Peter Fonda Biography

When Peter Fonda said, "I was famous from birth," he wasn't describing a blessing, but a curse. "From the time I was born, I was Henry Fonda's son. I could be digging a ditch now and the guys at the other end of the ditch would be going, 'Do you know who that is?'" As the child of one of America's greatest thespians, Fonda enjoyed early success on Broadway at 22. Yet every time he made his entrance he'd hear the audience buzzing—"Oh, he walks just like his dad"—to all the directors and fellow actors who resented him because they thought his name brought him unfair advantage, digging ditches might have been easier than following in the footsteps of one of the world's greatest actors.

In 1969's Easy Rider, Fonda gunned his Harley Davidson into the hazy American consciousness as Captain America. In three short years (1966-'69)—from The Wild Angels to The Trip to Easy Rider—he became a symbol of the turmoil and alienation of an era, and galvanized the rebellious spirit of 60's youth.

Branded a bad boy, and slandered by rumors of drug addiction, he was shut out of the movie industry. After 28 years of frustration with his inability to land a decent role, Peter decided to rededicate himself to acting. He worked with a private coach to refine his skills and resurfaced with a well-received performance as a vampire hunter in Nadja, a black-and-white independent vampire film in 1994. However, it was in 1997 that he proved he was more than the delinquent spawn of Henry Fonda. As a tight-lipped Florida beekeeper who struggles to hold his family together in Ulee's Gold (1997), he caused a stir in showbiz circles and earned an Oscar nomination for Best Actor. Over the years, he has appeared in several different genres of movies and he recently appeared (as himself) in the 2012 documentary Corman's World: Exploits of a Hollywood Rebel about the iconic director/producer Roger Corman.

Divorced twice, Fonda was the father of two children, Bridget and Justin from his first marriage to Susan Brewer. He divided his time between Los Angeles and his ranch in Montana just north of Yellowstone National Park. Fonda died of lung cancer at 79 in Los Angeles on August 16, 2019.