Henry Jaynes Fonda, born on May 16, 1905, in Grand Island, Nebraska, was an American actor whose career spanned five decades on Broadway and in Hollywood. He often portrayed characters that embodied an everyman image. He made his mark early as a Broadway actor and made his Hollywood film debut in 1935.

He rose to film stardom with performances in films like Jezebel (1938), Jesse James (1939), and Young Mr. Lincoln (1939). He received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Tom Joad in The Grapes of Wrath (1940). In 1941, he starred opposite Barbara Stanwyck in the screwball comedy classic The Lady Eve. After his service in World War II, he starred in two highly regarded Westerns: The Ox-Bow Incident (1943) and My Darling Clementine (1946), the latter directed by John Ford.

He also starred in Ford's Western Fort Apache (1948). During a seven-year break from films, Fonda focused on stage productions, returning to star in the war-boat ensemble movie Mister Roberts in 1955, a role he championed on Broadway. In 1956, at the age of 51, he played the title role of 38-year-old Manny Balestrero in Alfred Hitchcock's thriller The Wrong Man.

In 1957, he starred as Juror 8, the hold-out juror, in 12 Angry Men, a film he co-produced and that earned him a BAFTA award for Best Foreign Actor. Later in his career, he played a range of characters, including a villain in the epic Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) and the lead in the romantic comedy Yours, Mine and Ours with Lucille Ball.

He also portrayed military figures, such as a colonel in Battle of the Bulge (1965) and Admiral Nimitz in Midway (1976). Henry Fonda won the Academy Award for Best Actor at the 54th Academy Awards for his final film role in On Golden Pond (1981), which co-starred Katharine Hepburn and his daughter Jane Fonda.

He was too ill to attend the ceremony and died from heart disease five months later. He was the patriarch of a family of actors, including daughter Jane Fonda, son Peter Fonda, granddaughter Bridget Fonda, and grandson Troy Garity. In 1999, he was named the sixth-Greatest Male Screen Legend of the Classic Hollywood Era (stars with a film debut by 1950) by the American Film Institute.

His personal life was as eventful as his career. He was married five times, first to actress Margaret Sullavan, then to socialite Frances Ford Seymour, with whom he had two children, Jane and Peter. After Frances's tragic death, he married Susan Blanchard, followed by Afdera Franchetti, and finally Shirlee Mae Adams, with whom he remained until his death.

His relationships with his children, particularly Jane, were complex and often strained, but they shared a deep mutual respect and admiration.

He was a staunch Democrat and was known for his support of liberal causes.