25 Best Jane Fonda Movies of All Time!
From 'Barbarella' to 'Youth,' Moviefone counts down the 25 best films of Jane Fonda's career.
(L to R) Rita Moreno plays Maura, Jane Fonda plays Trish, Sally Field plays Betty, and Lily Tomlin plays Lou in '80 For Brady' from Paramount Pictures.
Jane Fonda is Hollywood royalty and a living legend!
The daughter of Henry Fonda, and brother to Peter Fonda, Jane Fonda has been acting professionally since 1960, although she took a break in 1990 and did not return to the silver screen until 2005.
She has won two Academy Awards for Best Actress for her performances in 1971's 'Klute' and 1978's 'Coming Home,' and has appeared in a string of classics like 'Barbarella,' 'On Golden Pond' and 'Nine to Five.'
Fonda's latest, '80 for Brady,' which also stars Sally Field, Lily Tomlin and Rita Moreno, opens in theaters on February 3rd.
In honor of the new film, Moviefone is counting down the top 25 movies of Jane Fonda's career, including '80 for Brady.'
Let's begin!
25. 'Georgia Rule' (2007)
Georgia Rule follows a rebellious, uncontrollable teenager (Lindsay Lohan) who is hauled off by her dysfunctional mother (Felicity Huffman) to spend the summer with her grandmother (Fonda). Her journey will lead all three women to revelations of buried family secrets and an understanding that - regardless what happens - the ties that bind can never be broken.
Georgia Rule
24. 'The Morning After' (1986)
Failed actress Alex Sternbergen (Fonda) wakes up hungover one morning in an apartment she does not recognize, unable to remember the previous evening -- and with a dead body in bed next to her. As she tries to piece together the events of the night, Alex cannot totally rely on friends or her estranged husband, Joaquin (Raul Julia), for assistance. Only a single ally, loner ex-policeman Turner Kendall (Jeff Bridges), can help her escape her predicament and find the true killer.
The Morning After
23. 'The Electric Horseman' (1979)
A former champion rodeo rider (Robert Redford) is reduced to using his saddle skills to promote a breakfast cereal in a gaudy Las Vegas show. When he's asked to perform with a $12 million horse that he discovers is being doped to remain docile, he flees into the desert astride the beast in an act of defiance. A story-hungry female reporter (Fonda) gives chase.
The Electric Horseman
22. 'California Suite' (1978)
The misadventures of four groups of guests at the Beverly Hills Hotel. Starring Fonda, Alan Alda, Michael Caine, Walter Matthau, Richard Pryor, and Maggie Smith.
21. 'They Shoot Horses, Don't They?' (1969)
In the midst of the Great Depression, manipulative emcee Rocky (Gig Young) enlists contestants for a dance marathon offering a $1,500 cash prize. Among them are a failed actress (Susannah York), a middle-aged sailor (Red Buttons), a delusional blonde (Fonda) and a pregnant girl (Bonnie Bedelia).
They Shoot Horses, Don't They?
In the midst of the Great Depression, manipulative emcee Rocky enlists contestants for a dance marathon offering a $1,500 cash prize. Among them are a failed actress,... Read the Plot
20. 'Luck' (2022)
Apple TV+.
Suddenly finding herself in the never-before-seen Land of Luck, the unluckiest person in the world (Eva Noblezada) must unite with the magical creatures there to turn her luck around. Featuring the voices of Fonda, Simon Pegg, and Whoopi Goldberg.
Luck
19. 'Our Souls at Night' (2017)
Addie Moore (Fonda) and Louis Waters (Robert Redford), a widow and widower, have lived next to each other for years. The pair have almost no relationship, but that all changes when Addie tries to make a connection with her neighbor.
18. 'Stanley & Iris' (1990)
An illiterate cook (Robert De Niro) at a company cafeteria tries for the attention of a newly widowed woman (Fonda). As they get to know one another, she discovers his inability to read. When he is fired, she takes on trying to teach him to read in her kitchen each night.
Stanley & Iris
17. 'Old Gringo' (1989)
When school teacher Harriet Winslow (Fonda) goes to Mexico to teach, she is kidnapped by Gen. Tomas Arroyo (Jimmy Smits) and his revolutionaries. An aging American, Ambrose "Old Gringo" Bierce (Gregory Peck) also in Mexico, befriends Gen. Arroyo and meets Harriet. Bierce is a famous writer, who knowing that he is dying, wishes to keep his identity secret so he can determine his own fate.
Though he likes Arroyo, Bierce tries to provoke the General's anger whenever possible in an attempt to get himself killed, thus avoiding suffering through his illness. Winslow is intrigued by both Bierce and Arroyo, and the men are in turn attracted to her. She becomes romantically involved with Arroyo. When Winslow learns of Bierce's true identity (a writer whose work she has loved and respected for years), she is singlemindedly determined to fulfill his dying wish.
Old Gringo
16. 'Julia' (1977)
At the behest of an old and dear friend Julia (Vanessa Redgrave), playwright Lillian Hellman (Fonda) undertakes a dangerous mission to smuggle funds into Nazi Germany.
Julia
15. 'Book Club' (2018)
Paramount Pictures
Four lifelong friends (Fonda, Diane Keaton, Candice Bergen, and Mary Steenburgen) decide that their lives could change by becoming nasty and reading 'Fifty Shades of Grey' in their monthly book club to get inspiration on how to handle sexual pleasure at an elderly age.
