Bridget Fonda doesn’t care about keeping up with the Kardashians — or even her aunt Jane Fonda — judging from the first public photos of her in 12 years.
These photos, seen today on her 58th birthday, show the once-svelte and glamorous star, who retired from acting in 2002, looking very different from her red carpet heyday.
Fonda was wearing a black-and-white-striped jersey top and black sweatpants, her face makeup-free, as she was spotted driving around Los Angeles and running errands.
She is part of the famous Fonda acting dynasty. Her grandfather was Oscar-winning screen legend Henry Fonda (who died at 77 in 1982), her father was “Easy Rider” star Peter Fonda (who died at 79 in 2019), and her aunt is actress and fitness guru Jane Fonda, 84.
Fonda reportedly left acting after a bad car accident in 2003, in which she fractured her back. That same year, she married composer and former Oingo Boingo frontman Danny Elfman, now 68. Their son, Oliver, 17, followed a year later. (Elfman has two daughters, Lola and Mali, from his marriage to Geri Eisenmenger.)
Elfman is still active in the entertainment industry and posts frequently on his Instagram account with 158,000 followers, which rarely showcases his family and instead focuses on his work as a musician and the family dog, Yuki. Two days ago, Elfman posted that he will be performing at the Coachella music festival this year.
Fonda’s biggest movie was the lead in 1992 thriller “Single White Female.” She is also known for her roles in “The Godfather Part III” in 1990, “Singles” in 1993, “Point of No Return” in 1993, “It Could Happen to You” in 1994, and “Jackie Brown” in 1997. Her last role was in a TV film called “Snow Queen” in 2002.
She made her movie debut in her dad’s classic film, “Easy Rider,” in 1969 when she was only 5 years old. She has a younger brother, Justin Fonda, 55, who works both behind and in front of the camera in film and TV.
One of the last times she was seen at a Hollywood event was in 2009 when she attended the LA premiere of Quentin Tarantino’s World War II film “Inglourious Basterds” with Elfman.
“I wonder what kind of satisfaction I would have with where I am now if I wasn’t part of a family that has done such phenomenal work,” Fonda told Movieline for a cover story in 1993. “I wonder what it would feel like to know that you’ve made it completely under your own steam. I sometimes wonder if I would be more at peace if I could know I made it by myself, instead of always wondering how many times my name got me in the door.”
Fonda, a 1986 graduate of NYU, also studied at the Lee Strasberg Theater Institute.
In February 2003, she miraculously survived a rollover car crash on the Pacific Coast Highway, walking away only because she wore her seat belt, authorities said at the time. Fonda had been headed south on the highway in Malibu when she lost control of her 2001 Jaguar — which flipped over an embankment and tumbled downhill.
Later, it was reported that the injury she suffered to her back was more serious than originally thought. It is said that her accident, combined with her son’s birth in 2004, led her to retire from acting and focus on being a mother.
Bridget has apparently stayed close to her aunt Jane over the years. Photos of a Christmas party hosted by Bridget and her husband in 2009 are displayed on Jane’s website.
“Bridget and Danny give an annual Christmas party, each one with a theme,” Jane Fonda wrote. “This year was Cuba and there was a fantastic full Cuban band. Many people wore costumes. We did a minimal job on costumes but had fun anyway. Vanessa (Fonda’s daughter) and my grandchildren just got in from Atlanta in time for the party and to see their cousin Oliver.”
Prior to meeting and marrying Elfman, Fonda was in a relationship with Eric Stoltz for about seven years until the two broke up around 1998. She later dated musician Dwight Yoakam from 1999 to April 2002.
She and Elfman live with their son in two neighboring properties worth about $8 million located in Encino in the San Fernando Valley just outside Los Angeles. They bought the adjoining properties last year after selling their estate in Hancock Park. They also have a ranch in Santa Barbara.
While she seems to have found personal happiness since her marriage to Elfman, Fonda did not always come across as totally confident in early interviews. In 1993, she begged a journalist not to write that she was smoking. When he asked her why, she said she was worried about her grandmother reading that she smoked.
She also said, “I smoke when I’m nervous. I get nervous about not being a good interview.”
Representatives for Fonda and Elfman could not be reached by The Post Thursday.
