Jane Fonda Feels 'Very Lucky' For Returning To Acting After 15-Year Hiatus

Jane Fonda is reflecting on her near-miss in her career as a successful Hollywood star.

For somebody who began acting in 1959, the actress has appeared in all three art forms — television, Broadway, and film — and bagged just as many awards and nominations for her performances. However, she almost missed out on achieving these incredible feats following her expectations from her third marriage. 

When Fonda exchanged marital vows with the CNN founder Ted Turner on December 21, 1991, in Florida, she did not expect their union to end at the ten-year mark. In fact, the "Grace and Frankie" star had planned to build her "happily ever after" while staying away from acting after her wedding to Turner. 

As she told ET when they joined her on the set of "80 For Brady" recently, "I left for 15 years when I married Ted Turner, and I did not think I was gonna come back 'cause when I married him, I thought it'd be forever."

The Oscar-winning screen goddess announced her retirement from acting after the wedding, explaining in the 2018 documentary about her life known as "Jane Fonda in Five Acts," that she transformed her personality to suit the men in her life.

Those men included her dad, actor Henry Fonda, and her three husbands — Roger Vadim, Tom Hayden, and Turner. Fortunately, Fonda realized the errors of her ways and decided to stop putting the needs of others before her after parting ways with the cable television boss. 

Addressing her progress since then and appearing on "80 For Brady" alongside industry heavyweights like Rita Moreno, Lily Tomlin, and Sally Field, the former fashion model admitted:

"But I came back, and frankly, if anybody told me that at 85, I'd be doing this kind of movie, I would have not believed them. So I feel very lucky."

The actress's lucky strokes have been endless, considering how her cancer went into remission just days before she turned 85 on December 21. Fonda had excitedly announced that her ordeal with non-Hodgkin lymphoma — a disease that occurs when a person's body produces an excess amount of abnormal lymphocytes, a white blood cell type, was nearly over via her website.

Calling it the "BEST BIRTHDAY PRESENT EVER!!!," the "Monster-in-Law" began her statement, "I am feeling so blessed, so fortunate. I thank all of you who prayed and sent good thoughts my way. I am confident that it played a role in the good news."

Per The Blast, the Academy Awards winner's happiness sprung from finishing the chemotherapy treatments which had turned bad during the last run. She noted that while the first four sessions were "rather easy" for her, the final one was not.

She had had such a bad experience that it became hard for her to "accomplish much of anything." Luckily the effects eventually wore off in time for the "Our Souls at Night" star to fly to Washington for a climate rally. Fonda closed her statement by thanking her fans for the "good wishes" they sent her during the ordeal. 

The Blast observed that Fonda spent her milestone birthday reading the countless sweet messages that her fans sent her. Dropping a video on Instagram, the actress positioned herself in front of the camera wearing a turtleneck sweater, dark pants, and a yellow mustard cap.

The "California Suite" actress began the clip — which she did alongside her activist outfit, Jane Fonda Climate PAC — stating, "I love reading your birthday messages, you guys. You know our inbox isn't closed yet, by the way. You can still send your messages on the form."

Although she pointed fans to the form on her website, the "Fun with Dick and Jane" star gave them the second option of sending their birthday messages to a short code. Fonda promptly began reading the notes, starting with one from a northern Minnesota fan named Cynthia.

Cynthia's letter was filled with admiration for the actress's work, which had motivated her to go back to "campaigns and activism." The honorary "Miss Army Recruiting" recipient showered the fan praises, referring to Minnesota as a "beautiful part of the country" with drinkable water from lakes and creeks.

Unfortunately, Fonda's activism efforts have been largely ignored in the state. Despite that, she hoped the water would remain unaffected by pipe pollution.