She apologized many years later, remorsefully telling O magazine in June 2000 that, “It was the most horrible thing I could possibly have done.”

In March 2001, Fonda donated $12.5 million to Harvard University's School of Education, the largest donation in the school's history. Fonda designated the money to create a center on gender and education studies. In a statement she said, "We still have a culture that teaches girls and boys a distorted view of what it takes to be women and men."

Fonda’s marriage to Roger Vadim in 1965 produced one daughter. The couple divorced in 1970. Her marriage to Tom Hayden in 1973 lasted until 1989, and together they had one son. In 1991, Fonda married media mogul Ted Turner. After nine years of marriage, the couple announced their separation in early 2000. Fonda filed for divorce in April 2001, and the split was finalized the following month.