Jane Fonda Rebrands, Becomes Voice Of Aging

After a triumphal return to the workout video universe, Fonda is clearly embracing her brand as Older Woman.

Says the erstwhile Aerobics queen of her new videos, “Jane Fonda: Prime Time Walkout” and “Jane Fonda: Prime Time Fit & Strong,”

People who are of a certain age tend to be ignored by the fitness industry and being that I’m older and I’ve done a lot of research on what happens to a body when it gets older, I know that it’s essential that we stay active…It’s the worst thing that a person could do when they’re older is to say, ‘Why bother now? I’m older. I don’t need to.” I’m on this crusade to get older people out of the chairs, off their couches, moving in a way that’s safe, easy and very doable even if they’ve never done it a day in their lives. It’s never too late.

The actress, who recently appeared on one cover of a special “age” issue of V, also tells the AP,

You get a little wiser as you get older. You’ve been there, done that. You know it’s not gonna kill you. You’ve survived it before. You tend to make lemonade out of lemons instead of mountains out of mole hills.

(We presume she’s talking about Georgia Rule)

In addition to the videos, roles in two upcoming films and a new book (“Prime Time: Creating a Great Third Act”) Fonda says she’s into a cable show, because “the best, edgiest writing is now on cable.” We assume said show would have something to do with “aging,” since that’s clearly a niche Fonda, through inclination or pragmatism (probably both) is making her own. It’s interesting to see in light of that brutal piece that ran a few weeks ago on aging in Hollywood, in which one PR guru opined that “It’s very painful, but you either have to make peace with [aging] or continue to fight it for the rest of your life. It’s a brutal fact and it places pressure on you to act differently, if you want to remain relevant both economically and socially.” Leaving aside what, exactly “relevance” means in the context of a human being, the message was clear: get side projects and don’t assume you’ll get work. In this regard, Fonda’s trajectory is the very model of the “horizontally integrated economic model” the experts suggest. The irony, of course, is that Fonda’s doing that, but without ignoring her age. Rather, she’s embracing it. And it doesn’t seem to be a coincidence that she’s very much “relevant” as a result.