Is it true that before Meryl came on the scene, it was Jane Fonda who was considered the greatest actress after Katharine Hepburn? Meryl debuting in the late '70s/early '80s around the same time that Jane stopped working as much in movies seems to be when Meryl took over the role of greatest actress of her generation.
shareYeah, I suppose. Fonda semi-retired when she got married to Ted Turner. But Meryl would have been a much bigger star, regardless. She could sing, dance, do comedy and drama, and any accent you threw at her.
Still, the greatest English speaking actress of that time was Vanessa Redgrave. Critics were in raptures when Fonda and Redgrave did a movie together. Fonda was Fonda was Fonda. Redgrave ACTED, as only the British, stage-trained actors can act. I can't stand Redgrave's politics, but she was perfection in everything I ever saw her in.
Nobody ever considered Jane Fonda "the greatest actress" of any generation.
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