14. 'Youth' (2015)
Two lifelong friends bond whilst vacationing in a luxury Swiss Alps lodge as they ponder retirement. While Fred (Michael Caine) has no plans to resume his musical career despite the urging of his loving daughter Lena (Rachel Weisz), Mick (Harvey Keitel) is intent on finishing the screenplay for what may be his last important film for his muse Brenda (Fonda). And where will inspiration lead their younger friend Jimmy (Paul Dano), an actor grasping to make sense of his next performance?
13. 'Barefoot in the Park' (1967)
In this film based on a Neil Simon play, newlyweds Corie (Fonda), a free spirit, and Paul Bratter (Robert Redford), an uptight lawyer, share a sixth-floor apartment in Greenwich Village. Soon after their marriage, Corie tries to find a companion for her mother, Ethel (Mildred Natwick), who is now alone, and sets up Ethel with neighbor Victor (Charles Boyer). Inappropriate behavior on a double date causes conflict, and the young couple considers divorce.
Barefoot in the Park
12. 'Fun with Dick and Jane' (1977)
When an upwardly mobile couple (Fonda and George Segal) find themselves unemployed and in debt, they turn to armed robbery in desperation.
11. 'Cat Ballou' (1965)
A woman (Fonda) seeking revenge for her murdered father (John Marley) hires a famous gunman (Lee Marvin), but he's very different from what she expects.
Cat Ballou
10. 'Monster-in-Law' (2005)
New Line Cinema
Office temp Charlotte Cantilini (Jennifer Lopez) thinks she's found Mr. Right when she starts dating gorgeous surgeon Dr. Kevin Fields (Michael Vartan). But there's a problem standing in the way of everlasting bliss: Kevin's overbearing and controlling mother, Viola (Fonda). Fearing she'll lose her son's affections forever, Viola decides to break up the happy couple by becoming the world's worst mother-in-law.
9. 'This Is Where I Leave You' (2014)
When their father passes away, four grown, world-weary siblings (Tina Fey, Jason Bateman, Corey Stoll and Adam Driver) return to their childhood home and are requested -- with an admonition -- to stay there together for a week, along with their free-speaking mother (Fonda) and a collection of spouses, exes and might-have-beens (including Rose Byrne, Kathryn Hahn, Connie Britton, Abigail Spencer and Timothy Olyphant).
As the brothers and sisters re-examine their shared history and the status of each tattered relationship among those who know and love them best, they reconnect in hysterically funny and emotionally significant ways.
8. '80 for Brady' (2023)
Inspired by the true story of four best friends (Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Rita Moreno and Sally Field) living life to the fullest when they take a wild trip to the 2017 Super Bowl LI to see their hero Tom Brady play.
80 for Brady
7. 'The Butler' (2013)
A look at the life of Cecil Gaines (Forest Whitaker) who served eight presidents as the White House's head butler from 1952 to 1986, and had a unique front-row seat as political and racial history was made.
The cast includes Fond as Nancy Reagan,Alan Rickman as Ronald Reagan, Robin Williams as Dwight D. Eisenhower, James Marsden as John F. Kennedy, Minka Kelly as Jackie Kennedy, Liev Schreiber as Lyndon B. Johnson, and John Cusack as Richard Nixon.
6. 'The China Syndrome' (1979)
While doing a series of reports on alternative energy sources, opportunistic reporter Kimberly Wells (Fonda) witnesses an accident at a nuclear power plant. Wells is determined to publicize the incident, but soon finds herself entangled in a sinister conspiracy to keep the full impact of the incident a secret. Also starring Jack Lemmon, Michael Douglas, and Wilford Brimley.
The China Syndrome
5. 'Barbarella' (1968)
Paramount Pictures
In the far future, a highly sexual woman (Fonda) is tasked with finding and stopping the evil Durand-Durand (Milo O'Shea). Along the way she encounters various unusual people.
4. 'Coming Home' (1978)
The wife of a Marine (Bruce Dern) serving in Vietnam, Sally Hyde (Fonda) decides to volunteer at a local veterans hospital to occupy her time. There she meets Luke Martin (Jon Voight), a frustrated wheelchair-bound vet who has become disillusioned with the war. Sally and Luke develop a friendship that soon turns into a romance.
Fonda won her second of two Academy Awards for Best Actress for this performance.
Coming Home
3. 'On Golden Pond' (1981)
For Norman (Henry Fonda) and Ethel Thayer (Katharine Hepburn), this summer on golden pond is filled with conflict and resolution. When their daughter Chelsea (Fonda) arrives, the family is forced to renew the bonds of love and overcome the generational friction that has existed for years.
On Golden Pond
2. 'Klute' (1971)
A high-priced call girl (Fonda) is forced to depend on a reluctant private eye (Donald Sutherland) when she is stalked by a psychopath (Charles Cioffi). Fonda won her first of two Academy Awards for Best Actress for her performance.
Klute
1. 'Nine to Five' (1980)
20th Century Fox
Frank Hart (Dabney Coleman) is a pig. He takes advantage in the grossest manner of the women who work with him. When his three assistants (Fonda, Lily Tomlin and Dolly Parton) manage to trap him in his own house they assume control of his department and productivity leaps, but just how long can they keep Hart tied up?
