Bridget Fonda comes from a long line of notable actors. Daughter of writer, director, and actor Peter Fonda (best known for Easy Rider and Ulee’s Gold), granddaughter of pioneering actor Henry Fonda (The Grapes of Wrath and On Golden Pond), and niece of actor and activist Jane Fonda, Bridget no doubt had to work hard to find her own voice and prove she was more than her name. Eventually appearing in dozens of films and becoming one of the biggest stars in Hollywood in the 1990s, she married composer Danny Elfman and walked away from celebrity in 2002, choosing to focus on raising their son. But she left behind a career that proved her range and willingness to try almost anything. Here are our choices for Bridget Fonda’s 9 best performances in film and television.
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9 The Godfather Part III (1990)
Paramount Pictures
Fonda plays journalist Grace Hamilton in The Godfather Part III, released to mixed reviews in 1990. We meet her early in the film, as she interacts with both Andy García as Vincent and Al Pacino as Michael. She is an intriguing character, out of place at a party full of Italian friends of the Corleone family. While it seems like she might become central to the plot, after a harrowing night with Vincent, she regrettably disappears from the picture. Fonda reportedly auditioned for the much larger role of Michael’s daughter Mary. We can only wonder if the film would have been better received if director Francis Ford Coppola had chosen Fonda to fill in for Winona Ryder, instead of his daughter Sofia.
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8 It Could Happen to You (1994)
TriStar Pictures
In 1994’s It Could Happen to You, cop Charlie (played by 1990s superstar Nicolas Cage), doesn’t have enough money to tip waitress Yvonne (Fonda), so he promises her half his lottery winnings from the ticket in his pocket, which of course, turns out to be a winner. Critics more than audiences, appreciated this earnest movie that might have come from Frank Capra a couple of generations earlier. It’s clearly not one of Fonda’s more complex characters, but that just proves she was a capable actress, ready and able to take on any role.
7 Point Of No Return (1993)
Warner Bros.
There’s a good argument that Luc Besson’s 1991 French thriller La Femme Nikita did not need to be remade just two years later. But Hollywood did it anyway, and Fonda was cast as the lead, a troubled young woman named Maggie, sentenced to death, but secretly trained as an assassin for the government instead. In part because it was a remake of a film that had been so recently well-received, Point Of No Return was divisive among both critics and audiences. But here again, Fonda shows her range, this time as an action star. It’s also interesting to note that Bridget’s legendary grandfather Henry Fonda starred in a Broadway play of the same name in the early 1950s, though there is no connection to the movie.
6 Singles (1992)
Sometimes confused or overlooked because of the other 1992 Fonda movie with “single” in its title (see below), Cameron Crowe’s Singles is a romantic comedy. It introduced audiences to the Seattle grunge scene that was about to explode and have a major effect on 1990s music and pop culture. Though an ensemble piece, Fonda as Janet is one of the leads, arguably the star, in a part written just for her by Crowe. She brings a vulnerability to her role, making funny quips, but struggling with self-worth. Fonda compels audiences, especially women, to feel real pity as the aspiring architect considers plastic surgery just to please her boyfriend, though it does all work out in the end.
5 Jackie Brown (1997)
Miramax
In 1997, Bridget Fonda was at the pinnacle of her career, and one of the hottest actors in Hollywood. Quentin Tarantino, too, was being watched closely, following the success of Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction. His next film was Jackie Brown, and Fonda was set to portray pot-smoking girlfriend Melanie Ralston. Though a relatively small supporting part, Fonda called it “her most satisfying role yet” at the time. She spends most of the movie in short shorts and a bikini top, but Fonda still worked hard to find the character and make it her own.
4 Single White Female (1992)
Columbia Pictures
Single White Female’s reputation has improved with age, still a pop culture reference, even for those who weren’t yet born at the time of its 1992 release. Though not particularly well-reviewed at its debut, and often dismissed as a formulaic thriller, Fonda’s performance as Allison was never questioned. Indeed, there was award talk for both her and co-lead Jennifer Jason Leigh, though little came of it. Still, it remains one of Fonda’s best known roles, and inspired many future movies about dangerous house guests, including the 2011 blatant rip-off, The Roommate.
3 Scandal (1989)
Palace Pictures
One of Fonda’s earliest film roles was also among her best. Scandal is based on a true story of an incident in the British government in the 1960s. Fonda played real-life model and showgirl Mandy Rice-Davies, who was still very much a public figure at the time of the film’s release in 1989. Indeed, the affairs with government officials in which Rice-Davies was a part some 25 years earlier were still such a sensitive topic that attempts to make a miniseries in Britain had been blocked. Fonda was described in reviews as calculating, even vicious, but also funny and intelligent, all traits she would use again in future portrayals. And she was rewarded with a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture.
2 In the Gloaming (1997)
HBO
Bridget Fonda was best known as a film actress, but she made television appearances throughout her career as well, including in an episode of 21 Jump Street in 1989, just before her breakout movie roles. But Fonda’s most critically celebrated television performance was in the 1997 made-for-television drama In the Gloaming, which was also Christopher Reeve’s directorial debut. It was nominated for 5 Primetime Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie for Fonda. The all-star cast also included Glenn Close, David Strathairn, Robert Sean Leonard, and Whoopi Goldberg, in a story about a family dealing with AIDS.
1 A Simple Plan (1998)
Filmmaker Sam Raimi, best known for the Evil Dead franchise and many comic book adaptations (notably the first Spider-Man trilogy and most recently Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness), also directed the 1998 slow-burn crime mystery A Simple Plan. In it, Fonda plays pregnant wife Sarah, whose husband Hank Mitchell (Bill Paxton), along with his brother Jacob (Billy Bob Thornton), find a crashed plane full of money. Roger Ebert called the performances “flawless” and applauded Fonda for being direct, allowing the audience to identify with her character, even as she grows greedy, enabling Hank’s later crimes.
Shot in snowy Minnesota, comparisons to Fargo were inevitable (Thornton has since starred in the series based on that film), and probably not helpful, as the film underperformed. And A Simple Plan is still a Raimi movie, with occasional blood splatters, dissolves between scenes, and a score from Fonda’s future husband, Danny Elfman. But among the many twists and turns of this underappreciated psychological thriller, it’s the portrayals by Fonda and the other leads that force audiences to consider if they might go down the same dark path, a rare feat for a crime film.
