Alicia Christian Foster[2][3] was born on November 19, 1962, in Los Angeles, California, the youngest child of Evelyn Ella "Brandy" (née Almond; 1928–2019)[4] and Lucius Fisher Foster III, a businessman.[5] She is of German,[6] Irish, and English heritage.[7] On her father's side, she is descended fromJohn Alden, who arrived in North America on theMayflower in 1620.[5][8]
Her parents' marriage ended before she was born, and she never established a relationship with her father.[5][9][10] She has three older full siblings: Lucinda, Constance "Connie", andLucius "Buddy"; as well as three half-brothers from her father's earlier marriage.[8] Following the divorce, Brandy raised the children with her female partner in Los Angeles.[5][11] She worked as a publicist for film producerArthur P. Jacobs until focusing on managing the acting careers of Buddy and Jodie.[5][8][9] Although Foster was officially named Alicia, her siblings began calling her "Jodie", and the name stuck.[3]
Foster was agifted child who learned to read at age three.[5][9] She attended theLycée Français de Los Angeles, a French-languageprep school.[9] Her fluency in French has enabled her to act in French films. She alsodubs herself in French-language versions of most of her English-language films.[5][12] At her graduation in 1980, she delivered thevaledictorian address for the school's French division.[9]
Foster said she loved acting as a child and values her early work for the experience it gave her: "Some people get quick breaks and declare, 'I'll never do commercials! That's so lowbrow!' I want to tell them, 'Well, I'm real glad you've got a pretty face, because I worked for 20 years doing that stuff and I feel it's really invaluable; it really taught me a lot.'"[23]
1970s:Taxi Driver and teenage stardom
Foster's mother was concerned that her daughter's career would end by the time she grew out of playing children and decided that Foster should also begin acting in films for adult audiences.[24] After the minor supporting role inAlice, Scorsese cast her in the role of a child prostitute inTaxi Driver (1976).[25] To be able to do the film, Foster had to undergo psychiatric assessment and was accompanied by a social worker on set.[26][27][28] Her older sister Connie acted as herstand-in in sexually suggestive scenes.[27][29] Foster later commented on the role, saying that she hated "the idea that everybody thinks if a kid's going to be an actress it means that she has to playShirley Temple or someone's little sister."[30] During the filming, Foster developed a bond with co-starRobert De Niro, who saw "serious potential" in her and dedicated time rehearsing scenes with her.[31]
Foster calledTaxi Driver a life-changing experience and said it was "the first time anyone asked me to create a character that wasn't myself. It was the first time I realized that acting wasn't this hobby you just sort of did, but that there was actually some craft."[9]Taxi Driver won thePalme d'Or at theCannes Film Festival, where Foster impressed journalists when she acted as a French interpreter at the press conference.[26][32]Taxi Driver was a critical and commercial success, and earned her a supporting actressAcademy Award nomination, as well as twoBAFTAs, aDavid di Donatello and aNational Society of Film Critics award.[9][26] The film is considered one of the best in history by theAmerican Film Institute[26] andSight & Sound,[33] and has been preserved in theNational Film Registry.[34]
Foster also acted in another film nominated for the Palme d'Or in 1976,Bugsy Malone,[35] a Britishmusical that parodied films aboutProhibition Era gangsters by having all roles played by children. Foster appeared in a major supporting role as a star of aspeakeasy show.[36] DirectorAlan Parker was impressed by her, saying that "she takes such an intelligent interest in the way the film is being made that if I had been run over by a bus I think she was probably the only person on the set able to take over as director."[37] She gained several positive notices for her performance, withRoger Ebert of theChicago Sun-Times writing: "at thirteen she was already getting the roles that grown-up actresses complained weren't being written for women anymore".[38]Variety called her "outstanding",[39] andVincent Canby ofThe New York Times called her "the star of the show".[40] Foster's two BAFTAs were awarded jointly for her performances inTaxi Driver andBugsy Malone.[41]
Her third film release in 1976 was the independent dramaEchoes of a Summer, which had been filmed two years earlier.[42]The New York Times named Foster's performance as a terminally ill girl the film's "main strength"[42] andGene Siskel of theChicago Tribune wrote that she "is not a good child actress; she's just a good actress", although both reviewers panned the film.[43] Foster's fourth film of 1976 was the Canadian-French thrillerThe Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane, in which she starred oppositeMartin Sheen.[44][45] The film combined aspects of thriller and horror genres, and showed Foster as a mysterious young girl living on her own in a small town. The performance earned her aSaturn Award.[46] In November, Foster hostedSaturday Night Live, becoming the youngest person to do so untilDrew Barrymore hosted at age 7 in 1982.[22] Her final film of the year was the Disney comedyFreaky Friday, "her first true star vehicle".[46][47][35] She played a tomboy teen who accidentally changes bodies with her mother, and she later said the film marked a "transitional period" when she began to grow out of child roles.[47] It received mainly positive reviews,[48] and was a box-office success,[49] gaining Foster aGolden Globe nomination for her performance.[50]
As Foster grew, her mother wanted photos to reflect Foster's ability to take on adult roles, so she arranged forEmilio Lari to do a partially nude photoshoot. The photoshoot was taken at a rented estate in Los Angeles, with Foster's mother and Lari's wife on set. Estimates of the year of the photoshoot range between 1975 and 1979, when Foster was between 13 and 16.[51][52][53] After her breakthrough year, Foster spent nine months living in France, where she starred inMoi, fleur bleue (1977) and recorded several songs for its soundtrack.[13][54] Her other films released in 1977 were the Italian comedyCasotto and the Disneyheist filmCandleshoe, which was filmed in England and co-starredDavid Niven andHelen Hayes.[46][47][55] After its release, Foster did not appear in any new releases until 1980, the year she turned 18.
