Jane Fonda Receives AFI Life Achievement Award

Jane Fonda, veteran actress and political activist, was recently recognized for her life’s work by the American Film Institute. The Academy Award winning Klute actress was given the AFI Life Achievement Award, becoming the 42nd performer in the history of film to be given the prestigious recognition.

Michael Douglas, who won the same award in 2009, presented Fonda’s award, describing the actress as “one of a kind.”

Douglas said of Fonda:

“I learned that not only is Jane an amazing actress, but she is the world’s greatest multitasker. She was simultaneously an actress, she was a mom, she was a fitness expert and a brave, very courageous political activist. So, deep down, who really is Jane Fonda? She is one of a kind.”

Jane Fonda took pride in being another woman in the long line of elite performers who have received the AFI award. In her speech, Fonda said that she owed her success in the arts to the people who have supported her throughout the years:

“In preparing for this experience it required me to do a lot a thinking. What I’ve realized is I’ve been blessed to know many geniuses, real geniuses in our business. I have been blessed to know them and so many are gone now.”

According to Hollywood Reporter, Jane Fonda follows the legacy of her father, Henry Fonda, who was the sixth AFI Lifetime Achievement Award winner in 1978.

Fonda’s son, Troy Garity, was given the chance to speak about his mother. His hilarious recollections of their mother-son bonding made the crowd – which included Meryl Streep, Sally Field and Sandra Bullock – roar with laughter.

“If my mother thinks it was difficult being the daughter of Henry Fonda, try being the son of Hanoi Jane — that was a lot of fun … being potty-trained in a rice paddy … being sent to school in a headband and leg warmers. … My first 13 birthday parties were fundraisers. … We had a different life from other Hollywood families. My mother never hired a nanny to watch after me — that’s what the FBI was for.”

Jane Fonda was an ardent protester of the Vietnam War. In 1972, right in the middle of the conflict, Jane Fonda traveled to Hanoi, where she heavily denounced the US military for their contributions to the war.

Earlier this year, it was revealed that Michelle Obama looked up to Jane Fonda as a role model. In an interview with Forbes, as reported here at the Inquisitr, the First Lady said that her outlook in life has been significantly influenced by the versatile actress.

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