80 for Brady’ Star Jane Fonda Reveals the 1 Celebrity Who ‘Intimidated’ Her
Jane Fonda is true Hollywood royalty. As the daughter of acclaimed actor Henry Fonda and sister to writer, director, and actor Peter Fonda, you might be surprised to hear that sometimes even she gets starstruck. The actor recently revealed which other celebrity she found intimidating while they worked together.
Jane Fonda’s successful Hollywood career includes two Oscar wins
Fonda began acting onstage in the 50s, making the jump to movies the following decade. She has starred in movies like 9 to 5, Barbarella, Klute, and Barefoot in the Park, earning Best Actress Oscars for her roles in Klute and Coming Home.
In addition to her Academy Awards, Fonda also has two BAFTAs, an Emmy, and seven Golden Globes. The actor is still extremely popular today, starring in movies like Book Club, Moving On, and 80 for Brady, as well as the popular Netflix series Grace and Frankie.
Why Jane Fonda felt ‘intimidated’ by co-star Katharine Hepburn
Fonda has plenty of star power, but even she gets nervous around celebrities. In a recent interview with AARP, the actor revealed which other celebrity made their time working together a bit uncomfortable.
“I was intimidated by Katharine Hepburn, that’s for sure. My God,” Fonda laughed. “When we made On Golden Pond, she made sure that she was always top dog and that I knew it,” adding that she tried to “do the opposite” on sets and “make people feel comfortable.”
Hepburn was one of Hollywood’s biggest stars in the 30s and 40s, appearing in movies like Little Women, The Philadelphia Story, and Woman of the Year. She continued acting well into the 90s, with notable roles in The African Queen, Suddenly, Last Summer, and Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner.
She also starred in On Golden Pond alongside Fonda and her father. Hepburn and Henry played a married couple in the 1981 movie, with Fonda starring as their daughter. The movie grossed almost $120 million domestically and won three Academy Awards: Best Actor (Henry Fonda), Best Actress (Hepburn), and Best Adapted Screenplay.
Why Katharine Hepburn was ‘competitive’ with Jane Fonda
Fonda wasn’t the only intimidating actor on the set of On Golden Pond. According to her, Hepburn looked down on the younger actress and felt threatened by Fonda’s success and even bad-mouthed her to others.
“She was really competitive,” Fonda explained in a Harper’s Bazaar interview. “She really thought that I was out to win more Academy Awards than she was, and when she won for On Golden Pond I called to congratulate her, and she said, ‘You’ll never catch me now.’”
The actress went on to say that Hepburn “did not like” her and even once told writer Dominick Dunne that Fonda “didn’t have a soul.” Fonda also shared that Hepburn didn’t think she was “glamorous enough” to be a major star in Hollywood, telling her, “You never could’ve made it back then [in Hollywood’s Golden Age]”
