Bridget Fonda's Real Name: Bridget Jane Fonda

Quick answer: Bridget Fonda's full name is Bridget Jane Fonda. She was born on January 27, 1964, in Los Angeles, California, and acted under her birth name. She is the daughter of Peter Fonda, granddaughter of Henry Fonda and niece of Jane Fonda (Britannica; TV Guide).

A third-generation Fonda

Bridget's father, Peter Fonda, co-wrote and starred in Easy Rider (1969); her mother is Susan Brewer, Peter's first wife. Her grandfather Henry Fonda won the Academy Award for On Golden Pond, and her aunt Jane Fonda is a two-time Oscar winner. Bridget studied acting at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts and the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute.

Career highlights

• Scandal (1989) and The Godfather Part III (1990) brought her early attention.
• Single White Female (1992), opposite Jennifer Jason Leigh, became her signature thriller.
• Singles (1992), Cameron Crowe's Seattle comedy.
• Point of No Return (1993), the U.S. remake of La Femme Nikita.
• Jackie Brown (1997), playing Melanie for Quentin Tarantino.
• A Simple Plan (1998), with Bill Paxton and Billy Bob Thornton.

She received a Golden Globe nomination for Scandal and an Emmy nomination for HBO's In the Gloaming (1997). Her last role was the 2002 TV miniseries Snow Queen (People via Yahoo).

Life away from Hollywood

Fonda married composer Danny Elfman, known for The Simpsons theme and many Tim Burton scores, in 2003. Their son, Oliver, was born in 2005. She stepped away from acting to raise him and has rarely appeared in public since; her last red carpet with Elfman was the 2009 premiere of Inglourious Basterds. In 2023 she told a photographer it was "too nice being a civilian" to return.

Why she's trending

On November 2, 2026, Fonda, 62, was photographed on a rare outing in Los Angeles, having lunch with a friend. The photos drew wide coverage because she has been out of the spotlight for more than two decades (E! News).