Who is Jane Fonda? CNN founder Ted Turner’s ex-wife who once called him her ‘favorite ex-husband’ –

Ted Turner may have built a global media empire, but to Jane Fonda he remained something more personal, her “favorite ex-husband.”The 88-year-old actress often spoke warmly of Turner after his death on Wednesday at the age of 87, saying there was no bitterness between them despite their divorce more than two decades ago.Turner died surrounded by his family after living with Lewy body dementia for about eight years, according to Turner Enterprises. His death marks the end of a life that reshaped modern television by creating CNN, the world’s first 24-hour news network.Fonda was married to Turner from 1991 to 2001, and described their relationship as one built on affection and mutual respect, even after it ended. In 2008, she said she still had a “very good relationship” with him, adding: “Life is too short to fight.”Their bond can be seen in their joint work. A few months before his death, Fonda became emotional while speaking at an event for the Georgia Campaign for Teen Strength and Potential, a charity they founded together in 1995.She said the organization “would never have happened without Ted.”“It was a very difficult time in Georgia,” Fonda said in November. “If I had not been with Ted, this would have been a great thing, and if he had not stood by me with his love and support, we would never have survived.”

She added: “Ted is not here, but he is here in my heart and I know he is here in a lot of our hearts.”The couple married at Turner’s 8,100-acre estate in Florida and went on a honeymoon with their children from previous marriages. But cracks showed early, and Fonda later wrote in her memoir that she learned he had been unfaithful shortly after the wedding. The marriage ended in 2001.Despite the breakup, they continued to appear together at charity events. A year after the divorce, she greeted him publicly, saying: “My favorite ex-husband!”Turner’s life after his relationship with Fonda was marked by bold ambition. He founded CNN in 1980, transforming global news with around-the-clock coverage, and later built a media empire that included TNT, TCM, and Cartoon Network. CNN’s influence rose during the Gulf War, when it broadcast live coverage of the conflict around the world for the first time.He was also a major philanthropist and environmentalist, founding the United Nations Foundation and becoming one of the largest private landowners in the United States.