Jane Fonda on Being a Tomboy, the Beauty Advice She Got from Katharine Hepburn, and Embracing Youth at 87

Jane Fonda defies categorisation. The trailblazing activist may first be known for her film career, which spans six decades, but in conversation, this is likely to be followed by talk of her political activity and fitness empire. She was, after all, the woman who popularised the home workout (and aerobics) in the 80s.

It was destined to be a special life. Born to the actor Henry Fonda, she is one of the last to have touched Old Hollywood, while being formative in ushering in the New Hollywood of the 70s, with roles in Barbarella—which became emblematic of Mod fashion—Cat Ballou, The Shoot Horses, Don't They?, and she won two Best Actress Oscars for Klute and Coming Home.

Central to her public figure, however—and largely overshadowing it for the remainder of the 20th century—was her activism. To make it brief: she opposed the Vietnam War, supported the African-American civil rights movement, vis-à-vis the Black Panthers, and fought for land rights for Native American people. In 1972, she was invited to Hanoi by Vietnam—a move that sparked mass outrage and resulted in her falling foul of the FBI; it's a bona fide film plot in and of itself.

On screen, Fonda looks every part the film star; her glamour seeps through even the corporate machinations of Zoom. But despite her sex symbol status, Fonda's approach to beauty has always been an afterthought to the work of her life. It's refreshing to hear, and below, we chat about it.

Nessa Humayun: You've had an incredibly long career. How has your approach to beauty evolved?

Jane Fonda: I pay much more attention to the beauty space than I used to. And part of it is because of Katharine Hepburn. When I was about 43 or 44, I made a movie called On Golden Pond, and one day, she came up behind me and took my cheeks like this [pinches skin], and she said, "This is your box that contains you! How do you want to present to the world?" She was angry with me because I didn't pay enough attention to how I presented myself. It took me about five years to understand what she was talking about, and then I started to pay more attention to it. So the short answer is, I care more about things like the colour of lipstick and shampoo.

NH: Were you eager to dabble with make-up as a child?

JF: I was a teenager in the 1940s and 1950s, and teenagers didn't wear make-up then, which is as it should be. I didn't start until I was about 16. And we used very little, too. You put lemon juice on your hair to make it blonder, and then whatever was the cheapest. I was a tomboy; I wanted to be a boy; I wanted to be a cowboy. I had no interest in it at all.

NH: What do you think always looks good on a woman?

JF: It depends on the face. For some people, the best look is to have absolutely nothing on except good skin. I'm big on eyes, so I always like women to enhance them, subtly, with mascara. Everyone today is wearing these huge eyelashes that look like you could park a car on them. I also love shiny hair. My hair was never shiny, and it doesn't look very shiny now, but it is reflecting. I love the L’Oréal Paris Elvive Glycolic Gloss 5 Minute Lamination Treatment. But in a way, I think posture is more important than make-up. You can see the difference. People say I look young for my age at 87, and it's 'cause I've got good posture.

NH: Do you have any beauty essentials that you couldn't live without?

JF: I have very dry skin and hair, so it would be my moisturiser, the L'Oreal Paris Age Perfect Golden Age Rosy Glow Day Cream. And then sunscreen to avoid skin cancer and blotches all over my face, which I used to have until I had them taken away. But I have cancer all over me now, so I don't know... I've never understood the need for one cream for the neck, another for the forehead, no. I have one cream, and I always take my make-up off and spray a mist all over my face. Is that a lot or a little?

NH: That's quite refreshingly minimalist. You've always been so focused on beauty as a holistic thing, which encapsulates fitness and wellness. How do you recharge?

JF: I still work out all the time, and I sleep. Nine hours every night. Last night I slept 12 hours. And I used to love baths, but now I prefer to take showers because we have to save water, so I don't take baths anymore.

NH: You've had a long relationship with L’Oréal Paris, and you've long been a champion of the Lights on Women award, which spotlights the women behind the camera. Do we still have a way to go before we see gender equity in film?

JF: I love the people who are running the Lights on Women award. Yes, it's absolutely critical right now that we expand women's voices in media; in television and film. The way we experience everything—violence, war, poverty—is different. And our half of humanity needs to be heard—if we're not, men suffer, boys suffer, we all suffer. It's robbing people of information that they need to hear, which is our voices.