The list of Jane Fonda's accomplishments span over her eight decades of life and six decades spent in the entertainment industry, where she lives eternally on-screen whether she is entertaining us as the reserved Grace Hanson-Skolka on one of Netflix's biggest success stories, Grace and Frankie, or shaping history by playing a character like Judy Bernly in the cultural touchstone 9 To 5, or shaping the cultural and political landscape off-screen with her tireless activism, Fonda has always been and will continue to be, a cultural icon for the ages whose legacy is difficult to summarize.
Jane High-Kicks Into The Eighties
If one were to attempt to summarize Fonda's professional accomplishments, they would be remiss if they did not devote a large amount of attention and praise for her foray into the then-brand-new home video industry in which she dared to tackle a concept just entering the cultural landscape back in the early 1980s.
Fonda launched a series of exercise videotapes that were extremely user-friendly in a time before the term "user-friendly" really entered the public consciousness. Viewers had the option to follow along and work out with Fonda at home and without any additional cost!
Paving the way to reduce the unspoken cloud hanging around a woman being able to take charge of her health, was Fonda's intent. Speaking on her inspiration for her career-defining avenue, Fonda revealed, "Back then, if a woman went to a health club, there'd be a gym for men and nothing for women. [Women] were not supposed to be strong and fit."
The Seventies and Eighties produced many victories for the given right for women to exist in the public sphere, and were decades inspiring a large amount of cultural conversation regarding a woman's given right to take control of every single given aspect society issues to men without a second thought. With Fonda's workout series, not only could women watch another woman exercise her right to have control over her body both literally and figuratively, they could spend an hour entirely dedicated to the betterment of themselves.
Jane Continues 'Feeling The Burn' For Cultural Conversation
Jane Fonda's legacy in the fitness industry and her longstanding presence in the cultural conversation, both continue as Fonda becomes one with the latest trends and expands her brand to a new demographic and reaching a new audience. In April 2020, the 82-year-old revived her beloved workout series for TikTok, the app allowing its users to create short videos. In the allotted running time, users are able to flex their creative muscles by using tools to create memorable and snappy videos, often with the hopes of making a strong impression lasting a minute at most.
In her collection of Tiktoks, Fonda pays tribute to her serious activism work, but not without a sly hint of tongue-in-cheek humor tucked in for good measure! Most importantly, Fonda's immaculate sense of confidence remains intact, as she announced the return of her legendary workout series adapted for 2020 while reminding users of its intended purpose of drawing attention to the global climate crisis.
Jane Fonda is no stranger to seizing her given platform for her biggest passion projects while continuing to add to her legacy. She may not be aware or even care about her footprint in the entertainment industry, but Fonda remains a mainstay through generations, with or without the addition of legwarmers!