Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin apparently carried their comic timing from the set of Grace and Frankie into their everyday phone conversations.
During an appearance on Obsessed: The Podcast, their former costar June Diane Raphael revealed that both actresses regularly relied on voice-to-text.
Rather than quietly typing, they dictated complete messages aloud including punctuation and commands telling their phones when to send.
Raphael said the habit produced some memorable moments when Fonda and Tomlin attempted to use the feature while sitting beside each other.
Fonda and Tomlin Dictated Entire Messages Out Loud
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Raphael shared the story after podcast host Kevin Fallon asked for one of her favorite memories from working with Fonda and Tomlin. She said she did not believe she had previously discussed how frequently the two acting legends used voice-to-text between scenes.
According to Raphael, Fonda and Tomlin would dictate full paragraphs while carefully saying commands such as “period,” “question mark” and “send.” Raphael imitated the process by describing a typical scheduling message in which one of the women would explain that she was unavailable on Wednesday, propose Thursday instead and then verbally insert every piece of punctuation.
Raphael also remembered overhearing serious personal news, including a message about the death of a longtime makeup artist, as one of the actresses dictated every sentence within earshot of the people nearby. Raphael joked that “legends shouldn’t be typing on this little screen” when they could simply speak their messages instead.
Their Phones Sometimes Picked Up the Wrong Voice
The system became more complicated when Fonda and Tomlin sat next to each other and attempted to dictate messages simultaneously. Raphael said one phone would occasionally capture part of the other actress’s conversation, mixing their words together and disrupting the message being composed.
The pair would then raise their voices while trying to correct their phones and each other. Raphael remembered the exchanges as affectionate and entertaining rather than genuine arguments. She called watching the two women manage the overlapping dictation “absolutely delightful.”
Raphael Shared the Story While Discussing ‘Elle’
Raphael offered the anecdote during a wider conversation about Elle, Prime Video’s prequel to the Legally Blonde films. She plays Eva Woods, the mother of teenage Elle Woods, portrayed by Lexi Minetree. The series follows Elle before Harvard Law School as her family relocates from Beverly Hills to Seattle during the 1990s.
Raphael also praised Fonda and Tomlin for the lives they have built beyond acting. She said she admired how both women have used their visibility to support political and social causes.
She highlighted Fonda’s willingness to risk her personal and professional standing through activism and described the actress as someone who continually uses her privilege in pursuit of a better future.
Raphael Spent Seven Seasons With the Pair
Raphael played Brianna Hanson, the sharp-tongued daughter of Fonda’s Grace, throughout Grace and Frankie. The Netflix comedy followed Grace and Tomlin’s Frankie as they developed an unexpected friendship after learning that their husbands, Robert and Sol, were in love and planned to leave their marriages.
The series premiered in 2015 and concluded in April 2022 after seven seasons and 94 episodes. Raphael appeared throughout its run alongside Fonda, Tomlin, Martin Sheen, Sam Waterston, Brooklyn Decker, Ethan Embry and Baron Vaughn.