Jane Fonda

Jane Fonda was a famous actress and anti-war activist during the Vietnam War. Soldiers and pro-war activists hated "Hanoi Jane" because she allowed herself to be photographed with North Vietnamese, and advocated American withdrawal from the war.

She was born in 1937 in New York City; her father was Henry Fonda, who was also a famous actor. Her mother, however, committed suicide when she was 12. Although her father remarried, this marriage ended in divorce. Jane went into acting and was very successful especially throughout the fifties, sixties and early seventies. with movies like Cat Ballou, Barefoot in the Park, and Klute. She won awards for her acting and was considered one of the best. She is actually still working although she is in her eighties.

She is most famous for her visit to Hanoi during the Vietnam War, which many Americans considered made her a traitor. She spoke to North Vietnamese leaders at a time when no other Americans did, and the government was unwilling to have talks with them. Because the US ultimately withdrew from the war, many people consider her talking to them as signalling Americans' unwillingness to keep fighting the war.

She was married three times, but when asked later what she had learned about love, she said, "Nothing. I'm not cut out for it."


____ 1. When Jane Fonda went to Vietnam, what did she want?
a. She wanted the US to get out of the war.
b. She wanted to get a vacation from acting.
c. She wanted to make the government angry.
d. She wanted to trick them.

___ 2. What is "Klute?"
a. One of her husbands
b. One of her more successful movies
c. Her father's second wife
d. A place where she worked

___ 3. Which is not true about her acting career?
a. She never retired.
b. She won many awards and is considered a good actress.
c. Her political activism hurt her career.
d. She worked in acting for over fifty years.

___ 4. Why are her enemies mad at her?
a. Because she gave secrets to the North Vietnamese.
b. Because talking to the enemy makes her a traitor.
c. Because she got the government to give up on the war.
d. Because she insulted the government.