Cynicism makes me angry. It's like: why bother to live, then? What's the point? And it's so common today. I'm a fairly hopeful person. I've seen too many people change in profound ways for me to be cynical.

I think the current protests around the world are great, even if I don't agree with what they're about. I like to see people putting their beliefs on the line – it means there's some freedom.

Most of the advice I got from my dad [Henry Fonda] came through the characters he played in films like 12 Angry Men, The Grapes of Wrath and The Wrong Man. He played these characters that were brave and strong and believed in justness and equality, which taught me to pay attention to those traits.

I only learn from failures and tragedies. It's in the ashes of a disaster that the phoenix can rise again. You think you're breaking down, but you're really breaking open.

I had a nervous breakdown at the end of my second marriage. I couldn't walk, I couldn't eat, I couldn't speak above a whisper. I worked out, which kept me alive – I ache, so I must be still here. Exercising through the trauma kept me going.

There's a difference between isolation and solitude. I choose solitude.

I've learned that people tend to get happier over 50 – less stressed, less anxious, less hostile. They don't know why, but scientists surmise it's because we've been there, done that, and none of it killed us. You don't make mountains out of molehills, you make lemonade out of lemons. Everything becomes more positive.

Older is happier. The worst time for women is your early 50s – menopause is so difficult, but it gets better! I call this time the fertile void – learn lessons from it, because you'll come out the other side so much stronger.

Sex is important to me, but only because I'm in a relationship. Some women are like: "Thank God that's over" and get quite upset when Viagra rears its head. Friendships, grandchildren, travel – there's a tremendously fulfilling life to be had without a sexual relationship later in life.

Sex at my age can be difficult, but it can be better, because the biggest sex organ is the brain. Intimacy is easier when you know who you are, which can be very sexy.

I rely on careful lighting and a lot of candles. The hardest part of ageing for me is the sagging skin, and I work out regularly. I position myself as well as possible.

I feel more like me than ever. I didn't feel like me while shooting Barbarella. The director was my husband and my marriage was on the rocks. I'd love to do it over.

Mine is an incredibly positive story because I'm a late bloomer. Now that we live on average 34 years longer than we did a century ago, this has its advantages.

I was brought up to believe that you have to be perfect in order to be loved – look perfect, be thin, be emotionally perfect – and my parents didn't know how to make me feel like I was good enough. It's hard to get over that. Therapy helped.

I'm a very flawed woman who's made the most of what she's been given, who remains youthful because I remain curious – I'm always learning.



Jane Fonda, Prime Time: Fit & Strong is out now on DVD