Though her co-stars aren’t with us anymore, Barbarella herself lives on. The film’s titular protagonist remains one of Jane Fonda’s most memorable movie roles, but as anyone who’s even cursorily familiar with her work knows, it’s far from the only thing she’s done.
Fonda has been nominated for Academy Awards a whopping seven times and has won twice. Her acting résumé includes stone-cold classics like “The China Syndrome,” “Klute,” and “Coming Home.” Outside acting, she’s a noted activist who’s immersed herself in causes from anti-war protests to women’s rights and climate change. And yeah, she’s also worked as a model and made that iconic 1980s aerobics workout video.
In other words, playing Barbarella might be an iconic career-maker for some, but it’s only a small drop in the bucket for Fonda, who was born in 1937 and has spent much of her life accomplishing highly impressive things. Few can rival her life and career — and what’s more, she shows no signs of compromising her ideals. Fonda beat breast cancer in 2023, but instead of announcing it to call attention to herself, she … used the experience to discuss cancer’s relation to climate change and even called out the healthcare system for its reliance on fossil fuels, quoting facts and figures to back up her message.
