Bridget Fonda’s Disappearance: What Happened to '90s Star & Why She Quit Hollywood
Sometimes actors just decide to leave the set for good.
Bridget had no choice about what she wanted to do with her life. Her grandfather, the famous actor Henry Fonda, her father, the two-time Golden Globe winner Peter Fonda, and her aunt, the brilliant Jane Fonda, told her from an early age that her destiny was on the silver screen. Bridget had her first audition at the age of three and her first film shoot at five.
The girl appeared with her father in the movie Easy Rider, but she was not even mentioned in the credits. But in her third film, Aria, where Bridget auditioned at the age of 23, she was noticed.
Bridget Fonda's Rise to Fame
The start of her career was truly spectacular: Bridget starred in the films Shag and Scandal and then appeared in The Godfather Part III. But the actress herself was very skeptical of her success. She realized how many doors her last name had opened for her and constantly wondered what she would have accomplished on her own.
Opportunities kept coming for Bridget – one day Quentin Tarantino sat next to her on a plane and asked her to star in his movie. So Fonda appeared in the crime drama Jackie Brown, which became the gem of her filmography. And then the actress played her best role – Allison Jones in the movie Single White Female.
The Actress' Unexpected Disappearance Has an Understandable Reason
Things got worse in the 2000s. First, the actress began to turn down directors' offers, and then she disappeared from the screen completely. At first, her husband, the famous composer Danny Elfman, who considered himself a cynic – a follower of Greek philosophy – was blamed.
According to this philosophy, people can achieve happiness without the commonly accepted desire for wealth and fame. Danny was accused of convincing his wife that she did not need fame as an actress.
But then came the news of Bridget's terrible accident. In 2003, the actress was driving on a rain-slicked road, lost control and the car flipped over. Although the accident was serious, Bridget managed to get out of it without any life-threatening injuries.
However, the reason for Fonda's departure from Hollywood was not her husband's influence or even an accident – the actress simply made a choice in favor of family.