Aurora Starchild
Jane Fonda has had quite a life! The icon, activist, actress, and former model has married three times and has three children. Despite being in her 80s, it’s almost unfathomable that her kids are all grown adults today — it’s like Fonda doesn’t age! Meet Vanessa, Troy, and Mary Luana.
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Vanessa Vadim
Fonda’s first marriage to French film director Roger Vadim began in 1965 and ended in 1973. They welcomed their first and only child, Vanessa Vadim, on September 28, 1968, in Paris, France. She was named after Fonda’s friend, actress and activist Vanessa Redgrave.
Jane Fonda revealed to Vanity Fair that she suffered from postpartum depression after giving birth to Vanessa. “I just felt that I had failed — that nothing was turning out the way it was supposed to, not the birth, not the nursing, not my feelings for my child or (it seemed to me) hers for me,” she said.
Despite the rough start, Fonda put time into bonding with Vanessa (and her other children), although it took time. Fonda’s own mother had committed suicide when she was only 12, so this was a commitment that involved reaching beyond what she herself had been shown and taught.
“The few things I regret in my life are not the controversy and the activism,” Fonda once said, “but not having put enough time into mothering, wiving, [and] taking care of the inner life.” In 2017, she reflected to People on how she’s gotten past this regret, which includes saying “sorry” to her children for not being more present in their lives. “I’m thankful that I’ve gotten better over the 80 years … I’m less judgmental. I’m forgiving. It wasn’t always true. I’ve really worked hard to get better as a human being,” she said.
Vanessa Shares Many Qualities With Jane Fonda
Vanessa attended Brown University from 1985 to 1989 and embarked on a life of activism just like her mother. She’s notably advocated for ecological and environmental issues and women’s rights. She has contributed to an online platform that teaches sustainability, now known as Treehugger.
Vanessa took part in a pro-choice march in Washington, D.C., helped build a school in Nicaragua, and once made headlines for “mouthing off” to narcotics officers during a drug bust. Her friend was caught with drugs and, while nothing was found on Vanessa, she said, “If you’re going to arrest him, you have to arrest me!” Vanessa spent one night in jail but was let out on bail, claiming that the drugs were part of a “school project.”
Vanessa has since become a documentary film producer and director, a natural progression considering her famous parents’ careers. Her directorial debut came in 2002 with the short documentary The Quilts of Gee’s Bend. In 2018, she helped create Jane Fonda in Five Acts. She is also a co-founder of the nonprofit documentary production company MayDay Media, along with Rory Kennedy.
Vanessa Vadim has two children, daughter Viva Arnett and son Malcom McDuffy. Viva’s father is Matt Arnett and Malcom’s father is from another relationship. In 2010, Vanessa married guitarist Paul Waggoner, but they were separated or divorced by 2017.
Jane Fonda has called her daughter Vanessa “an amazing woman.”
Troy Garity
Troy Garity was born on July 7, 1973. His father was Jane Fonda’s second husband, activist Tom Hayden. When Fonda and Hayden married, she was already three months pregnant with Troy. He was named after Nguyen Van Troi, a Vietnamese resistance leader. Garity was chosen as a bit of a decoy, due to his parents’ high-profile involvement in the anti-war movement. It was Tom Hayden’s mother’s maiden name, but different enough to not attract attention.
“When I was born, there was still a lot of anger over my parents’ involvement in Vietnam,” Troy told People in 1998. He was a 24-year-old actor at the time.
Troy graduated from Manhattan’s American Academy of Dramatic Arts in 1995. However, his first acting credit is from 1981, as an uncredited Young Boy in On Golden Pond. He’s maintained a successful career in film and TV to this day. Some of his more notable roles include Jason from Ballers (which starred Dwayne Johnson) and Sam Miller in Boss.
Troy Got His Work Ethic from His Parents
Garity has kept an attitude of humility throughout his Hollywood career. “I always thought I was sort of awkward and goofy-looking,” told People in 1998.
In 2017, he admitted to Behind The Velvet Rope that being Jane Fonda’s son has certainly helped him get roles, but that work is still work, and nothing has fallen in his lap.
“At the end of the day it’s really your work,” he said. “My parents instilled in me just a hard work ethic and that it’s a marathon and not a sprint.”
Fonda is certainly proud of her son. “His best features are his soul and his hair,” she told People. “He’s as beautiful inside as he is outside.” For the record, at the time Garity said his hair routine involved washing with Dr. Bronner’s peppermint soap once a week.
In 2007, Troy married Simone Bent Garity after dating for three years. Simone is a human rights activist, actress, and philanthropist. The couple do not have any children.
Mary Luana “Lulu” Williams
Lulu is Jane Fonda and Tom Hayden’s adopted daughter. She was born on October 13, 1967, in Oakland, California. Her parents were Black Panthers, Randy and Mary Williams. Fonda and Hayden took Lulu in with the rest of their family and relocated to Santa Monica when she was a teenager.
“She just sort of came down [to live with us] and it was fine and happy for me because it was somebody that I had a connection with,” Troy told Oprah’s Last Chapter in 2013 (via People). “She was older, which is always cool when you have a teenager who’s actually listening to you!”
“She helped me to become whole,” explained. “I think I learned as much or more from [Lulu] as she did from me. But on a psychological level, she helped complete me.”
Fonda Adopted Mary Luana After a Tragic Incident
Fonda never legally adopted Lulu, but rather took her in because they had formed a friendship and bond amid hard times. Lulu and her five siblings were raised by their single mother, Mary, after their father was arrested and sent to San Quentin. Mary had quit the Black Panthers when Lulu was only 6 and went to school to learn how to weld. However, after she injured her knee at work, things started to fall apart for the family. Some of Lulu’s siblings were dropping out of school, turning to drugs, or getting pregnant as teens.
Lulu initially met Fonda when she was 11 at Laurel Springs Children’s Camp in Santa Barbara. The two formed a friendship over the years, with Fonda being drawn to Lulu’s intellect and awareness.
One day, Lulu was terribly victimized. “I was assaulted. Sexually assaulted,” she told Oprah.
Fonda and Hayden tool Lulu in to help her get away from the deep traumas that were beginning to affect her grades and outlook on life.
“The Black Panthers, the Fondas, and the Turners, are as different as families can be,” Williams said. “But they all had one crucial thing in common: They were not shy about acting on their political beliefs … For them, the highest form of patriotism was dissent, all in the spirit of trying to make the world a better place.”
Lulu went on to become an author and activist. She wrote Brothers in Hope: The Story of the Lost Boys of Sudan, and then a memoir called The Lost Daughter. Williams also founded The Lost Boys Foundation, which helps Sudanese refugees.
