Jane Fonda, 85, regrets not being a better mom to her children, says she's trying to 'earn' their love before she dies
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Jane Fonda is well renowned for her numerous performances in a variety of Hollywood productions, including romantic comedies, dramas, and more. Her experience as a mother was, however, not as easygoing as her career.
Although Fonda, 85, has enjoyed illimitable success in Hollywood over the years, raising her three children has not always been easy for her. Speaking to CNN's Chris Wallace, Fonda explained how she wishes she'd done things differently when it comes to being a mom to her children - Vanessa Vadim, Mary Luana Williams, and Troy Garity.
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'I was not the mother I wish I had been'
The 'Barbarella' actress explained how, after battling cancer, she's not afraid of dying, but rather "getting to the end of life with a lot of regrets, when there's no time to do anything about it." "I was not the kind of mother that I wish that I had been to my children," Fonda said, explaining that it was one of the few regrets she has now, as per ABC News. "I have great, great children. Talented. Smart."
"I just didn't know how to do it," Fonda added. "I have an organization in Georgia that deals with adolescents and I've studied parenting. I know what it's supposed to be now. I didn't know then. So I'm trying to show up now." The actress stated that although she would be fine if she were told she was terminal, she would like not to die anytime soon since she feels like she still has things she wants to do with her life.
"I am trying to make up for what I didn’t know before," Fonda told Brie Larson during a 2017 interview. "When I die, I want my family to be around me. I want them to love me and I have to earn that. I’m still working at it."
'I think about death a lot'
Fonda opened up about how she feels it's important to contemplate and reflect on mortality, shortly after she announced that her cancer was in remission. "The way I figure, the way to live, especially in the latter part of your life, is to envision how you want to die,” she said in an interview with Town & Country in 2017. "I think we all would like it to be in bed, surrounded by family and loved ones. To get there you have to work hard to heal the wounds and mend the fences. Because in the end it’s always what you didn’t do, not what you did."
"I’m not afraid of death, but I’m afraid of getting to the end without becoming the best I can be as a person," Fonda explained.
"I think about death a lot. I have for the last 30 years. I think that's a healthy thing to do. It's hard to live right if you don't think about death. It's a part of life, "the '9 to 5' actress told ET in January. She continued, "Other cultures aren't so afraid of thinking about death as we are. I spend a lot of time thinking about it and it's made my life a lot better. And when you get a cancer diagnosis, you think about it even more and you want to be sure you get the things done that you want to get done, so when the time comes you won't have a lot of regrets."