The pressures that come with being born into an acting dynasty can be severe, but actress Bridget Fonda handled them with grace, molding a successful career for herself throughout her youth in hit movies like Single White Female (1992), Point of No Return (1993), Jackie Brown (1997) and more.

The granddaughter of actor Henry Fonda and the niece of actress Jane Fonda, her destiny was a place on the screen, but by 2002, the actress left the life of glitz and glamour behind. So, what happened to Bridget Fonda? Read all about her life here!

The actress’ early life

The now 60-year-old actress was born in sunny California in close proximity to the limelight of Hollywood. Long before she had any formal training in the arts, she was building her resume at as early as 5 years old, her film debut coming in 1969’s Easy Rider, where she shared the screen with her grandfather Peter.

She wouldn’t be seen on the screen again until 1982 where she had a part in Partners, but it wasn’t until 1990 that she had a breakthrough role in The Godfather Part III as journalist Grace Hamilton.

Before she took to the screen in the third installment of the famed film series, some of her credits included You Can’t Hurry Love (1988), Scandal (1989), and she had appearances in series like 21 Jump Street and and The Edge.

Bridget Fonda best movies

One of her most celebrated movies was Single White Female (1992), in which she starred alongside Jennifer Jason Leigh as Allie Jones, a woman who ends things with her fiancée and finds herself with a roommate that isn’t what she seems.

In the following year she could be seen in Point of No Return (1993) and in 1997, she had a leading role in Quentin Tarantino’s Jackie Brown alongside Pam Grier.

Fonda played the part of Melanie, girlfriend to Samuel L. Jackson’s character of Ordell Robbie, an arms dealer. The film also featured additional Hollywood greats including Robert De Niro, Michael Keaton and Robert Forster.

Movies like Lake Placid (1999) and Kiss of the Dragon (2001) came in its wake, but by 2002, she made her last appearance on the screen in Snow Queen.

What happened to Bridget Fonda

The retired actress, now 60 years old, built a diverse resume for herself, showcasing her ability to play a wide variety of characters. In 2003, she was involved in a serious car accident that caused her car to roll downhill and into an embankment.

Luckily for Fonda, her injuries weren’t life-threatening, however, the time of the accident coincided with the end of her acting career — but that isn’t to say that was the reason, or that the career shift was negative.

In 2003, she married famed composer Danny Elfman, the mastermind behind films from The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) and Good Will Hunting (1997) to the Fifty Shades of Grey franchise.

In 2023, the retired actress was spotted at Los Angeles International Airport. When asked if she would ever make her way back to Hollywood, she simply replied, “No,” explaining that “it’s too nice being a civilian.”

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This story was originally published July 1, 2024, 6:00 PM.