Jane Fonda Said Aging Is 'Not All That Scary' Ahead of 85th Birthday

She reflected on getting older in a new interview.

Jane Fonda isn't afraid of getting older.

"Turning 85 isn't any different than turning 84 or turning 86 will be," the actress and activist told InStyle ahead of her 85th birthday on December 21. "I'm seriously in the middle of 'old,'" she added. "But once you're inside of it, as opposed to looking at it from the outside, it's not all that scary."

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Fonda has been open about the topic of getting older recently. "When you get to be my age, you better be aware of the amount of time that is behind you, as opposed to in front of you," she told Entertainment Tonight in November. "I mean, that's just realistic," she said, adding that she's "not afraid of going."

Fonda has a few ideas about what keeps her feeling good. "I'm a curious person, and I'm constantly learning, and I think that's important," she told InStyle. "My dad died six years younger than me, and sure, I have cancer, but we’re getting that dealt with with chemo and I feel lucky."

The Grace and Frankie star recently revealed she's been diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins lymphoma, a type of cancer that begins in the immune system. Not only has she seemingly been in good spirits about the diagnosis since making the news public on Instagram in September 2022, but she also shared a video of herself working out not long after starting chemotherapy treatment.

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"About three weeks from my first chemo session, I must tell you that I feel stronger than I have in years," she wrote in a blog post. The text came alongside a clip of her doing squats against an exercise stability ball on a wall while holding dumbbells in her hands. It might seem counterintuitive to exercise while undergoing chemo, but experts confirm it helps with cancer-related fatigue, Shape previously reported.

It's not entirely surprising that Fonda is continuing to include movement in her routine throughout cancer treatment. Her '80s workout tapes are iconic, and she's continued to share motivational snippets of her current fitness regimen over the years, namely on Instagram, where Fonda has nearly two million followers.

In addition to posts about her climate-change activism, Fonda's social media profile contains doses of workout inspiration. On Halloween, she shared a selfie of her with her trainer. "Yes, I am working out," she wrote at the time. The actress also shared some snaps of a home glute workout done with resistance bands last year.

Though she still finds ways to move, Fonda's exercise habits have evolved since her days of leg-warmers and leotards. "I know better than I did even when I was younger that no matter how old you are or who you are or where you are, keeping moving in a way that's appropriate for your age is absolutely critical to your healthy lifespan," she told Vogue in August. "My motto now is not for the burn. It's slow down," she added.

Overall, her perspective on aging is seriously refreshing. "The fact that I'm still alive and working, wow, who cares if I don't have my old joints," said Fonda in an interview with CBS Sunday Morning in April. "You know, you can be really old at 60, and you can be really young at 85," she said at the time.

Here's hoping Fonda is feeling young on her 85th birthday.