Jane Fonda is known for her youthful appearance and glowing health, yet in a recent admission during a podcast with Michelle Obama on Thursday, November 20, the Coming Home star made a heartbreaking confession about her troubled past. "I didn’t think I’d live past 30," she admitted. "I was sure I was going to die."
"My mother died when I was 12," she said referencing her mother Frances Ford Seymour who died by suicide in 1950. "My youth was not especially happy, and … I’m not addictive, but I thought I was going to die from drugs and loneliness," Jane added.
© Getty Images for Homeboy Industr"The fact that I’m almost 88 is astonishing to me. And what is even more astonishing is that I’m better now. I wouldn’t go back for anything. I feel more centered, more whole, more complete. I’m very happy. Single."
The fitness guru went on to admit she was not afraid of dying. "I’ve never been afraid of aging, and more importantly, I’m not afraid of dying." "I’m afraid of dying with a lot of regrets."
"I watched my dad die with a lot of regrets," she added.
© Getty Images"That was an important realization for me, because if you don’t want to die with regrets, then you have to live the last part of your life in such a way that there won’t be any regrets."
Jane's confession comes after an interview with the Daily Telegraph where she opened up about ageing in Hollywood and how it has influenced her acting roles. "People have so many stereotypes of older people. I'm 87, and I feel younger and healthier and a greater sense of well-being than I had in my 20s, 30s, 40s, and 50s," she added.
The actress went on to explain that she feels the work she is offered now often "isn't worthy" of her. "I'm 87, I don't feel done yet. Roles that I'm offered are really sad," she admitted.
© WireImage"They are not worthy of my six decades of being in this industry."
She continued: "I'm happy... I think one of the greatest things that we can attain is a robust sense of well-being, of happiness."
However, it seems Jane remains as physically fit as she did in her heyday as she revealed that she still works out with a personal trainer every day. "I don't feel like an old person. I'm much younger than I was when I was in my 20s, in all the ways that matter," she said.
© Getty ImagesDuring a chat with The New York Times, the Oscar-winning actress shared the details of workout routine. "I essentially do everything I used to do, just slower," she added. "I used to be a runner, but now I love walking. I love being outdoors in the woods, especially up and down hills."
Aside from her stellar acting career, Jane is synonymous with her 1982 workout video. The inaugural video in the series was the first non-theatrical home video release to top sales charts. "I had no idea my videos were going to become such a phenomenon," she told People.
"When I was starting out, there weren't many rigorous forms of exercise available to women. I learned the basic workout from a charismatic teacher named Leni Kasden in the '70s."
