My childhood was influenced by the roles my father played in his movies. Whether Abraham Lincoln or Tom Joad in the ’Grapes of Wrath ’ his characters communicated certain values which I try to carry with me to this day.

Jane Fonda is reflecting on the formative impact of her father, actor Henry Fonda, whose screen roles often embodied moral seriousness and civic virtue. By citing his portrayals of Abraham Lincoln (in John Ford’s film “Young Mr. Lincoln,” 1939) and Tom Joad (in “The Grapes of Wrath,” 1940), she points to characters associated with integrity, empathy for the dispossessed, and a commitment to justice. The remark situates her own values and public life—often marked by political engagement and advocacy—as partly shaped not only by her family environment but by the ethical ideals communicated through her father’s most iconic performances.

The quote suggests that art can function as moral education: Fonda’s “childhood” was influenced not merely by her father as a parent, but by the ethical models he projected on screen. Lincoln and Tom Joad represent different registers of American conscience—law, leadership, and compassion on one hand; social protest and solidarity with the poor on the other. By saying she tries to “carry” those values to this day, Fonda frames identity as an inheritance mediated through storytelling and performance. It also subtly distinguishes between celebrity and character: what mattered to her was not fame, but the virtues the roles dramatized and made emotionally persuasive.