Jane Fonda electrified the audience at Crystal Bridges Museum in Bentonville when she walked onstage. She carried herself with a gravitas that is rarely seen and which commanded the sold-out room. Fonda stole the show with her candor, unpredictability, and unceasing witticisms throughout the evening. “The mantra now is like the sex: slower,” the 86-year-old actress quipped when asked how she stays so energetic.

Meanwhile, Arkansas’ own Mary Steenburgen appeared as relaxed and content as a person could be, apparently in large part due to her happy home life with husband Ted Danson, a subject she discussed with refreshing honesty. She acknowledged her immense gratitude for the marriage and provided insight into what makes it work, sharing that she and Danson offer each other mutual kindness and laughter, but that the real secret lies in the introspection they each did before their relationship began. Their union marks Steenburgen’s second marriage and Danson’s third, a fact that Steenburgen says prepared them for each other. They shared the commonality that, instead of blaming their previous partners for everything that went wrong, they looked inward, saying, “We actually looked in the mirror and we actually worked on ourselves to see what we had done.”

Fonda reflected on her life of activism, saying that she became an embodied feminist after years of not identifying with the Feminist Movement after seeing The Vagina Monologues, emphasizing the impact of art on our worldviews and, ultimately, our actions. She expressed her concerns surrounding women’s ever-receding bodily autonomy and the intensifying climate crisis. Fonda said that many women still are not convinced they are worthy of equality and that humanity has lost its connection with nature at its peril. “We are all the same, we are related to nature, we are nature,” Fonda elaborated, adding, “Hope is a muscle like the heart. You have to use it to feel it.” She shared that her motivated action is part of the legacy she wants to leave behind, saying, “I don’t want my children to say ‘What were you doing when it happened? Getting manicures and rearranging the china?’ I want them to know I fought with everything I have.”

Fonda and Steenburgen, both Academy-Award-winning actresses, also shared some career stories with the audience. Fonda revealed that she gave Dolly Parton her first role in 9 to 5 as a producer on the film. She also touched on the unlikely beginnings of her own career: getting fired from her job as a secretary and into an acting class taught by her friend’s dad. He happened to be Lee Strasberg, one of the most renowned acting teachers in American history.

Steenburgen brought her signature levity to this part of the discussion as well, sharing with the audience that she is soon to begin shooting a new movie called The Dink, a comedy produced by Ben Stiller about the game of pickleball. She added, “I believe this is a magical place to be and a magical time to be. I wake up hopeful every single day.”

The conversation can be viewed in its entirety on the Arkansas PBS YouTube channel.

Photos Courtesy Tom McFetridge for Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art.

Tags