Jane Fonda Says She’s ‘Not Going to Be Around for Much Longer’

Jane Fonda is coming to terms with her own mortality, with a month to go before her 85th birthday. The living legend announced in September that she was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and started chemotherapy treatments. That has not slowed her activism at all though.

In an interview with Entertainment Tonight last week, Fonda spoke about the importance of celebrities when it comes to raising awareness for important causes. One of those causes close to her heart is Georgia Campaign for Adolescent Power and Potential (GCAPP), which she founded in 1995. The health organization reaches out to other youth-serving groups in Georgia to provide young people with important knowledge and motivation to maximize their potential.

“For better or worse, celebrities bring attention to a subject matter. And I’m not gonna be around for much longer and we need to get celebrities involved in this issue so they can help keep it going,” the two-time Oscar winner told ET. “When you get to be my age, you better be aware of the amount of time that is behind you as opposed to in front of you. I mean, that’s just realistic.”

Fonda said one of her personal goals is to live long enough to see her “grandkids get old enough so I go out knowing they’re gonna be OK.” She added, “That would be important… But, you know, my work on the climate is gonna be something. I’ll be doing that till I drop.”

The Grace and Frankie star has big plans for her 85th birthday. Fonda will reach that milestone on Dec. 21. “My family will be there. My daughter and grandkids will come in from Vermont and my son and his wife and child, who live in Los Angeles, and a few friends will come over, and we’ll just we’ll have a quiet time,” she told ET.

As for her health, Fonda is “doing fine” today. “The week that I get chemo is challenging, you get tired, but then after that week it’s great,” Fonda said. “I’ve been traveling, campaigning for climate candidates.”  Fonda added that the outpouring of support she has seen “means a lot to me… It moves me very much.”

Fonda recently finished work on Grace and Frankie for Netflix but has no immediate plans to retire. She filmed the upcoming 80 for Brady, which reunites her with Grace and Frankie star Lily Tomlin and two other Hollywood icons, Rita Moreno and Sally Field. The movie is based on the true story of four friends who take a wild trip to see Tom Brady play in Super Bowl LI. Paramount will release the movie on Feb. 3, less than two weeks before Super Bowl LVII.