Cinema/Chicago Tribute to Actress Jane Fonda

Actress Jane Fonda

Legendary Actress Jane Fonda was celebrated and honored with a special tribute by Cinema/Chicago and the 53^rd Chicago International Film Festival on Saturday, July 29^th at the Radisson Blu Aqua Hotel in Chicago. I was lucky enough to be able to attend a beautiful evening of recognizing Jane for her nearly five decades of work in film, television, fitness and beauty. The host for the evening was the nationally syndicated columnist and film critic Richard Roeper for the Chicago Sun-Times. Richard is also the Co-Host of Good Day Chicago on Fox 32.

The evening began with cocktail hour, mingling, and a silent auction. I loved the slider bar featured Wansas Tequila cocktails inspired by Jane Fonda films. Like the Classic Margarita was inspired by Jane Fonda 1980 movie classic 9 to 5. Chloe Wine and small bites were also on hand.

Wansas Tequila – Photo Cred: Chi Film Festival

Small Bites Station, Photo Cred: Chi Film Festival

Reception Room

The red carpet was abuzz with picture taking galore and everyone was dressed to impress! Jane Fonda was being honored at the tribute with the Chicago International Film Festival Hugo Career Achievement Award. The question of the evening that stood out to me the most was when Jane was asked “How would you like to be remembered?” Jane’s response was epic and perfect “I’m too young to be able to answer that.” That’s the type of energy we all need to give off. 🙂

Kayla Sullers (CineYouth Filmmaker) and Jane Fonda

The Proceeds from the tribute benefitted the expansion of Cinema/Chicago’s year-round Education Program. The program provides free film screenings to more than 7,000 Chicago Public School students annually through twice monthly screenings during the school year, daily screenings during the Chicago International Film Festival and curriculum support and study guides for educators. The expanded program will include an in-school film program. Our Education Program also includes the annual CineYouth Festival, a three-day competitive international film festival dedicated to showcasing the talent of the next generation of filmmakers, twenty-two years old and younger every May and our Student Film Council for Chicagoland high school students with a passion for cinema. The Film Council meets monthly throughout the academic year to explore Chicago’s thriving film community.

About Jane Fonda Jane Fonda was born in New York City in 1937, the daughter of Henry Fonda and Frances Seymour Fonda. She attended the Emma Willard School in Troy, NY, and Vassar College. In her early twenties, Fonda studied with renowned acting coach Lee Strasberg and became a member of the Actors Studio in New York.

Fonda is a two- time Academy Award®-winner (Best Actress in 1971 for Klute and in 1978 for Coming Home), a three-time Golden Globe® winner and was the 2014 recipient of the AFI Life Achievement Award. Along with starring roles in dozens of highly acclaimed productions, Fonda also took on responsibilities as a film and television producer. Her credits include Coming Home, The China Syndrome, Nine to Five, Rollover, On Golden Pond, The Morning After and The Dealmaker.

In 2007, Fonda received an Honorary Palme d’Or from the Cannes Film Festival, one of only three people ever to be granted this honor until then. In 2009, she received a Tony Award nomination for her role in Moisés Kaufman’s 33 Variations on Broadway.

Fonda revolutionized the fitness industry with the release of Jane Fonda’s Workout in 1982. She followed with the production of 23 home exercise videos, 13 audio recordings and seven bestselling books, selling 17 million copies all together. The original Jane Fonda’s Workout video remains the top grossing home video of all time.  

In 2011, Fonda appeared in Et Si On Vivait Tous Ensemble, a French comedy, followed by Peace, Love & Misunderstanding, co-starring Catherine Keener. She appeared as Nancy Reagan in Lee Daniels’ The Butler in 2013, and with Olivia Wilde and Sam Rockwell in Better Living Through Chemistry. In 2014, she starred in director Shawn Levy’s This is Where I Leave You, with Tina Fey and Jason Bateman.

For three seasons Fonda appeared as media mogul Leona Lansing in Aaron Sorkin’s The Newsroom on HBO of which she received an Emmy nomination. Most recently, she appeared in Youth, written and directed by Paolo Sorrentino (director and co-writer of Italy’s Academy Award®-winning Best Foreign Language Film The Great Beauty). She received a Golden Globe® nomination for her performance.

Fonda currently stars in Netflix’s hit series, Grace and Frankie, which premiered its third season in April 2017. She also stars in Netflix’s upcoming theatrical feature film Our Souls at Night, opposite Robert Redford, which will be released in November 2017.

About Cinema/Chicago Cinema/Chicago, the parent organization of the Chicago International Film Festival, is a year- round non-profit arts and education organization dedicated to fostering better communication between people of diverse cultures through the art of film and the moving image. For more information visit chicagofilmfestival.com.