London - She has attributed her youthful looks to a healthy love life and given hope to millions by saying she started having the best sex of her life once she had turned 70.
So it is something of a let down to discover that even a sex symbol like Jane Fonda needs a bit of artificial help.
The Barbarella star, now 73, has revealed she began taking the male sex hormone testosterone three years ago.
Advising other women of a certain age how to pep up their love lives, the three-times married actress, political activist and fitness guru said: “Here’s something I haven’t said publicly yet: I discovered testosterone about three years ago, which makes a huge difference if you want to remain sexual and your libido has dropped.
“Use testosterone. It comes in a gel, pill or patch.”
Earlier this year, Robbie Williams shocked his legions of female fans by admitting he was injecting himself with testosterone to boost his sex drive.
Although testosterone is usually thought of as a male hormone, it is also made by women, but in much smaller amounts.
Levels drop off after the menopause, leading to some doctors prescribing testosterone alongside more traditional hormone replacement therapy.
It is relatively cheap, costing around £50 (about R600) for six months’ supply.
But a reinvigorated love life can come at a cost. Miss Fonda, who is in a relationship with 69-year-old music producer Richard Perry, said: “I had to stop because it was giving me acne.
“It’s one thing to have plastic surgery, but it is quite another to have adolescent acne.”
Two years ago, Miss Fonda created envy in millions of bedrooms by telling how she was having the best sex of her life, despite having had spinal surgery and boasting an artificial knee and a titanium hip.
More recently, she has devoted a chapter of her autobiography to sex tips for the over 70s. - Daily Mail