to Hayden collapsed along with her box-office prospects, Fonda turned to the brash media mogul Ted Turner who was there to embrace her to his protective breast, seemingly making her feel as secure as she had in her childhood. However, the union was ultimately revealed to be far less than idyllic than it appeared, and Fonda soon flew solo again and came full circle, returning before the cameras.
