Jane Fonda has opened up about enduring a difficult year marked by the devastating losses of three close friends and fellow Hollywood legends Gene Hackman, Robert Redford and Diane Keaton.
The 87-year-old actress revealed that the grief following their deaths – in February, September and October respectively – has taken an emotional toll on her.
At the Georgia Campaign for Adolescent Power’s EmPower Party, Jane told People, “It’s been a tough year.”
Reflecting on Gene, she said, “You know, there’s him and Redford. He came down her to support GCAPP. And we screened Barefoot in the Park.”
The Barbarella icon went on, “And Diane Keaton – I just finished working with her. Boy, I was shocked. Really shocked. You get to be old and everybody is dying around you.”
Following Robert’s death at 89, Jane released a deeply personal statement expressing how she couldn’t “stop crying” after losing her Barefoot in the Park co-star.
She wrote, “It hit me hard this morning when I read that Bob was gone. I can’t stop crying. He meant a lot to me and was a beautiful person in every way. He stood for an America we have to keep fighting for.”
The Coming Home star also honored her Book Club co-star Keaton as a “spark of life and light” after she passed away at 79 last month.
Sharing a tribute photo on Instagram, she wrote, “It’s hard to believe…or accept…that Diane has passed.
“She was always a spark of life and light, constantly giggling at her own foibles, being limitlessly creative…in her acting, her wardrobe, her books, her friends, her homes, her library, her world view. Unique is what she was. And, though she didn’t know it or wouldn’t admit it, man she was a fine actress! (sic)”
Previously, Jane had joked about performing her “own stunts” well into her 90s while looking back on an unconventional acting career that included a 15-year hiatus from the industry.
During her Lifetime Achievement award acceptance speech at the SAG Awards in February, she remarked, “This means the world to me, you can’t know. Thank you SAG-AFTRA.
“And your enthusiasm makes this seem, I don’t know, less like a twilight of my life and more like a ‘go girl, kick a– – which is good because I’m not done.’
“I have had a really weird career, totally unstrategic. I retired for 15 years then came back at 65 which is not usual, I made one of my most successful movies in my 80s and probably in my 90s I’ll be doing my own stunts in an action movie.
“Have you ever heard the phrase, it’s ok to be a late bloomer as long as you don’t miss the flower show. I’m a late bloomer, this is the flower show.”
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.the-express.com ’
