Hollywood legend Jane Fonda has conquered just about everything — Oscars, scandal, political fury, and a career spanning six decades — but now, at 88, the iconic actress has one chilling fear she can’t shake: dying with regret.
And she blames her famous father, Henry Fonda, for it.
In a bombshell interview with Michelle Obama, Jane ripped the veil off her deepest insecurities about death — revealing that watching her father fade away “full of regrets” still haunts her to this day.
“I’m not afraid of dying,” Jane confessed. “I’m afraid of dying with a lot of regrets. I watched my dad die that way — and I swore I wouldn’t let it happen to me.”
The emotional revelation is a stark contrast to her fierce public image — but sources say behind the scenes, Jane has spent decades trying to outrun the same emotional ghosts that consumed Henry in his final days.
Henry Fonda — the silver screen’s ultimate tough guy — died in 1982 after a life riddled with heartbreak, family betrayal, and deep regrets. He famously abandoned Jane’s mother, who later died by suicide… and kept the truth hidden from Jane and her brother Peter for years.
“He was cold. Distant. Emotionally locked down,” said one insider. “Jane saw firsthand what happens when you don’t make peace before the end — and it scared her straight.”
Now, friends say Jane is racing the clock — determined to make amends, finish her bucket list, and avoid repeating her father’s tragic finale.
“She’s on a mission,” a close source spilled. “Jane is cleaning house emotionally — making amends, tying up loose ends, and living like every moment counts. She refuses to die with unsaid apologies or unresolved pain.”
Jane told Michelle she’s been hard at work on that inner transformation for decades — owning her mistakes, letting go of grudges, and speaking her truth.
“Peace at the end of life isn’t something that just arrives,” she said. “You have to earn it.”
And she’s dead serious.
After surviving addiction scares, political scandal, and the crushing grief of losing her mother so young, Jane says she feels like she’s already lived multiple lives. But now, with time catching up, she wants to write the final chapter on her own terms — no regrets, no guilt, no secrets.
“Jane isn’t afraid of death — she’s afraid of leaving anything unfinished,” said another insider. “That’s what keeps her going. That’s why she’s still fighting, still speaking out, still showing up.”
As for Henry? The man behind The Grapes of Wrath and 12 Angry Men may have played heroes onscreen, but Jane says he left this world tormented by the real-life wreckage he never cleaned up.
And she’s made it her life’s mission to never let that be her legacy.
She then should release what she did ti the vets in Viet Nam & ask their forgiveness.
Absolutely
Traitor.
She is a bit late considering all her baggage .
She is a traitor and that is all there to it. I think she is satan little princes and she can’t run from that. I really hope you love very, very, very hot eternity.
After reading all of the comments, I believe that everyone is entitled to his or her own opinions. At the very same time I believe that some of the posters would feel much differently, if some of these different things had happened to them or their family members instead of Jane Fonda. Just remember, that it always very easy to condemn someone else, before or until you have walked that mile in their shoes, or spent a little time trying to understand how that person may or may not feel about certain things that has happen in their life to make them feel the way they do. I am not saying that Jane Fonda is an angel, but just like everyone else, she has made mistakes, (that I am very sure she is sorry for) just like the people that is so eager to condemn her, has also made mistakes in their life. How is that old saying, “do not throw stones at someone else if you live in a glass house”. I also served in VN, multiple tours between 59-72, but I do not have the same views as some others, about what Jane Fonda did. I am not saying it was right, what she did do. But I am not going to make it out as a big deal over what she did do. Because at the time that it happened, it was more important to me, to try to keep the people around me a live, than worrying about something that Jane Fonda was doing. But I assume, what Jane Fonda did seemed important to some. I am in NO position to judge anyone or condemn anyone, for the way they may or may not feel about the event. But like I said before, everyone is entitled to his or her own opinions of what happened. These are just my opinions.
hanoi jane.
I think she will pay for what she did. I lost a brother and a friend in VN.
Hanoi Jane used her position as an anti-war activist showing herself as a gunner on a North Vietnamese anti-aircraft gun used to shoot down US planes. This deplorable performance was followed by multiple radio broadcasts she made over the Voice of Vietnam as part of the enemy propaganda aimed at Americans serving in combat. For those of us in uniform who lost our brothers and sisters in combat, attended their funerals, and to this day attempt to continue to support their loved ones, the pathetic memory of Hanoi Jane is ever present.
Yes, 100% she needs to ask for forgiveness for her traitorous behavior during the Viet Nam War. Doubt she will but it will forever be a stain on her head stone.