Jane Fonda undergoes cancer surgery on her lip

Veteran actress Jane Fonda has had a cancerous growth removed from her lip.

The Barbarella star revealed the news on Monday (15Jan18) as she sat down for an AOL BUILD Series interview in New York City with her Grace and Frankie co-star Lily Tomlin.

Explaining why she was sporting a bandage across her lower lip, she told the audience, "I just had a cancer taken from my lip. I thought it was going to heal in time before I came before you, but it's fine. I just want to explain it. I don't normally go around like this."

The 80-year-old Hollywood icon then played down the seriousness of the surgery, saying, "The world is falling apart. What's a lip?"

Fonda did not share the kind of cancer she had been diagnosed with, although it's speculated to be basal-cell carcinoma, the common form of skin cancer - the same health issue Hugh Jackman has repeatedly faced in recent years.

The actress also underwent surgery to remove a small tumour from her breast in 2010, but at the time, her representative insisted Fonda was "completely fine".

"She's 100 per cent cancer-free," her spokesperson told People magazine. "It's business as usual for her."

Fonda has previously revealed she once suffered from eating disorder bulimia and degenerative joint disease osteoarthritis.

The AOL Build Series event was held to promote the new fourth season of Grace and Frankie, which is released on streaming site Netflix on Friday (19Jan18). Former Friends star Lisa Kudrow is a new addition to the cast for the latest episodes of the hit comedy-drama series.