Painful Reveal

Jane Fonda: Mom Was Sexually Abused

Says tragedy explains a lot.

Jane Fonda told activists and philanthropists that her mother was sexually abused as a child before eventually committing suicide at age 42. The Oscar-winning actress and fitness guru made the revelation at an event celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Rape Treatment Center, at billionaire Ron Burkle's Greenacres estate in Beverly Hills. Fonda said that while writing her memoirs she reviewed her mother's medical records and discovered she had been sexually abused when she was 8. She said that when she learned the truth, "everything fell into place." Her mother, Frances Ford Seymour, committed suicide when Fonda was 12. The actress called sexual violence an "epidemic." California Governor Jerry Brown just signed a law addressing sexual assault on college campuses.