My family was just having this same conversation about her last weekend, when we attended the Rolling Roadshow screening
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Bridget Fonda
goodvibe61 — 15 years ago(August 14, 2010 09:47 AM)
My family was just having this same conversation about her last weekend, when we attended the Rolling Roadshow screening of Jackie Brown at LAX. What happened to her, etc. We went home and looked her up on Wikipedia and the IMDB, all that.
The thing that always gets me about this kind of situation, in which the 'artist' removes themselves from the system, stymies me.
There are several documented interviews of Fonda prior to 2002 in which she says all kinds of things like, "I'll always love acting because i'm constantly learning more about the craft and myself", or "I'm in this for the long run and not the celebrity part of it", words to that effect.
And then, one day, she stops. For YEARS.
For what? A man? To "raise her kids"? I know lots of women who are "raising their kids" and are still out there working, let alone doing something as indulgent this society enables as acting in movies. The schedule is ridiculously light, compare it with working 9 to 5 EVERY DAY. Fonda was extremely successful financially and artistically.
There is a sort of invalidation of a performer's work when this happens. It tells me that this person didn't ever really care about what they were doing. Certainly, all the cliches you hear about artists NEEDING to do what they do to express themselves certainly does not apply to someone like Ms. Fonda, who was evidently able to simply walk away one day and not come back. Obviously the acting was NOT important to her in any way. It's too bad in a way, but there doesn't seem to be much to do or say about it except she really wasn't in it for the artistry or the reflection of the art of acting, and to just move on. -
beat — 15 years ago(January 27, 2011 08:18 AM)
Who cares? I can't fathom why you people are so concerned with the lives of celebrities. Are you this involved in the lives of your dentist and your favorite butcher?
and why exactly do you come to a message board about bridget fonda then?
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Lucky_Dollar — 14 years ago(September 20, 2011 05:12 AM)
The world is not gonna stop if Bridget Fonda wants to do something else than be an actress. Her children are way more important than the overbearing Hollywood fast life and the fact that she seems to get that makes me like her even more.
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mlmerit — 14 years ago(September 30, 2011 01:38 PM)
I'd love to see her come back for a really good role, but that is just what I want. If she is happy at home with her young child and having the life she wants then I'm really happy for her.Out of all the big and small stars I've seen in the movies over the years, Bridget is the one I'd most like to meet. She may not be exciting to hang out with but she does seem like a very normal person who would be fun to talk to over lunch.
She did have a really bad wreck a few years back. I don't recall all the details but I thought she had some lower leg injuries. Maybe those are the reason she hasn't worked a lot. -
electronod — 15 years ago(September 05, 2010 02:56 AM)
I have a hole in my heart, which is a fairly common heart murmur, but it doesnt stop me from doing anything. It basically means that I have to take antibiotics when I have my teeth cleaned or any kind of surgery because theres a possibility that the bacteria will lodge itself within that hole. So in that way its serious, but you only have to be medicated.
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Duncan_Idaho02 — 15 years ago(March 21, 2011 12:39 AM)
There is a sort of invalidation of a performer's work when this happens. It tells me that this person didn't ever really care about what they were doing. Certainly, all the cliches you hear about artists NEEDING to do what they do to express themselves certainly does not apply to someone like Ms. Fonda, who was evidently able to simply walk away one day and not come back. Obviously the acting was NOT important to her in any way. It's too bad in a way, but there doesn't seem to be much to do5b4 or say about it except she really wasn't in it for the artistry or the reflection of the art of acting, and to just move on.
this is absolutely rubbish. who are you to say what was going on in their minds or what they were thinking? why could it not be that she had become disgusted with the whole acting society and hollywood? you have no idea why she walked away so stop putting your own outlandish ideas upon an actor you know nothing about. I make no pretense to know why she walked away. Nor will I make some baseless accusations about said actor. -
ivankafka — 14 years ago(August 02, 2011 03:46 AM)
Obviously the acting was NOT important to her in any way
How the hell can you deduce that just because she's taking a break to bring up her kids. Maybe she didn't view acting as the be all and end all of life, but to say it was NOT important to her in any way is over-the-top slanderous rubbish. -
marbleann — 14 years ago(October 20, 2011 06:13 PM)
She is a child of Hollywood and if anybody knows how it is to be raised in that type of environment she does. So there might be a real good reason she just wants to raise her kids. And you folks acting like being a actress is like being a Nun or a Priest of even cop. Please it is not a vocation it is just a job and maybe she just didn't like like a lot of people don't like their jobs. But listen up Meg Tilly is acting again after almost 15 years so maybe she will do the same.
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jamma_man69 — 14 years ago(October 21, 2011 05:15 PM)
Saw her about 2 years ago in LA and while she is attractiveshe is now 47 and would get the soccer mom roles or worseshe may just be happy with her life.
