Frances Ford Seymour (1908-1950) was an American citizen but born in Canada who was part of high society. She had a lot of influence in various charitable and social events, although her greatest recognition came for having married Henry Fonda, a well-known actor of the time.
Her life was short, as she ended up committing suicide at the age of 42, due to the enormous psychological problems that the sexual abuse that she suffered as a child left in her life. Or so her daughter claims.
A short life but one that left as a legacy two great actors who have become myths of cinema and of cultural and social life in general: Jane and Peter Fonda.
Early years
She was born in Brockville, Ontario, Canada, the daughter of Eugene Ford Seymour and Sophie Mildred. Although not much is known about her parents, it is known that they were part of high society, perhaps due to their family relationship with Henry VIII of England.
At the age of 23, she married George Tuttle Brokaw, a famous American millionaire lawyer and athlete. He came from a divorce with the writer Clare Boothe, with whom he only lived for 6 years, since according to Clare he was an aggressive alcoholic who brought many problems to the family peace.
Frances and George had a daughter, Frances de Villers Brokaw, who became a renowned painter. They also adopted a daughter, Ann Clare Brokaw, who only lived for 20 years, from 1924 to 1944. She was killed in a car accident.
Marriage to Henry Fonda
Frances became a widow of this marriage in 1935, when her husband, 51, fell into the pool of the sanatorium where he was admitted for a time, possibly to treat his problems with alcohol.
A year later, she married the famous actor Henry Fonda, with whom she had two children: Peter and Jane Fonda. They met on the set of the movie Wings of the Morning and were married for 14 years.
However, Henry's comings and goings brought infidelities that caused great problems in their marriage. On the one hand, there was the apparent psychological problems of Frances due to having suffered sexual abuse and various rapes when she was only a child, and on the other hand, Henry's coldness and lack of empathy to understand his wife's feelings.
All this made Henry want a divorce to marry Susan Blanchard, an actress 23 years younger than him with whom he already had a relationship. This was only the straw that broke the camel's back of an unhappy life full of abuse, suffering and problems, something that Frances could not bear.
Death
She ended her life in the mental hospital she was admitted to, Craig House in Beacon, New York. She cut her throat with a razor just after her 42nd birthday and just three months after learning that her husband wanted a divorce.
Their children Peter and Jane were 12 and 10 years old respectively. His remains rest in the Ogdensburg Cemetery, New York.
Your personality
There isn't much about this woman's life that brings more insight. However, his daughter, Jane Fonda, wrote her memoirs, in which her mother and her personality were a large part of them.
According to her, Frances was neither a conventional wife nor mother, something her children always held against her. She had an inordinate obsession with looking beautiful, showed an enormous inability to love and to be trustworthy and intimate with her children.
She had multiple surgeries performed and was known to be a promiscuous woman. While many blamed Henry for being to blame for their failed marriage and for asking for a divorce, it seems that Frances was also guilty of it.
Jane Fonda was the one who revealed to the world, even against what her brother wanted, that her mother was the victim of great abuse and rape as a child, and that these reasons were undoubtedly those that marked her personality and those that led her to divorce.
It explains why I can be 'happy' with a man who was an alcoholic until his death, or why he committed suicide when he learned that his second husband wanted a divorce, when their marriage was hell.
Her emotional dependence was the biggest consequence of a terrible childhood, and what led her to suffer from various mental illnesses for which she had to be hospitalized on several occasions and with treatment for life.
Influence on your daughter
Jane Fonda, her eldest daughter, says she has managed to understand and forgive her after learning these facts, and not only that, but she actively participates with associations that fight against gender violence.
In fact, she made this part of her mother's life known to the world on the 40th anniversary of Rape Treatment Center, a center that provides comprehensive treatment to all victims of sexual assault, which she supports financially and which she says, 'I will support the rest of my life.'
According to Jane herself, she stated in an interview published in Net-A-Porter magazine, she was raped and abused also as a child. This, added to the knowledge about her mother's childhood, has led her to be a woman activist defending women's rights, something to which she has dedicated a large part of her life and will continue to do while she still has strength left.
The life of Frances Ford Seymour, or Frances Ford Fonda, as the last known name, was short but intense. The legacy of her two wonderful children has been with us for years, leaving a huge mark on film.
And despite not having an easy life, they both seem happy, calm and relaxed in their life. The Fonda family has always been a reference in this world, and unfortunately or fortunately, their private life has always been public knowledge.
References
- extreme, E., Proust, C., roja, A., Venecia, F., MET, G., & Reales, B. et al. (2019). Peter Fonda: I'm going to kill my sister. Retrieved from revistavanityfair.es.
- Vanguardia, L., Minuto, A., Contra, L., Vang, B., Fan, M., & Moda, D. et al. (2019). Jane Fonda reveals that she was raped and sexually abused as a child. Retrieved fromvanaguardia.com.
- Fonda J. Gender and destiny. Stud Gend Sex. 2009.
- Who Was the Blond Mystery Sister in 'Jane Fonda in Five Acts' ?. (2019). Retrieved from decider.com.
- Frances Ford Seymour. (2019). Retrieved from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frances_Ford_Seymour