Hollywood actress and fitness guru Jane Fonda has revealed that she was raped in the past and suffered sexual abuse as a child.

In an online interview with fellow actress Brie Larson, Fonda talked about the "extent to which a patriarchy takes a toll on females".

She said: "I've been raped, I've been sexually abused as a child and I've been fired because I wouldn't sleep with my boss.

"I always thought it was my fault; that I didn't do or say the right thing."

The star of films including 9 To 5 and Barbarella also said she was aware of young girls being raped who did not realise they had been abused.


Oscar-winner Fonda is a passionate activist for women's rights. She is a supporter of the V-Day movement, which works to stop violence against women and girls.

Image: Fonda is a passionate activist for women's rights

The Grace And Frankie actress, 79, said in The Edit online magazine: "I know young girls who've been raped and didn't even know it was rape.

"They think, 'It must have been because I said 'no' the wrong way'."

She said she wants to help abuse victims "realise that [rape and abuse is] not our fault. We were violated and it's not right."

Fonda said it took her "a long time" to embrace feminism because "I was brought up with the disease to please".

In 2014, she revealed her mother Frances Ford Seymour had been sexually abused at the age of eight.

She said she found out the news while reviewing her mother's medical records as she wrote her memoirs.

Her mother committed suicide at 42 when Fonda was 12.