Mary Steenburgen, 72, says her perspective on aging changed after a conversation with Jane Fonda, 88.
Speaking to People in an interview published on Friday, Steenburgen said she hadn’t expected one of their early interactions to have such a lasting impact.
“When we became friends, I remember her almost walking out the front gate and then turning around, looking at me and saying, ‘Are we going to be friends?’ And I said, ‘Yes.’ And she said, ‘Now don’t just say it by rote. Are you going to be intentional? We’ve got to be. Because at my age, I have to be intentional,” Steenburgen said, recalling Fonda’s words.
“And I looked at the fierce, insanely gorgeous blue eyes and thought, ‘I see what she means.’ I see the intention behind them because there’s a clock, and you don’t know how long you have. But as you get older, it’s shorter,” she said.
Steenburgen and Fonda were costars in the 2018 film “Book Club,” and its 2023 sequel, “Book Club: The Next Chapter.”
That lesson has stayed with Steenburgen and now shapes how she spends time with the people closest to her.
“With not wasting time on people that aren’t in my life for the right reason, for being honest with myself about life. All that stuff, aging, it actually makes it more interesting,” Steenburgen said.
The actor said Fonda also encourages her to stay curious and not slow down.
“And then the other thing that she inspired was, she always said, ‘Don’t take your foot off the gas pedal. Push it down harder. Harder now.’ So we’re inspired by that,” Steenburgen said.
This isn’t the first time Steenburgen has spoken about the lessons she learned about aging. In a 2013 interview with Allure, shortly after she turned 60, Steenburgen said she was excited about growing older.
“I decided if you’re lucky enough to be alive, you should use each birthday to celebrate what your life is about,” she said.
Fonda has also consistently spoken about choosing to age thoughtfully and with intention.
In November, Fonda said turning 60 made her rethink how she wanted to spend her time.
“This is the beginning of my final act. And I didn’t know how to live it. So I thought, well, what am I most afraid of?” Fonda said. “I’m afraid of dying with a lot of regrets. I watched my dad die with a lot of regrets. That was an important realization for me, because if you don’t want to die with regrets, then you have to live the last part of your life in such a way that there won’t be any regrets.”
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