Jane Fonda is used to embracing the spotlight with composure and grace – and it appears she’s not the only one in her family who boasts such an important Hollywood skill.
Enter Viva Vadim, the screen legend’s stunning 21-year-old granddaughter, who has all the makings of one of the industry’s most successful ‘nepo babies’, boasting an impressive Hollywood heritage that would make even the most talented young stars quiver with envy.
Although she has remained largely private, Viva proved her A-list potential this week when she attended the TIME Earth Awards Gala alongside her grandma Jane, 86, putting on a red carpet display that was so confident, one might have thought she was born for the big time.
Well, in many ways – she was.
Because it is not just Jane who has helped to instill a sense of star power in Viva.
When Jane Fonda attended the TIME Earth Awards Gala in New York on Wednesday, she was joined by her stunning granddaughter Viva Vadim
This isn’t the first time that Viva, 21, has reaped in the benefits of being related to one of the biggest actresses on the globe
Viva is the only daughter of Jane’s eldest child, filmmaker Vanessa Vadim and her musician ex-husband Matt Arnett. Viva is pictured as a child with her mom and dad
A budding photographer and fierce activist – like her grandmother – Viva enjoys an extremely lavish lifestyle, and is already on course to become Hollywood’s next nepo baby
She’s often seen jetting across the globe to places like Saint-Tropez (left), Paris, California (right), New Zealand , Africa, and Costa Rica
Viva was born in November 2002, and was raised on a farm in Vermont surrounded by ducks, chickens, and turkeys. She’s seen as a kid
Both of her parents have their own very impressive experience in the public eye: her mother, Jane’s oldest child Vanessa Vadim, is a filmmaker, and her father is musician Matt Arnett.
A budding photographer and fierce activist – like her grandmother – Viva enjoys an extremely lavish lifestyle, which she loves to flaunt on her Instagram, and is already on course to become Hollywood’s next nepo baby.
She’s often seen jetting across the globe to places like Saint-Tropez, Paris, California, New Zealand, Africa, and Costa Rica, hanging out with celebrities, and scoring invites to elite star-studded events.
However her childhood was not what you might expect from someone so skilled in stardom.
Viva was born in November 2002, and was raised on a farm in Vermont surrounded by ducks, chickens, and turkeys.
Her mom Vanessa struggled growing up in the ‘shadow’ of her own famous mother and did her best to give Viva a normal upbringing.
By age 15, however, she was already mingling with stars, as she posted a series of snaps with musician Post Malone on her Instagram back in 2017.
She also previously lived in Africa, where she helped take care of animals like cheetahs, lions, and elephants.
She seems extremely close with both her mom and her dad; back in 2020 on Vanessa’s birthday, she gushed, ‘Happy birthday mama, you inspire me always.’
And on her dad’s big day months later, she wrote, ‘It is my pop’s birthday. Very lucky to have such a cool dad. Thank you for everything u do.’
When Viva turned 21 last November, her mom said her ‘heart was full and proud’ in a touching tribute.
‘They say having a child is like wearing your heart on the outside of your body,’ she captioned a carousel of images of Viva. ‘This heart is full and proud. Happy birthday to us.’
Her mom Vanessa struggled growing up in the ‘shadow’ of her own famous mother and did her best to give Viva a normal upbringing. Vanessa is seen with Jane in 1968
By age 15, however, she was already mingling with stars, as she posted a series of snaps with musician Post Malone on her Instagram back in 2017
She also previously lived in Africa, where she helped take care of animals like cheetahs, lions, and elephants
Viva spends much of her time traveling the world, hiking, or looming, and she often makes tapestries and rugs that she shares online.
She graduated from high school in 2021, and it’s unclear what college she’s studying at, if any.
Viva spends much of her time traveling the world, hiking, or looming, and she often makes tapestries and rugs that she shares online
It seems her main passion is photography, and she usually uploads the images that she took to her website, VivaVadim.com.
