My family was just having this same conversation about her last weekend, when we attended the Rolling Roadshow screening
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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 -
Wuchakk — 11 years ago(April 08, 2014 07:44 PM)
Thanks, TMC-4, for such an excellent, detailed write-up of Bridget's career and probable reasons for exiting the acting biz.
She was a prominent 90's actress, despite not breaking it big; she
seemed
major league with her string of films, like "Single White Female," "Point of No Return," "Jackie Brown," "Finding Graceland," "A Simple Plan" and "Lake Placid" (which, I know was bad, but it was intentionally bad).
I miss her."I don't see any method at all sir."
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Furrerd — 11 years ago(July 31, 2014 07:35 PM)
Lebeau's blog isn't very accurate and the opinion's are skewed from reality.
Brendan Fraser still worked after MonkeyBone and was lead in 8 movies after it some of which were fairly proda0fitable, including two more Mummy sequels, Crash, The Quiet American and Journey to the Center of the Earth (huge profit) . He was in 6 projects in 2013 alone.
I do hope she makes a come back when the kids are gone to college.
"And what were you bobbleheads doing while I was just getting earfed by father time?" -
HonoluluHicks — 11 years ago(September 17, 2014 03:32 PM)
She stopped making films after being badly hurt in a traffic accident in 2003.
Perhaps her injuries made acting too hard.
Maybe, she did suffer from a fracture in her vertebra - that's not something to be taken lightly, and maybe it made her rethink her whole life and career choices. Sometimes a severe accident like that, can be a real eyeopener. It can change your priorities over night, so to speak. It did for me. -
wildstar3 — 13 years ago(February 28, 2013 10:30 PM)
People seem to forget that actors like, Jackie Earle Haley was gone for 13 years and he came back after a long hiatus. Now that might not be the case for everyone but, never rule out the possibilities.
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chudddds-775-350714 — 10 years ago(July 28, 2015 11:05 AM)
Ms Fonda DID flip her car and totaled it, in 2003. At first it was thought she only had minor injuries, however, she found out a little later, while in extreme pain, that she had actually fractured a vertebra. While recovering, she met her current husband and started a family. One son named Oliver.