1980s: Transition to adult roles andThe Accused
In 1980, she gained positive notices for her performances in the independent filmsFoxes andCarny (1980),[56][20](p 73–74)[57] before becoming a full-time student at Yale in 1981.[20](p 73–74)[58] She later said that going to college changed her thoughts about acting, which she had previously thought was an unintelligent profession. She realized that "what I really wanted to do was to act and there was nothing stupid about it."[23][58]
Although Foster prioritized college during these years, she continued making films on her summer vacations.[13] These wereO'Hara's Wife (1982), the television filmSvengali (1983), theJohn Irving adaptationThe Hotel New Hampshire (1984),The Blood of Others (1984), and the period dramaMesmerized (1986), which she also co-produced.[59] None of them gained large audiences or critical appreciation.[60][20](p 73–74) On December 19, 1983, Foster wasdetained by U.S. customs agents atLogan International Airport for possessing a gram of cocaine.[61][62] She was charged with amisdemeanor and placed on one year's probation.[63]
Foster at the Governor's Ball after winning anAcademy Award forThe Accused (1988). Her performance as a rape survivor marked her breakthrough into adult roles.
After graduating from Yale in 1985, Foster struggled to find further acting work. In 1987, her first film after college, the neo-noirSiesta (1987), was rated a failure,[64][65] but her next project, the independent filmFive Corners (1987), was better received. A moderate critical success, it earned Foster anIndependent Spirit Award for her performance as a woman whose sexual assaulter returns to stalk her.[66][20](p 73–74)[67]
The following year, Foster made her debut as a director with the episode "Do Not Open This Box" for the horror anthology seriesTales from the Darkside,[68] and starred in the romantic dramaStealing Home (1988) oppositeMark Harmon. The film was a critical and commercial failure,[69] with Roger Ebert "wondering if any movie could possibly be that bad".[70]
Foster's breakthrough into adult roles came with her performance as a rape survivor inThe Accused (1988).[64][60][20](p 73–74) Based on the real criminal case involvingCheryl Araujo, the film focuses on the aftermath of agang rape and its survivor's fight for justice in the face ofvictim blaming. Before making it, Foster was having doubts about whether to continue her career and planned to start graduate studies, but decided to give acting "one last try" inThe Accused.[58] She had to audition twice for the role and was cast only after several more established actors turned it down, as the film's producers were wary of her due to her previous failures and because she was still remembered as a "chubby teenager".[58][20](p 74)[71][64] Due to the subject matter, the filming was a difficult experience for the cast and crew, especially the shooting of the rape scene, which took five days.[9] Foster was unhappy with her performance and feared that it would end her career.[72] Instead,The Accused received positive reviews, with Foster's performance receiving widespread acclaim[71] and earning herAcademy,Golden Globe andNational Board of Review awards, as well as a nomination for aBAFTA Award.
