Jane Fonda hopes to reflect on a good life when she is on her deathbed.

The Hollywood legend credits a healthy lifestyle as the driving force behind her contribution to the world, be it with her acting career that spans over six decades, becoming a bestselling author, and using her platform to bring about change for women, equality, as well as the environment.

Revealing the secret to live a full life, Jane, 88, told the new issue of Australia's Marie Claire magazine: "Well, you have to be healthy to live your best life, so taking care of your health is very important.

"For me, that means being active physically. Yesterday, I walked up and down the Champs-Elysees a lot, for example. [It's also] eating fresh, healthy food, sleeping enough. These things are very important, especially, especially as you get older.

The two-time Academy Award winner - who has had breast cancer and Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma - continued: "I haven't [always had the best health].

"I mean, I've had cancer, l've had lots of cancer, but the underlying foundation is I'm healthy, so that allows me to also do things in life that make me feel that I'm contributing to the world.

"When I get to my deathbed ... I want to be able to feel I did my best."

The author of My Life So Far - which reached number one on the New York Times Nonfiction Best Seller list - said she feels "more confident" as a person now, compared to her younger years.

Jane explained: "I didn't used to pay very much attention to how I looked, and you know who made me think about it? [Actress] Katharine Hepburn.

"We did a movie together called On Golden Pond. And one day she came up behind me, and she reached [over], took a hold of my cheeks and said, 'What? What does this mean to you?'

"She said, 'This is your box, your container, what do you want to say to the world with your container?' It took me years to understand what she was even talking about."

And Katharine's words have stuck with the star ever since.

Jane - who is a member of the independent movement group Greenpeace, and said the Vietnam War made her stand up for what she believes in - continued: "It took me years to understand what she was even talking about. But once I understood, I started paying more attention to how I present, how I look, my posture.

"Up until then, I had thought that being self-conscious was bad, but Katharine taught me that being conscious of self is a good thing, that how you present [yourself] is important."