Jane Fonda: ‘Biggest regret’ is not being the kind of mother I wanted to be

Jane Fonda has revealed the biggest regret in her life is not knowing how to be a better parent.

“I was not the kind of mother that I wish that I had been to my children,” the legendary actress, 85, said on Sunday evening’s interview on “Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace?”

“I have great, great children — talented, smart — and I just didn’t know how to do it.”

Fonda, who has three children: daughter Vanessa Vadim, 54, with ex-husband Roger Vadim, son Troy O’Donovan Garity, 49, and adopted daughter Mary Luana Williams, 55, both of whom she shared with her late ex-husband Tom Hayden.

Fonda says she finally saw what good parenting is supposed to look like thanks to her organization, the Georgia Campaign for Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention.

“I know what it’s supposed to be now, I didn’t know then,” she said. “So I’m trying to show up now.” 

Elsewhere in the interview, Fonda, who revealed her cancer diagnosis in September, said she’s not afraid of death — a sentiment she has expressed in the past.

“What I’m really scared of is getting to the end of life with a lot of regrets when there’s no time to do anything about it. And it’s one reason that I try, I’m trying to get it all done before I come to the end,” Fonda told Wallace. 

The actress last year told fans she was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and is undergoing chemotherapy treatments.

Revealing her diagnosis in an Instagram post in September, Fonda wrote, “So, my dear friends, I have something personal I want to share. I’ve been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and have started chemo treatments.

“This is a very treatable cancer. 80% of people survive, so I feel very lucky.”

Fonda also added that she’s “lucky” to “have health insurance and access to the best doctors and treatment,” acknowledging that she is “priviledged [sic]” as a celebrity.

“Almost every family in America has had to deal with cancer at one time or another and far too many don’t have access to the quality health care I am receiving and this is not right,” she went on.

The “Grace and Frankie” star said she has been undergoing chemo since March 2022 and is “handling the treatments quite well,” noting that she will not let the disease interfere with her climate-change activism.

Fonda also called cancer “a teacher” and said she is “paying attention to the lessons it holds for me.”

“One thing it’s shown me already is the importance of community,” she wrote in part.