Legendary actress and activist Jane Fonda has been named the 60th recipient of SAG-AFTRA’s highest tribute: the SAG Life Achievement Award for both career and humanitarian accomplishments. Fonda will be presented the performers union’s top honor at the 31st Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards, which will stream live on Netflix Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025, at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT.
Given annually to an actor who fosters the “finest ideals of the acting profession,” the SAG Life Achievement Award will be the latest of Fonda’s esteemed catalog of international industry and public distinctions recognizing her masterful performances and impactful activism. Jane Fonda’s acclaimed career, which spans six decades, has captivated audiences with her versatile performances across film, television and theater, while using her platform to champion critical social causes. Her previous honors have included two Oscars, two BAFTA Awards, an Emmy, seven Golden Globes, the 2015 AFI Life Achievement Award, the Cecil B. DeMille Award, Elle’s Women in Hollywood Icon award and the Women in Film Jane Fonda Humanitarian Award named after Fonda for her lifelong activism and philanthropic commitments.
She accepted The Harry Belafonte Voices for Social Justice Award at the 2023 Tribeca Film Festival. Most recently, in April of 2024, Fonda accepted the TIME Magazine Earth Award.
SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher said “Jane Fonda is a trailblazer and an extraordinary talent; a dynamic force who has shaped the landscape of entertainment, advocacy and culture with unwavering passion. We honor Jane not only for her artistic brilliance but for the profound legacy of activism and empowerment she has created. Her fearless honesty has been an inspiration to me and many others in our industry.”
Jane Fonda said “I am deeply honored and humbled to be this year’s recipient of the SAG Life Achievement Award. I have been working in this industry for almost the entirety of my life and there’s no honor like the one bestowed on you by your peers. SAG-AFTRA works tirelessly to protect the working actor and to ensure that union members are being treated equitably in all areas, and I am proud to be a member as we continue to work to protect generations of performers to come.”
Film
Jane Fonda made her film debut in Tall Story, but it was her performance in Klute that solidified her status as a leading actress, earning her the first of two Academy Awards for Best Actress. She went on to star in iconic films such as Coming Home, for which she received her second Academy Award and 9 to 5, a beloved comedy about workplace sexism in which she co-starred with Lily Tomlin and Dolly Parton. Fonda’s filmography is as varied as it is impressive, with notable works like They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?, The China Syndrome and On Golden Pond.
After her role in Stanley & Iris, Fonda announced her retirement from film, stepping away from the industry for over a decade. In 2005, Fonda made a highly publicized return with the comedy Monster-in-Law, opposite Jennifer Lopez, followed by Georgia Rule in 2007. In the 2010s, Fonda appeared in Our Souls at Night, reuniting with Robert Redford and the ensemble comedy Book Club, which was a major box office success.
In 2023, Jane Fonda had a standout year with four film releases. She voiced ‘Grandmama’ in DreamWorks’ Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken, reunited with Diane Keaton, Mary Steenburgen and Candice Bergen for Book Club 2, and in Moving On reuniting with longtime friend and co-star, Lily Tomlin. Fonda also starred in 80 For Brady alongside Lily Tomlin, Sally Field, and Rita Moreno, all previous SAG Life Achievement recipients.
Television
Jane Fonda’s work on television has been as impactful as her film career. In 1984, she earned a Primetime Emmy Award for her role in The Dollmaker. In the 2010s, Fonda made a significant return to television with a recurring role as media CEO Leona Lansing in HBO’s The Newsroom. Her performance earned her two Emmy nominations for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series.
Fonda’s television success continued in 2015 with Grace and Frankie, where she co-starred alongside Lily Tomlin. The series continued to earn Fonda widespread critical acclaim and became Netflix’s longest running series with seven seasons which concluded in 2022. In 2018, she also released Jane Fonda in Five Acts, a documentary for HBO chronicling her life and activism which was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special.
Activism
Jane Fonda has never shied away from using her platform to effect change and her introduction to activism can be traced back to her prominent voice as part of the antiwar movement in the early 1960s and beyond. In 1969, Fonda lent her support to the Indigenous American occupation of Alcatraz Island, a protest aimed at highlighting the U.S. government’s failure to honor treaty rights and advocating for greater Indigenous sovereignty.
In 1984, Fonda co-founded the Hollywood Women’s Political Committee (HWPC) alongside Barbra Streisand and other influential women in the entertainment industry. The HWPC was created to mobilize political support for progressive causes, which led to the election of a record number of women to Congress in 1992, a moment often referred to as the “Year of the Woman.”
She co-founded the Women’s Media Center alongside Robin Morgan and Gloria Steinem in 2005, an organization dedicated to amplifying women’s voices in media.
Fonda has also been a vocal advocate for gender equality, civil rights, and environmental justice, most recently through her Fire Drill Fridays, a series of climate change protests aimed at raising awareness about the global climate crisis.
In 2022, she launched the Jane Fonda Climate PAC, focused on defeating political allies of the fossil fuel industry. Her latest book, “What Can I Do? My Path From Climate Despair to Action,” details her personal journey with the movement and provides solutions for communities to combat the climate crisis which she has proclaimed as her life’s work.
Notably, Jane celebrated her 85th birthday by raising $1 million for her nonprofit, the Georgia Campaign for Adolescent Power & Potential (GCAPP) which is a statewide health organization focused on providing school-aged children with the resources they need to make healthy life decisions and maximize potential.
