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Jane Fonda reflects on how she’s living her ‘final act’ in life

The "Grace and Frankie" star shares her reflection process that led her to realizing the key to happiness in her later years.
Jane Fonda
Jane Fonda is serious about living an intentional life.Axelle/Bauer-Griffin / FilmMagic

Jane Fonda is more determined than ever to live her life to the fullest.

In a recent interview with Glamour, the 84-year-old actor — who covers the magazine’s May issue — shares the reflection process she underwent as she approached what she calls her "final act" in life.

“When I was about to turn 60, I realized that I was approaching my third act — my final act — and that it wasn’t a dress rehearsal,” she told "Black-ish" star Yara Shahidi, who conducted the interview. “One of the things that I knew for sure is that I didn’t want to get to the end with a lot of regrets, so how I lived up until the end was what was going to determine whether or not I had regrets.”

Jane Fonda shines in bright green in the May issue of Glamour.
Jane Fonda shines in bright green in the May issue of Glamour.Lauren Dukoff / Glamour

Fonda said that in order to know where she was headed, she needed to reflect on where she had already been. So the activist decided to do a "life review" and "research" herself to find the answers she had been looking for — a process that ended up being life-changing

"It totally changed the way I thought about myself and about how I wanted to live the last third of my life," she said. "And I realized the importance of being intentional about how we go through life."

Dressed in all pink, Fonda is a style icon.
Dressed in all pink, Fonda is a style icon.Lauren Dukoff / Glamour

The self-reflection led the "Grace and Frankie" star to discover a surprising realization about herself: she was brave.

"I didn’t have very much confidence in myself, and it never occurred to me to give myself any kind of label that was positive," Fonda explained. "I tended to gravitate toward people who were smarter and braver and morally stronger than I was. I always aspired to be more like them, but I never could imagine that I was like them."

Jane Fonda poses in a glam shot for Glamour's May issue.
Jane Fonda poses in a glam shot for Glamour's May issue.Lauren Dukoff / Glamour

Fonda said that your body is "very forgiving" in younger years, but as you get older, you "realize that staying healthy is joyful and critical because age isn't so much chronology."

The actor shared that she takes care of herself by trying to get eight or nine hours of sleep every night and enjoys meditation, nature and workouts.

Jane Fonda's cover in the May issue of Glamour, with a throwback when she was first on Glamour's cover in 1959.
Jane Fonda's cover in the May issue of Glamour, with a throwback when she was first on Glamour's cover in 1959.Lauren Dukoff / Glamour

“You can be very old at 84, which is my age, but you can also be very young. My dad died seven years younger than I am now, and he seemed so old because he was sick,” Fonda said.

Today, the actor describes herself as feeling younger now than when she was 20, with the secret advice being, “if you stay curious, you will also stay young for a long time.”