<p id=”par-1_77″><a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/jane-fonda-isnt-going-anywhere-i-dont-understand-idea-sitting-back-retiring.html/”>Jane Fonda</a> will turn 88 in December. While Fonda is still active and acting into her 80s, she insists she wasn’t always convinced she’d see her eighth decade. In fact, she said she was initially convinced she wouldn’t live to see 30, fearing that a “not especially happy youth”, family history, and loneliness would lead her to the same fate as her mother. She opened up about feeling astonished to be alive during a recent podcast episode.</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-jane-fonda-believed-she-d-die-at-a-young-age”>Jane Fonda believed she’d die at a young age</h2>
<p id=”par-2_79″>Jane Fonda appears happy, healthy, and active at 87, but she never thought she’d actually make it this far. The famed actor sat down for a chat on <a href=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4N2pSRRYVEg”>The Look</a>, a companion podcast hosted by Michelle Obama. During the course of the conversation, Fonda revealed that, in her younger years and early career, she believed she wouldn’t live to see 30. She admitted that she had assumed she’d die from “drugs and loneliness” despite not having an addictive nature.</p>
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<p id=”par-3_74″>Fonda went on to say that she thinks much of her fear stemmed from a difficult childhood. She described her youth as “not especially happy.” Most people would consider Fonda’s upbringing far worse than “ not especially happy.” Her upbringing would be considered by most to be downright traumatic. Fonda’s mother died when she was still a pre-teen, and she was largely raised inside the confines of a <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/prince-william-liked-boarding-school-because-get-away-princess-dianas-emotional-problems-author-claims.html/”>boarding school</a> by teachers after that.</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-her-mother-died-young”>Her mother died young</h2>
<p id=”par-4_74″>One of the main reasons Jane Fonda was concerned she wouldn’t live to old age was a dark family history. Her mother, Frances Ford Seymour, died by suicide while receiving psychiatric care in Beacon, New York. Seymour had battled mental health issues for years. She was experiencing a particularly dark period when she was taken in for care at the facility. Her death by suicide and her bipolar disorder diagnosis haunted Fonda for years.</p>
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<p id=”par-5_84″>In previous interviews, the Hollywood icon said she often feared that the “darkness” that haunted her mother during her life was buried inside of her, too. Fonda was just 12 when her mother died in 1950; Seymour was 42. Her death came just a few months after <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/henry-fonda-net-worth-time-death.html/”>Fonda’s father, Henry Fonda</a>, asked Seymour for a divorce. He remarried the same year, then unceremoniously sent his daughter off to boarding school in upstate New York. He was described by many as cold, calculating, and self-involved.</p>
<p id=”par-6_59″>A lack of family support, despite wealth, and a lack of emotional support dealing with the death of Seymour, appears to have had a massive impact on Jane Fonda’s life, including how she saw it progressing. The actor, now far older than her mother was at the time of her death, still is amazed by the life she lived.</p>