Jane Fonda pulled no punches in her 2025 SAG Life Achievement Award acceptance speech.
And she also did a little improv, proving that she’s the ultimate icon.
On a night when the union pride in the room is always strong, Fonda—vibrant AF at 87—was extolling the importance of SAG-AFTRA when the evening’s announcer all of a sudden cut in, saying, “We return, here at the 31st…”
A technical difficulty that could have rattled a less seasoned performer, but Fonda—who as presenter Julia Louis-Dreyfus noted has been at this game for 65 years—survived and thrived.
“I can conjure up voices!” quipped the actress, activist and workout icon, who stunned in an Armani Privé gown and Pomellato jewels. After which she had to hold for all the applause. (See all the 2025 SAG Award winners.)
It was also, incidentally, the second sound mishap of the night, Fonda remarking when she got some microphone feedback as she took the stage, “What about the sound system? I’m gonna talk loud!”
And the daughter of screen legend Henry Fonda did not disappoint in any way, using the platform to remark on being a “late bloomer” and to meet the moment, her history of political activism and social justice work front and center as she reminded her fellow actors, “What we create is empathy. Our job is to understand another human being so profoundly that we can touch their souls.”
In addition to being a three-time SAG Award nominee for Grace and Frankie (outstanding performance by a female actor in a comedy series in 2017, 2018 and 2019) as well as for 2013’s The Butler (as part of the film’s ensemble), Fonda is a two-time Best Actress Oscar winner, for 1971’s Klute and 1978’s Coming Home. (And the anti-war activist secured a spot on then-President Richard Nixon‘s enemies list, as Louis-Dreyfus proudly listed among Fonda’s accolades.)
“This means the world to me!” she began her speech. “Thank you, SAG-AFTRA., thank you. And your enthusiasm makes this seem less like a late twilight of my life, and more like a ‘go girl, kick ass.'”
Can confirm.
“Which is good,” she continued, “because I’m not done. You know, I have had a really weird career. Totally not—as my agents there are that table will testify to—totally unstrategic. I retired for 15 years, then I came back at 65, which is not usual. And then I made one of my most successful movies in my 80s and probably in my 90s I’ll be doing my own stunts in an action movie.”
If she wanted to, there’s no doubt she could do it.
“Have you ever heard the phrase, how does it go, ‘it’s ok to be a late bloomer as long as you don’t miss the flower show’?” she continued. “I’m the late bloomer. This is the flower show.”
On why she loves acting, Fonda explained, “We get to open people’s minds to new ideas, take them beyond what they understand of the world and help them laugh when things are tough, like now. And for a woman like me who grew up in the 40s and 50s when women weren’t supposed to have opinions and get angry, acting gave me a chance to play angry women with opinions. Which as you know is a bit of a stretch for me, but…”
After singing the praises of SAG-AFTRA and deftly handling the audio malfunction, she returned to the subject of empathy, because, she said, “a whole lot of people are going to be really hurt by what is happening, what is coming our way. And even if they’re of a different political persuasion, we have to call upon our empathy and not judge, but listen from our hearts and welcome them to our tent—and we are going to need a big tent to resist successfully what’s coming at us.”
She called this “our documentary moment,” and “it’s not a rehearsal.”
In finding out she’d be this year’s recipient, Fonda said that, after working in the industry for almost her whole life, “there’s no honor like the one bestowed by you on your peers.”
“SAG-AFTRA works tirelessly to protect the working actor and to ensure that union members are being treated equitably in all areas,” she noted, “and I am proud to be a member as we continue to work to protect generations of performers to come.”
Recent recipients of the honor include Barbra Streisand, Sally Field, Helen Mirren and Robert De Niro. Fonda’s dear friend and 9 to 5 costar Lily Tomlin received the award in 2016.
See the full list of winners from the 2025 SAG Awards:
Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
A Complete Unknown
Anora
WINNER: Conclave
Emilia Pérez
Wicked
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
Pamela Anderson—The Last Showgirl
Cynthia Erivo—Wicked
Karla Sofía Gascón—Emilia Pérez
Mikey Madison—Anora
WINNER: Demi Moore—The Substance
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
Adrien Brody—The Brutalist
WINNER: Timothée Chalamet—A Complete Unknown
Daniel Craig—Queer
Colman Domingo—Sing Sing
Ralph Fiennes—Conclave
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role
Monica Barbaro—A Complete Unknown
Jamie Lee Curtis—The Last Showgirl
Danielle Deadwyler—The Piano Lesson
Ariana Grande—Wicked
WINNER: Zoe Saldaña— Emilia Pérez
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role
Jonathan Bailey—Wicked
Yura Borisov—Anora
WINNER: Kieran Culkin—A Real Pain
Edward Norton— A Complete Unknown
Jeremy Strong—The Apprentice
Outstanding Action Performance By a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture
Deadpool & Wolverine
Dune: Part Two
WINNER: The Fall Guy
Gladiator II
Wicked
Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series
Bridgerton
The Day of The Jackal
The Diplomat
WINNER: Shogun
Slow Horses
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series
Kathy Bates—Matlock
Nicola Coughlan—Bridgerton
Allison Janney—The Diplomat
Keri Russell—The Diplomat
WINNER: Anna Sawai—Shogun
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series
Tadanobu Asano—Shogun
Jeff Bridges—The Old Man
Gary Oldman—Slow Horses
Eddie Redmayne—The Day of The Jackal
WINNER: Hiroyuki Sanada—Shogun
Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series
Abbott Elementary
The Bear
Hacks
WINNER: Only Murders in The Building
Shrinking
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series
Kristen Bell—Nobody Wants This
Quinta Brunson—Abbott Elementary
Liza Colón-Zayas—The Bear
Ayo Edebiri—The Bear
WINNER: Jean Smart—Hacks
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series
Adam Brody—Nobody Wants This
Ted Danson —A Man on The Inside
Harrison Ford—Shrinking
WINNER: Martin Short—Only Murders in The Building
Jeremy Allen White—The Bear
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Limited Series
Javier Bardem—Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story
WINNER: Colin Farrell—The Penguin
Richard Gadd—Baby Reindeer
Kevin Kline—Disclaimer
Andrew Scott—Ripley
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Limited Series
Kathy Bates—The Great Lillian Hall
Cate Blanchett—Disclaimer
Jodie Foster— True Detective: Night Country
Lily Gladstone—Under the Bridge
WINNER: Jessica Gunning—Baby Reindeer
Cristin Milioti—The Penguin
Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Television Series
The Boys
Fallout
House of the Dragon
The Penguin
WINNER: Shogun
