She’s a two-time Academy Award-winning film star, an outspoken activist, a veteran fitness guru and an all-around icon — and at 84, Jane Fonda believes her days of accepting accolades and championing causes will be coming to an end “sooner rather than later.”
During a recent interview on “Entertainment Tonight,” the legendary Hollywood talent spoke openly about her own mortality.
Fonda addressed the topic when speaking about the urgency for other high-profile celebrities to stand up for important causes because, as she put it, “I’m not going to be around for much longer.”
That statement wasn’t in reference to her diagnosis of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, which she revealed in September, explaining at the time that she’s undergoing chemotherapy for what she called a “very treatable cancer.”
Instead, she was simply referring to the stage of life she’s currently experiencing.
"When you get to be my age, you better be aware of the amount of time that is behind you, as opposed to in front of you," she went on to explain in her chat with "ET." "I mean, that’s just realistic."
And if her exit is on the sooner side, she wants to make one thing clear: She's "not afraid of going."
Rather, Fonda insisted, "I'm ready. I’ve had a great life."
But while she's ready, she's not eager for it to be over.
"Not that I want to go, but I’m aware that it’s going to be sooner rather than later," she added.
Until then, she plans to maintain her health as best she can, in part by continuing to work out.
“When you’re almost 85, the mantra is ‘slow,’” the “Grace and Frankie” star said of her exercise routine. “Obviously I don’t use the same heaviness of weights that I used to. What’s important is to keep moving, to keep yourself flexible, to keep building strength.”
And to keep enjoying all the days she has ahead of her, including her upcoming birthday in December.
"My family will be there," Fonda noted. "My daughter and grandkids will come in from Vermont, and my son and his wife and child live in Los Angeles, and a few friends will come over. We’ll just have a quiet time."