She’s also into activism like her grandmother – who has been proudly arrested multiple times while engaging in climate change protests in Washington, D.C. over the last few years.
Viva has attended a slew of protests with her, and back in 2019, Jane revealed that Viva had been arrested while they were ‘taking action against climate change’ together.
‘With my granddaughter Viva Vadim who got arrested with 38 others today,’ she wrote on Instagram alongside a shot that showed them smiling together.
Only time will tell if she will enter the film industry like her mother and grandmother.
Viva’s mom, Vanessa, 55, is the only child of Jane and her first husband, acclaimed French screenwriter and director Roger Vadim; Jane went on to welcome two more kids from her other relationships.
Vanessa’s upbringing was quite the opposite of Viva’s. Since her parents divorced when she was only five, she split her time between her mom’s lavish mansion in California and her dad’s sprawling estate in France as a kid.
She graduated from high school in 2021, and it’s unclear what college she’s studying at, if any
It seems her main passion is photography, and she usually uploads the images that she took to her website, VivaVadim.com
She’s also into activism like her grandmother – who has been proudly arrested multiple times while engaging in climate change protests in Washington, D.C. over the last few years
Viva has attended a slew of protests with her, and back in 2019, Jane revealed that Viva had been arrested while they were ‘taking action against climate change’ together
Thanks to her booming career, Jane was away a lot, later admitting that one of her biggest ‘regrets’ in life was ‘not having put enough time into mothering.’
She also told People in 2017, ‘I tell my kids I’m sorry. I’m thankful that I’ve gotten better over the 80 years.
‘I’m less judgmental. I’m forgiving. It wasn’t always true. I’ve really worked hard to get better as a human being.’
Vanessa attended Brown University and like her mother Jane, she became fiercely passionate about activism at a young age.
According to publication, she spent years helping to build a school in Nicaragua and participated in a slew of protests throughout her time in college.
But in October 1989, when she was a senior at Brown, Vanessa was arrested after she and a friend were caught buying drugs in Manhattan.
The outlet reported that she told police she was purchasing the illicit substance for a ‘school project.’
Because her friend was the one who had the drugs and not Vanessa, she was ultimately charged with ‘obstructing an arrest, loitering, and disorderly conduct’ rather than drug possession.
Her mom Jane quickly showed her support for her daughter, telling the People, ‘Vanessa is a good daughter and a serious student of whom I am very proud, and I stand behind her through this.’
She seems extremely close with both her mom and her dad; back in 2020 on Vanessa’s birthday, she gushed, ‘Happy birthday mama, you inspire me always’
Only time will tell if she will enter the film industry like her mother and grandmother
Viva’s mom, Vanessa, 55, is the only child of Jane and her first husband, acclaimed French screenwriter and director Roger Vadim. Jane and Roger are seen with Vanessa in 1968
After graduating from Brown University, Vanessa followed in her mother’s footsteps and entered the film industry, becoming a director and filmmaker. She’s seen in 2014 with Jane
She spent one night in jail but was released without bail the next morning.
When Roger was asked about Vanessa’s arrest, he hinted that Vanessa was struggling with being raised under the shadow of movie star Jane.
Vanessa welcomed a son named Malcolm MacDuffy with an unnamed boyfriend in 1999; she then gave birth to Viva with artist and music producer Matt (seen together) in 2002
‘Any problems that Vanessa had were connected with her mother’s image,’ he said. ‘Any child would have trouble growing up in the shadow of such a strong image.
‘At college, she joined the drama association but had to give it up. She said, “I’ll never be as good as Mom.”
‘Now she’s interested in a career in journalism. She wants to make her own mark.’
After college, however, Vanessa did follow in her mother’s footsteps and entered the film industry.
She went on to become a director and filmmaker who has made a few short documentaries. She also founded the production company MayDay Media.
Vanessa welcomed a son named Malcolm MacDuffy with an unnamed boyfriend in 1999; she then gave birth to Viva with artist and music producer Matt in 2002.