1990s: Box-office success, directorial debut and Egg Pictures
Foster's first film release after the success ofThe Accused was the thrillerThe Silence of the Lambs (1991). She portrayedFBI traineeClarice Starling, who is sent to interview incarcerated serial killerHannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) in order to hunt another serial killer,Jame "Buffalo Bill" Gumb (Ted Levine). Foster later named the role one of her favorites.[72] She had readthe novel it was based on after its publication in 1988 and had attempted to purchase its film rights,[73] as it featured "a real female heroine" and its plot was not "about steroids and brawn, [but] about using your mind and using your insufficiencies to combat the villain."[9] Despite her enthusiasm, directorJonathan Demme did not initially want to cast her, but the producers overruled him.[74] Demme's view of Foster changed during the production, and he later credited her for helping him define the character.[74][75]
Released in February 1991,The Silence of the Lambs became one of the biggest hits of the year, grossing close to $273 million,[76][77] with a positive critical reception. Foster received largely positive reviews[72] and won Academy, Golden Globe, and BAFTA awards for her portrayal of Starling;Silence won five Academy Awards overall,[78] becoming one of the few films to win in all main categories. In contrast, some reviewers criticized the film as misogynist for its focus on brutal murders of women, andhomo-/transphobic due to its portrayal of "Buffalo Bill" asbisexual andtransgender. Much of the criticism was directed at Foster, who the critics claimed was herself a lesbian.[79] Despite the controversy, the film is considered a modern classic: Starling and Lecter are included on the American Film Institute's top ten ofthe greatest film heroes and villains, and the film is preserved in the National Film Registry.[34] Later in 1991, Foster also starred in the unsuccessful low-budget thrillerCatchfire, which had been filmed beforeSilence, but was released after it in an attempt to profit from its success.[80]
In October 1991, Foster released her first feature film as a director,Little Man Tate, a drama about a child prodigy who struggles to come to terms with being different.[81] The main role was played by previously unknown actorAdam Hann-Byrd, and Foster co-starred as his working-class single mother. She had found the script in the "slush pile" atOrion Pictures,[82] and explained that for her debut film she "wanted a piece that was not autobiographical, but that had to do with the 10 philosophies I've accumulated in the past 25 years. Every single one of them, if they weren't in the script from the beginning, they're there now."[9] Some reviewers felt that the film did not live up to the high expectations, and regarded it as "less adventurous than many films in which [she] had starred",[83][55] but others praised it, like Roger Ebert, who called it "the kind of film you enjoy watching".[84] Regardless, it was a moderate box office success.[85] Foster's final film appearance of the year came in a small role as a sex worker inShadows and Fog (1991), directed byWoody Allen, with whom she had wanted to collaborate since the 1970s.[13]
Foster next starred in the period filmSommersby (1993), portraying a woman who begins to suspect that her husband (Richard Gere) who returns home from theCivil War is an impostor. She then replacedMeg Ryan in the Western comedyMaverick (1994), playing acon artist oppositeMel Gibson andJames Garner.[86] According to film scholar Karen Hollinger, both films featured her in more "conventionally feminine" roles.[87] BothSommersby andMaverick were commercially successful.[88][89]
Foster had founded her own production company, Egg Pictures, a subsidiary ofPolyGram Filmed Entertainment in 1992, and released its first production,Nell, in December 1994.[90][20](p 74)[a] It was directed byMichael Apted and starred Foster in the titular role as a woman who grew up isolated in theAppalachian Mountains and speaks her own invented language.[91] The film was based onMark Handley's playIdioglossia, which interested Foster for its theme of "otherness", and because she "loved this idea of a woman who defies categorization, a creature who is labeled and categorized by people based on their own problems and their own prejudices and what they bring to the table."[91][92] Despite mixed reviews, it was a commercial success,[93][94] and earned Foster aScreen Actors Guild Award and nominations for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for her acting performance.
