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jane fonda unrecognisable school photos© Photo: Getty Images

Grace and Frankie star Jane Fonda rocks pixie haircut in incredible school photos

The Hollywood actress has starred in many movies, from 9 to 5 to Monster-in-Law, alongside Jennifer Lopez

Hanna Fillingham
US Managing Editor
March 4, 2021
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Jane Fonda is a household name and has enjoyed a successful career in Hollywood for decades. But long before this, the 82-year-old was just another pupil at her high school, the Emma Willard School in Troy, New York.

MORE: See what the cast of Grace and Frankie looked like at the start of their careers

Pictures from the star's year book have been colourised by MyHeritage, revealing that the award-winning actress rocked a short pixie cut and sweeping side fringe during her school days.

MORE: 12 of the most unbelievable celebrity and school photos

While there, Jane was an active member of the school council, as well as the decorating committee. The Monster-in-Law star is also seen posing on the steps with her classmates in a photo titled: "The juniors," which was taken in the year 1954.

jane fonda school photo

Hollywood star Jane Fonda was a pupil at the Emma Willard School 

The Emma Willard School is an independent, all-girls boarding school, and in 2015, Jane attended the 60th high school reunion there.

An excerpt from her blog post at the time, which was posted on her official website, read: "The next morning I flew to Albany, NY and drove to the town of Troy for my 60th high school reunion at Emma Willard.

"EW was and remains an exemplary all-girls boarding school."

MORE: Grace and Frankie: why the show is ending after season seven

The 9 to 5 actress described the campus as "strikingly beautiful" and praised it for providing the "finest high school academic programme in the country".

READ: Madonna looks unrecognisable with brown hair in incredible school photos 

She wrote: "I attended EW for all 4 years from ages 13-17 and, while I complained a lot at the time about the strictness, (at school dances with visiting all-boy's schools we were measured to make sure we were never closer to our dance partner than 6 inches!)

"I have realised looking back, that it was the greatest gift my father could have given me. I have been back before– made 2 commencement addresses, a convocation speech and attended my 25th reunion. [sic]."

jane fonda young school photo

Jane reunited with her school friends in 2015

Jane also opened up about what it had been like to reunite with some of her old classmates. "That night I had dinner with 4 of my old classmates, Pat Johnson, Lolly Espy Barton, Ann Gumar Johnson and Diane Fuller Doherty.

"I like reunions–having the chance to reconnect, compare notes. It makes me take stock of my life–what other choices I might have made; how my cognitive skills have survived (or weakened)."

MORE: Jane Fonda stuns Ellen DeGeneres with age-defying appearance

The star also reflected on the sadness that some of her old friends were absent from the reunion, and in some sad cases, this was because they had passed away.

"We were sad that more of our classmates hadn’t come. This was likely due to time of year (past reunions have been held in the summer when it’s easier to get away); the fact that unlike the past, we had to stay in a hotel in Albany and not in the dorms (which were filled with students); and of course many have died (including my best friend and roommate Carol Bentley)."

Jane's photos were used with the MyHeritage In Color™ tool, which automatically brings black-and-white photos to life. To use the tool, you simply need to upload your black-and-white image onto MyHeritage and it will automatically colourise the image in just a few seconds.

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