Peter Fonda

He and Jane had a maternal half-sister, Pan Corrias (1931-2008), from their mother's first marriage. Jane and Pan were somewhat estranged - once going as long as 25 years without seeing each other - but Peter always kept in touch with her. They also had an adoptive paternal half-sister, Amy Fishman (b. 1953), from their father's remarriage.

Peter Henry Fonda was born in New York City, to legendary screen star Henry Fonda and New York socialite Frances Seymour Brokaw. He is the brother of actress Jane Fonda and the father of actress Bridget Fonda. Fonda made his professional stage debut on Broadway in 1961 in Blood, Sweat and Stanley Poole, for which he received rave reviews from the New York Critics, and won the Daniel Blum Theater World Award and the New York Critics Circle Award for Best New Actor.

He began his feature film career in 1963, playing the romantic lead in Tammy and the Doctor and joined the ensemble cast of the World War II saga The Victors. Shortly thereafter, Fonda began what would become a famous association with Roger Corman, starring in Wild Angels, as the ultra-cool, iron-fisted leader of a violent biker gang, opposite Nancy Sinatra, Bruce Dern, and Diane Ladd.

Fonda also starred in Corman's 1967 psychedelic film The Trip, also starring Dern and Susan Strasberg.

Fonda's next project was the seminal 1969 anti-establishment film Easy Rider which he produced and co-scripted, receiving an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay. Fonda's acting credits also included the feature films Outlaw Blues, an expose of the country music business; Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry; Race with the Devil; Robert Rossen's Lilith; Split Image; Robert Wise's Two People; and the cult films Love and a. 45 and Nadja. He appeared in Grace of My Heart, directed by Alison Anders, and John Carpenter's Escape from L. A. , starring Kurt Russell. He also made a cameo appearance in Bodies, Heat & Motion, which starred his daughter Bridget Fonda.

Turned down the role of Oliver Barrett in Love Story (1970), despite being offered 10% of the gross.

Fonda directed his first feature film, The Hired Hand, in 1971.

Directed his father Henry Fonda in just one feature titled Wanda Nevada (1979).

According to a story in the book version of The Beatles Anthology (1995), John Lennon wrote the song "She Said, She Said" after meeting Peter at a party and listening to him go on and on about his near-death experience in which he accidentally shot himself in the chest. The song lyric "I know what it's like to be dead" is supposedly what Peter kept telling everyone. John says he altered the song title and lyrics from "He Said" to "She Said" in order to hide the fact that he had based the song on Peter.

Fonda wowed audiences and won critical acclaim for his portrayal of Ulee Jackson, the taciturn beekeeper in the 1997 film Ulee's Gold, earning him both a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor and the New York Film Critics Award, as well as an Oscar nomination. Following this, he published his autobiography, Don't Tell Dad, and was then seen in the NBC movie The Tempest, for which he had been nominated for another Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Mini-Series. Fonda then appeared with Helen Mirren in the Showtime telefilm The Passion of Ayn Rand, where he won the Golden Globe for outstanding supporting actor in a mini-series or movie made for television and was nominated for both an Emmy and SAG Award.

Fonda co-starred in Steven Soderbergh's 1997 film The Limey, which also starred Terrnce Stamp and Lesley Ann Warren. Following this he appeared in Thomas and the Magic Railroad for director Britt Allcroft, starring Alec Baldwin.

He was awarded a Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars in Palm Springs, California on October 22, 2000.

A critically acclaimed western in which he also starred, the film debuted with a restored version at the 2001 Venice Film Festival; it then screened at the Toronto Film Festival before reopening in theaters in 2003. Other directing credits include the science fiction feature Idaho Transfer, starring Keith Carradine and Wanda Nevada in which he starred as a gambler who wins Brooke Shields in a poker game. Fonda co-starred in HBO's The Laramie Project, based on the true story of openly gay college student Matthew Shepard, killed in an act of senseless violence and cruelty, which attracted national attention. Fonda starred in The Maldonado Miracle directed by Salma Hayek for Showtime Networks, and was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award for his role.

He was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1601 Vine Street in Hollywood, California on October 22, 2003.

Fonda also starred opposite Kris Kristofferson in Wooly Boys, which was released in March 2004, and the television drama Back When We Were Grownups, opposite Blythe Danner and Faye Dunaway. Fonda was seen in Soderbergh's Ocean's Twelve and appeared in Mark Steven Johnson's Ghost Rider, opposite Nicolas Cage. Fonda's last projects included director Ron Maxwell's Civil War-era drama Copperhead, alongside Billy Campbell and Angus Macfadyen, The Ultimate Gift directed by Michael Landon Jr.. , and John McNaughton's The Harvest, with Samantha Morton and Michael Shannon.