Jane Fonda Revealed Weight Criticism Made Her Obsessed With Looks


Actress and fitness guru Jane Fonda has revealed that her father's criticism of her weight as a young girl gave her a lifelong obsession with her appearance.

The Barbarella star told You magazine that she suffered from periods of bulimia and anorexia as a result of comments made about her body while growing up, issues that she was not able to conquer until later in life.

Jane Fonda recalled, I was brought up to feel fat, though my father wouldn't tell me directly - he'd get one of his wives to tell me that I shouldn't wear a bikini. One day, I overheard him talking about me and I can't even tell you what he said because it traumatised me and I can't pretend I'll ever get over it.

So I was the product of objectifying parents and also a product of the '50s, when the way a woman looked was so important. It's why I pay attention to my appearance now. I believed that to be loved you had to be perfect, and even though I've got over that now, it took a long time."

The 73-year-old Fonda also spoke about the effect that her low self-esteem had on her relationships with men, adding, I went through phases of bingeing and purging and it was many years before I could sit at a table without feeling any anxiety. Bulimia is very easy to hide, but you can't be intimate with people if you're an addict.

Jane Fonda recently slammed shopping network QVC for cancelling a scheduled appearance following pressure from political activists.