Bridget Fonda is one of those actors whose career defined film in the '90s. After breaking out in The Godfather Part III as journalist Grace Hamilton, she went on to appear in Single White Female, Army of Darkness, Jackie Brown, and many other notable movies of that decade. Yet, for as busy as Fonda once was in Hollywood, she hasn't taken on a role in over 20 years and has completely stepped out of the spotlight. Recently, however, the retired star was spotted out in Los Angeles and gave some rare comments on why she no longer acts and whether or not she has any plans to return to her career. Read on to see what she said.
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Fonda comes from a show business family.
Brenda Chase / StringerNow 59, Fonda is part of an iconic family of actors. Her father was Peter Fonda (pictured with her above), and her aunt is Jane Fonda; their father was classic film star Henry Fonda. When the younger Fonda was just five years old, she made her feature film debut in an uncredited role in her father's film, Easy Rider.
But aside from that appearance, she wasn't a child actor. Fonda went to school to study acting, returning to the screen in the anthology film Aria in 1987. She took on a few more films and guest starred in a couple of TV shows in the '80s but didn't become a star until the next decade.
In the '90s, she worked across several genres, from the 1994 rom-com It Could Happen to You to the 1998 crime thriller A Simple Plan. Some of her movies, like 1992's ensemble rom-com Singles, heavily influenced the era in popular culture.
She walked away in the early '00s.
FeatureFlash Photo Agency/ShutterstockBetween 1990 and 1999, Fonda acted in 27 movies. And it looked at first as though the first decade of the '00s would be just as prolific for her. But after appearing in a few roles in 2000 and 2001, she largely disappeared from the screen.
Her final film credit is 2001's The Whole Shebang, and her final TV credit is the 2002 Hallmark movie The Snow Queen.
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Two life-changing events happened to her around that time.
s_bukley/ShutterstockIn 2003, Fonda was in a serious accident in which she rolled her car over an embankment. Per the New York Post, she survived the crash because she was fortunately wearing her seatbelt. The BBC reported when she was discharged from the hospital that two of her thoracic vertebrae were fractured, but that otherwise, her injuries were minor. When the accident occurred, the actor had been set for a guest arc on the legal drama The Practice; her part was recast with Meet the Parents star Teri Polo.
Also in 2003, Fonda married composer Danny Elfman. Two years later, they welcomed their only child, Oliver Elfman.
She has no plans to return to acting.
Frazer Harrison/Getty ImagesFor a few years after they tied the knot, Fonda would occasionally accompany Elfman to industry events. But she's been absent from the red carpet since the late '00s. As she recently explained to a photographer who spotted her at LAX on April 17, this suits her just fine.
When the paparazzo asked the former star if she planned to work as an actor again, Fonda simply replied, "No," as reported by The Daily Mail. Pressed further, she elaborated, "I don't think so, it's too nice being a civilian."
When he asked if there's any dream director who could woo her back into acting, Fonda again responded with a firm, "No."
Per The Daily Mail, the former actor lives with her husband and son on a ranch in Santa Barbara that they escaped to during the COVID lockdown, and can occasionally be seen out running errands, if not at industry parties.
