In her younger days of anti-war activism, she was regarded as a radical.
Now, at the age of 73, Jane Fonda is out to lead a revolution in the bedroom on behalf of her fellow pensioners.
Some 50 pages of the actress’s new autobiography are devoted to explaining how couples can keep the passion alive long after the vigour of their youth has faded.
The Hollywood star, who attributes her own youthful looks in part to an active sex life, says she can even tell simply by looking at people if they are having good sex .
Explaining her decision to talk about sex for the over-70s, usually a taboo subject, Miss Fonda said: “I wasn’t trying to be shocking, but I go into details, and it seems to have shocked people. I made a list of things to cover. I’m still sexually active. There are certain things that change as you age, and I wanted to talk about that.
The two-time Oscar-winner, who is currently in a relationship with 69-year-old music producer Richard Perry, describes herself as a late bloomer and said she wanted to talk openly about sex as others had failed to do so.
“I have never found a book that talks about everything from the psyche and spirit and wisdom to penile implants, she told Time magazine.
So I decided that I’d write about as much of the research as I possibly could everything I wanted to know as a woman who is 73 years old and still sexually active.
I see people who aren’t traditionally beautiful, but if they’re having good sex, you can tell.”
The star, who has had film success since the 1960s with the likes of Barbarella, They Shoot Horses, Don t They?, Nine To Five and Monster-In-Law, said she is happier than at any other time of her life.
Her latest book, called Prime Time, covers what she describes as the third act of her life.
She admits in the book to still worrying about how she looks and her advancing years have forced her to tone down her fitness routine.
She said: “I don’t do lunges because I have a fake knee and a fake hip. My arms are thin, but I’m vain about loose flesh.
And I’m so careful that what I wear will show off my best parts, which are my waist and my butt.”
Miss Fonda, who achieved notoriety as a political activist in the 1960s and was dubbed Hanoi Jane for her perceived anti-American views during the Vietnam War, reveals in the book how she has struggled with bulimia and a low self-image for most of her life.
She was one of the pioneers of the exercise videos for women but later admitted to undergoing cosmetic surgery to keep her figure.
She puts her body insecurities down to her upbringing and suggests that her late father, the actor Henry Fonda, contributed to them.
She said: “He was a good man, and I was mad for him, but he sent messages to me that fathers should not send: ‘Unless you look perfect, you’re not going to be loved’”.