Robert Mitchum once said there is more to life then acting -
ConDeuce — 14 years ago(December 13, 2011 04:34 AM)
My guess is that Fonda is following what Madeline Stowe did: she's taking time off to raise a family. Stowe was a fairly big star back in the 90s making a bunch of movies like "Twelve Monkeys", "Last of the Mohicans", etc and then seemed to vanish, showing up occasionally in small roles or in less than great movies like "Octane". She has explained her absence as a deliberate decision on her part to raise her two children in Texas. Now she appears in "Revenge" on TV and seems to be trying to revive her career. Perhaps Fonda will attempt to revive her career at some point. With her family's experience with Hollywood and how it uses women, she probably knows what career moves are best for her.
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TMC-4 — 13 years ago(October 07, 2012 10:46 PM)
http://lebeauleblog.com/2012/10/07/what-the-hell-happened-to-bridget-f onda/
Bridget Fonda came from Hollywood royalty. Peter Fonda is her father and Jane Fonda is her aunt. Her grandfather was the legenday Henry Fonda.
In the late 80′s, Bridget Fonda was hailed as one of Americas most promising young actresses. In the early 90′s, she seemed poised for a break-out that never happened. And then, she disappeared faster than you can say Steve Guttenberg in the 90′s.
What the hell happened?
Okay, this one actually has a fairly simple explanation. Fonda basically walked away from her career to start a family with former Oingo Boingo frontman and current movie soundtrack composer, Danny Elfman. I figure we may as well get that out of the way up front so the answer wont seem too anti-climactic. But5b4 What the Hell Happened articles are more about they journey than the destination. So, lets walk through Fondas career so we can appreciate what she left behind for the love of Jack Skellington.
Yeah, keep on smiling, Oingo Boingo!
As a child, Fonda appeared in her fathers film, Easy Rider. But her first credited role wasnt until 1987′s Aria.
Aria asked the question, What can we do to sex up opera? The answer turned out to be to add some sex scenes. Viewers were treated to opera, pretension and nudity. I believe I saw it twice. I was really into pretentious opera movies at the time.
Fondas segment centered on a young couple who consummate their relationship in Las Vegas and then try unsuccessfully to commit suicide. All set to Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde. Seven minutes, well spent.
I tease Aria. It was actually a very well-regarded art film. It won the Golden Palm award at the Cannes Film Festival that year. And it had Elizabeth Hurley naked. Sixteen-year-old lebeau approved of both.
In 1988, Fonda appeared in You Cant Hurry Love. Apparently, someone thought it would be a good idea to make a romantic comedy starring David Leisure. You know, Joe Isuzu. Yeah, that guy. Fondas career was not off to a great start.
Things started looking up in 1989. First, Fonda scored a juicy role in the British drama, Scandal.
Scanb68dal starred John Hurt and Joanne Whalley (future wife and eventually ex-wife of Val Kilmer). It was based on a real-life British sex scandal which apparently they really have in England. Who knew?
Although most American audiences never heard of the film, it received very good reviews. Fonda was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress.
Later that year, Fonda appeared in the 60′s road movie, Shag.
Shag had an impressive ensemble of up-and-coming actresses that included Phoebe Cates, Annabeth Gish and Page Hannah (sister of 80′s mermaid, Daryl Hannah).
Shag got mostly positive reviews, but flopped at the box office. It has developed a cult following in the years since its release.
In 1990, Fonda appeared as Mary Shelley in Roger Cormans Frankenstein Unbound.
I have never seen Frankenstein Unbound, but Im willing to bet its better than Kenneth Branaghs cinematic abomination, Mary Shelleys Frankenstein from 1994. If for no other reason than it does not include Branagh wrestling a naked Robert De Niro covered in amniotic fluid.
Later that year, Fonda had a small role in The Godfather Part 3, the movie that dared to ask the question, Will it ruin a movie if you replace Winona Ryder with your daughter?
It turns out that was a trick question. Because while casting Sophia Coppola in a key role in the final Godfather movie certainly made the movie worse, it would likely have sucked anyway.
Fondas role is small. She plays a journalist that has a one-night stand with Andy Garcias character. But it was still a feather in her cap to be cast in one of the most beloved franchises in film history. Even if the third film did not remotely live up to the high standards of the first two.
Personally, I just pretend it doesnt exist. So, lets move on, shall we?
In 1991, Fonda had a small role opposite her Shag co-star, Pheobe Cates in Drop Dead Fred. She also had a supporting role in the Michael J. Fox romantic comedy, Doc Hollywood.
Doc Hollywood was as derivative as movies come. Replace all the human actors with vehicles and youve got Pixars Cars. Its not a bad movie, but pretty much every one in the cast is better than the material.
Surprisingly, Fondas character did not end up with Marty McFly, I mean Michael J. Fox. She had a supporting role as the girl who is too eager to be the romantic lead. As punishment, she ends up with Woody Harrelson.
In 1992, Fonda had a cameo role in Army of Darkness which just goes to show you how cool she was.
She also starred opposite Jennifer Jason Leigh in the roomie thriller, Single White Female. Both were rising stars in independent films. But while Fonda seemed to embrace mainstream Hollywood movies like, well, Doc Hollywood, Leigh had111c little patience for them.
I feel like this dynamic is reflected in the film. Leigh got the