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Jane Fonda to deliver USC's Annenberg commencement speech
Academy Award-winning actor and author Jane Fonda will deliver USC's Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism commencement speech as its 2025 keynote speaker, the school announced Thursday.
LOS ANGELES - Jane Fonda, the acclaimed Academy Award-winning actor and activist, will deliver the commencement speech at USC's Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism in 2025.
What we know:
Jane Fonda, who has won numerous awards including two Academy Awards and seven Golden Globe Awards, will be the keynote speaker at the Annenberg School's commencement ceremony.
Annenberg Dean Willow Bay highlighted Fonda's ability to use communication as a catalyst for change, encouraging the class of 2025 to follow suit.
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Fonda is renowned not only for her acting career but also for her activism. She played a significant role in the counterculture movement during the Vietnam War and protested the Iraq War.
Currently in what she calls her "third act," 87-year-old Fonda has dedicated her voice to climate activism. In 2021, she published "What Can I Do?: The Path from Climate Despair to Action," which discussed her own journey in advocacy and outlined actions to combat climate change. Fonda spent her 82nd birthday in jail after being arrested at a climate protest in Washington, D.C.
Her many movies include "Barbarella" (1968), "Klute" (1971), "Coming Home" (1978), "On Golden Pond" (1981) and most recently, "Our Souls at Night" (2017), alongside Robert Redford.
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What they're saying:
"Fonda reminds us that communication -- whether through story, advocacy or dialogue -- is an essential catalyst for positive change, and inspires our class of 2025 to use their voices with purpose," Annenberg Dean Willow Bay stated.
The backstory:
USC Annenberg’s past speakers have included global media leader Oprah Winfrey; tennis legend Billie Jean King; founder of culinary brand Momofuku David Chang; media innovator and entrepreneur Maverick Carter; and former First Lady of California and journalist Maria Shriver.
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The Issue Is: Jane Fonda
Actresses Jane Fonda and Julia Louis-Dreyfus are fighting to stop more oil production in California.. and have some strong words for Gov. Newsom in the process.
What's next:
Fonda will address graduates at the Shrine Auditorium on May 16.
The Source: Information for this story is from a press release published by USC's Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism on April 3, 2025.