AfterNell (1994), Foster appeared in no new film releases untilContact (1997), a science fiction film based on a novel byCarl Sagan and directed byRobert Zemeckis. She starred as a scientist searching for extraterrestrial life in theSETI project.[99] The film was a commercial success[100] and earned Foster a Saturn Award and a nomination for a Golden Globe.[b] Foster next producedJane Anderson's television filmThe Baby Dance (1998) forShowtime.[104][105] Its story deals with a wealthy California couple who struggle with infertility and decide to adopt from a poor family inLouisiana.[104] On her decision to produce for television, Foster stated that it was easier to take financial risks in that medium than in feature films.[104] In 1998, she also moved her production company from PolyGram toParamount Pictures.[90] Also in 1998, asteroid17744 Jodiefoster was named in her honor.[106]
Foster's last film of the 1990s was the period dramaAnna and the King (1999), in which she starred oppositeChow Yun-Fat. It was based ona fictionalized biography of British teacherAnna Leonowens, who taught the children of KingMongkut ofSiam, and whose story became well known as the musicalThe King and I. Foster was paid $15 million to portray Leonowens, making her one of the highest-paid female actors in Hollywood.[20](p 74) The film was subject to controversy when the Thai government deemed it historically inaccurate and insulting to the royal family and banned its distribution in the country.[107] It was a moderate commercial success,[108] but received mixed to negative reviews.[109][110] Ebert panned the film, saying the role required Foster "to play beneath [her] intelligence"[111] andThe New York Times called it a "misstep" for her and accused her of only being "interested ... in sanctifying herself as an old-fashioned heroine than in taking on dramatically risky roles".[112]
2000s: Career setbacks and resurgence in thrillers
Foster's first project of the new decade wasKeith Gordon's filmWaking the Dead (2000), which she produced.[113] She declined to reprise her role as Clarice Starling inHannibal (2001), with the part going instead toJulianne Moore, and concentrated on a new directorial project,Flora Plum.[114] It was to focus on a 1930s circus and starClaire Danes andRussell Crowe, but had to be shelved after Crowe was injured on set and could not complete filming on schedule; Foster unsuccessfully attempted to revive the project several times in the following years.[3][115][116] Controversially, she also expressed interest in directing and starring in a biographical film ofNazi film directorLeni Riefenstahl, who did not like the idea.[117][118] In addition to these setbacks, Foster shut down Egg Pictures in 2001, saying that producing was "just a really thankless, bad job".[3][90] The company's last production,The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys, premiered at theSundance Film Festival in January 2002. It received good reviews,[96] and had a limited theatrical release in the summer.[119]After the cancellation ofFlora Plum, Foster took on the main role in David Fincher's thrillerPanic Room after its intended star,Nicole Kidman, had to drop out due to an injury on set.[120] Before filming resumed, Foster was given only a week to prepare for the role of a woman who hides in apanic room with her daughter when burglars invade their home.[121] It grossed over $30 million on its North American opening weekend in March 2002, becoming the most successful film opening of Foster's career as of 2015[update].[122][123] In addition to being a box office success, the film also received largely positive reviews.[124][125]
After a minor appearance in the French period dramaA Very Long Engagement (2004), Foster starred in three more thrillers. The first wasFlightplan (2005), in which she played a woman whose daughter vanishes during an overnight flight. It became a global box office success,[126] but received mixed reviews.[127][128] It was followed bySpike Lee's critically and commercially successfulInside Man (2006), about a bank heist onWall Street, which co-starredDenzel Washington andClive Owen.[129][130][131] The third thriller,The Brave One (2007), prompted some comparisons toTaxi Driver, as Foster played a New Yorker who becomes a vigilante after her fiancé is murdered.[132] It was not a success,[133][134][135] but earned Foster her sixth Golden Globe nomination. Her last film role of the decade was in the children's adventure filmNim's Island (2008), in which she portrayed anagoraphobic writer oppositeGerard Butler andAbigail Breslin. It was the first comedy in which she had starred sinceMaverick (1994), and was a commercial success but a critical failure.[136][137] In 2009, she provided the voice forMaggie in atetralogy episode ofThe Simpsons titled "Four Great Women and a Manicure".[138]
In the 2010s, Foster focused on directing and took fewer acting roles.[139] In February 2011, she hosted the36th César Awards in France, and the next month released her third feature film direction,The Beaver (2011), about a depressed man who develops an alternative personality based on a beaver hand puppet.[140] It starredMaverick co-star Mel Gibson and featured herself,Anton Yelchin andJennifer Lawrence in supporting roles as his family.[141] Foster called its production "probably the biggest struggle of my professional career", partly due to the film's heavy subject matter but also due to the controversy that Gibson generated when he was accused ofdomestic violence and makingantisemitic, racist, andsexist statements.[139][142] The film received mixed reviews,[143][144] and failed the box office, largely due to this controversy.[145][146][147] In 2011, Foster also appeared as part of anensemble cast withJohn C. Reilly,Kate Winslet andChristoph Waltz inRoman Polanski's comedyCarnage, in which the attempts of middle-class parents to settle an incident between their sons descends into chaos. It premiered to mainly positive reviews and earned Foster a Golden Globe nomination as Best Actress.[148]
The fourth film Foster directed, the hostage dramaMoney Monster, premiered out-of-competition at theCannes Film Festival in May 2016. It starredGeorge Clooney andJulia Roberts, and despite mixed reviews,[155][156] was a moderate commercial success.[157] The next year, Foster continued her work in television by directing an episode, "Arkangel", for the British sci-fi anthology seriesBlack Mirror (2011–).
