Jane Fonda is not going to stop. Whether she's advocating for climate change on Capitol Hill or fighting for social justice from her living room, the Academy Award winner, author, and activist finds motivation by fighting for what's right. But even in this newfound reality of social distancing among a still very active pandemic, Fonda isn't letting up.
"You do what you have to do when you have to do it," she tells Glamour over the phone from Los Angeles. "It's killing me that I can't join these [Black Lives Matter] protests, but I'm 82 and have a compromised immune system, so I can't, but I sure wish I could. So I'm trying to use my social media."
But Fonda isn't just "trying"; she's thriving. She's mastered TikTok and brought back the Jane Fonda workout while at it. She's found a way to keep her Fire Drill Fridays climate change initiative going on social media ("Last Friday we had 20,000 people watching," she says, "and hundreds of people across the country doing volunteer work for us. It makes me very happy"), and she's working on a project to honor essential workers who have died as a result of COVID-19. There's also her newest book, What Can I Do? My Path From Climate Despair to Action, coming out this September. On top of that, she's also the new brand ambassador for Uncle Bud's, the eco-friendly and cruelty-free hemp and CBD brand.
When we caught up with Fonda, she had just finished making gift bags for her Grace and Frankie costar Lily Tomlin and other friends and family. Each was stuffed with Uncle Bud's products as part of a new social media campaign (watch it below), but everyone is getting the Organic Hemp Seed Oil Hand Sanitizer, which Fonda calls "the love language of 2020."
Instagram content
These at-home videos are a far cry from the glam and glitz Fonda is normally used to when appearing on camera, but spoken like any influencer, she's mastered it quickly. "I mean, these videos take time and I never know how I'm going to come out, but it's fun," she says. "My assistant has become a cinematographer."
Armed with that knowledge—and her nonstop energy—we asked Fonda to break down everything from what her self-care routine has looked like in isolation to her products that have been bringing her joy and keeping her sane. Read on for all her answers to Glamour's Big Beauty Questions.
Glamour: What made you want to start working with Uncle Bud’s?
Jane Fonda: I’ve known a lot about the value of hemp, so when Uncle Bud's wanted me to work with them, I said, “Give me a chance to use your products,” and they did. I have osteoarthritis, and their Hemp Roll-On Pain Relief really helped me. They come in all different forms depending on what you like. I also like the Body Lotion with Hemp Seed Oil very much and their hemp face masks are terrific. So after about four months, I said okay, and here we are.
What else have you been doing to practice self-care?
I sleep a lot—eight or nine hours every night. I can't function if I don't sleep. CBD oil helps me sleep. And I’m active. I’m posting about the protests and white privilege and about the climate. I’m staying extremely active on reading. I’m doing Fire Drill Fridays. I've never been on so many Zoom meetings. I’m also part of the Labor and Sustainability Network, working on an in memoriam for essential workers who have died from COVID-19. My heart breaks for those on the front lines. So I’m staying busy. I don’t mind being by myself, but I do have my little dog. I love where I live, and so I’m very fortunate.
Instagram content
Everyone was obsessed when you dyed your hair gray earlier this year. How did you feel about the response to that?
I felt really good, and I’m actually loving the gray. I got the idea over a year ago, and I said to our showrunner [for Grace and Frankie], Marta Kauffman, I’m going to let my hair go gray, and so you know, I’m going to have to have a wig made. Then I thought, Well, maybe I’ll have Grace go gray too, but I’ll have to have a wig made so that I look like I used to look for a while. So when I decided to move to D.C. for four months, I had about two inches of gray and I wore hats. I do love hats, though. But you could just see this gray line.
Then when I came back to L.A., I found this guy online, Jack Martin, who did my whole head to match what was then four inches of gray. That was right before the Oscars, so I premiered the look then. My hairdresser, Jonathan Hanousek, gave me this great haircut, and I absolutely loved it. It’s just so easy. Now I'm like, boy, I did this just in time because everybody else hasn’t been able to go to the hairdresser, and I don’t have to worry.
Instagram content
What’s the first beauty treatment you’re going to do when you can get back out and about in the world?
I’m going to get a facial with the amazing Mila Moursi. She’s the best in the world. She’s got magic hands. It’s the most unbelievable facial. It’s very muscular—it feels so good and it just awakens your skin. Her products are good too, but it’s her hands.
What are the three products you can’t live without?
Lipstick and lip liner from L'Oréal. I didn’t wear lipstick when I was younger, but when you get older, and especially with gray hair, you need a color on your mouth or you just fade away. I need lipstick and then a lip liner because the line of my lips has become kind of porous, and I must say that putting a lip liner on is like riding over a bumpy road. Every wrinkle is like oof. I also love the L'Oréal Voluminous Smoldering Eyeliner. It's the greatest eyeliner because it's a pencil and it's thick. So I use that with mascara, because you have to have definition when you have white hair.
What’s your go-to perfume and why?
I’ve stopped using perfumes. That’s because so many people I know are allergic. But when I did wear it, my one and only perfume was Calvin Klein’s Obsession.
What’s your favorite emoji?
Well, these days, you know there’s the flexed arm with the muscle? And it comes black, brown, and white? So almost always I do those emoji. I start with black, then brown, then white, and then a heart.
Who are the women who inspire you the most right now?
There are so many women I admire. Patrisse Cullors, the cofounder of Black Lives Matter. Eve Ensler, who wrote The Vagina Monologues. I’m on her board, V-Day, to end violence against women. Laura Flanders, who has The Laura Flanders show on PBS. Gloria Steinem. Robin Morgan, who I cofounded the Women’s Media Center with. They’re all activists. And America Ferrera! I really admire her.
What does it mean to be beautiful in 2020?
It's having a good attitude. People with good attitudes look good.
Jessica Radloff is the Glamour West Coast editor. You can follow her on Instagram @jessicaradloff14.
