Fonda was especially pliant with Vadim, agreeing (reluctantly, at first) to share their bed with other women and selected couples, including a one-time fling with Dennis Hopper and his then-wife Brooke Hayward. She even solicited ladies for their threesomes and had affairs she would describe to Vadim, according to the book.
Bosworth, a former actress who first met Fonda when they were students at the prestigious Actors Studio in the early 1960s, is sympathetic to Fonda. She doesn't fawn, however.
The bio includes unflattering stories that point out some of Fonda's less admirable traits, including her obsession with money and looks. She's had several plastic surgeries and still fretted about finances even after she was extremely wealthy.
Oscar-Winning Roles
Bosworth does a fairly standard review of Fonda's movie career, from her futuristic sex-goddess in Vadim's "Barbarella" to her Oscar-winning roles as a disillusioned hooker in "Klute" and a military officer's wife who falls in love with a disabled Vietnam vet in "Coming Home."
Fonda finally got to work with her father in "On Golden Pond," which earned Henry Fonda his only acting Oscar just four months before his death in 1982.
The film had special resonance for Jane because it portrayed a thorny father-daughter relationship much like the one she had with her own dad. Henry Fonda cast a huge shadow over Jane, who was always tormented by his lack of affection.
"I dream about him," she told Bosworth. "Wonder if he'd approve of what I'm doing now."
For many years Jane had problems connecting with Vanessa (her daughter with Vadim) and stepdaughter Nathalie Vadim. She was closer to Troy, her son with Hayden, and Lulu, a black girl she informally adopted during her marriage to Hayden.
Now 73 and single, Fonda is still evolving. In her senior years, she has become a born-again Christian, made a movie comeback in "Monster-in-Law," beaten breast cancer and turned into a doting grandmother.