As the decade drew to a close, Foster continued to mix acting with directing. She starred together withSterling Brown in the dystopian filmHotel Artemis (2018). Although the film was a commercial and critical disappointment, Foster's performance as Nurse Jean Thomas, who runs a hospital for criminals, received positive notices.[158][159][160][161]Mick LaSalle of theSan Francisco Chronicle wrote, "not enough can be said about the performance of Foster in this film. She brings to the role a quality of having seen the absolute worst in people, but also the suggestion that, as a result, she accepts them on their own terms and knows how to handle any situation."[162] Rick Bentley fromTampa Bay Times declared Foster's performance one of her "best and most memorable."[163] The same year, Foster co-produced and narratedBe Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché (2018), a documentary on one of the first female film directors.
Foster met producer Cydney Bernard, then a production coordinator, on the set ofSommersby (1993).[170] They were in a relationship from 1993 until 2008 and had two sons together: actor Charles ("Charlie"), born in 1998, and scientist Christopher ("Kit"), born in 2001.[171] Foster is their biological mother; the biological father's identity has not been made public.[3][172][173][174][175] In 2014, Foster married actress and photographerAlexandra Hedison after a year of dating.[176][172]
Foster's sexual orientation became the subject of public discussion in 1991 when publications such asOutWeek andThe Village Voice, protesting against the alleged homophobia andtransphobia inThe Silence of the Lambs, claimed she was a lesbian.[177] She publicly acknowledged her 14-year relationship with Bernard in 2007 in a speech atThe Hollywood Reporter's "Women in Entertainment" breakfast honoring her.[11] In 2013, she addressed her decision tocome out in a speech after receiving the Cecil B. DeMille Award at the 70th Golden Globe Awards, which led many news outlets to describe her as gay.[178][179][180][181][176] Some sources noted that she did not use the words "gay" or "lesbian" in her speech.[182]
During her freshman year at Yale in 1980–81, Foster was stalked byJohn Hinckley Jr., who had developed an obsession with her after watchingTaxi Driver multiple times.[20](p 74)[183] He moved to New Haven and tried to contact her by letter and telephone.[183][184] On March 30, 1981, Hinckleyattempted to assassinate United States presidentRonald Reagan, wounding him and three other people, claiming that his motive was to impress Foster.[183] The incident drew intense media attention, and Foster was accompanied by bodyguards while on campus.[6][20](p 74) JudgeBarrington D. Parker confirmed that Foster was innocent in the case and had been "unwittingly ensnared in a third party's alleged attempt to assassinate an American President". Her videotaped testimony was played at Hinckley's trial.[11][184] While at Yale, Foster also had other stalkers, including a man who planned to kill her but changed his mind after seeing her perform in a college play.[6][20](p 74)
Foster has seldom publicly commented on Hinckley.[9] She wrote an essay, "Why Me?", published in 1982 byEsquire on the condition that "there be no cover lines, no publicity and no photos".[6] In 1991, she canceled an interview on NBC'sThe Today Show when she discovered that Hinckley would be mentioned in the introduction and the producers would not change it.[185] She discussed Hinckley in a 1999 interview withCharlie Rose on60 Minutes II, explaining that she does not "like to dwell on it too much ... I never wanted to be the actress who was remembered for that event. Because it didn't have anything to do with me. I was kind of a hapless bystander. But ... what a scarring, strange moment in history for me, to be 17 years old, 18 years old, and to be caught up in a drama like that."[10] She said the incident had a major impact on her career choices, but also acknowledged that her experience was minimal compared to the suffering of Reagan's press secretary,James Brady, who was permanently disabled in the shooting and died from his injuries 33 years later, and his loved ones: "Whatever bad moments that I had certainly could never compare to that family."[10]
People magazine named her the most beautiful woman in the world in 1992,[186] and in 2003, she was voted Number 23 inChannel 4's countdown of the 100 Greatest Movie Stars of All Time.[187]Entertainment Weekly named her 57th on their list of 100 Greatest Movie Stars of All Time in 1996.[188] In 2016, she was inducted into theHollywood Walk of Fame with amotion pictures star located at 6927Hollywood Boulevard.[189]
^She was to produce up to six films, each with the budget of $10–25 million, in the following three years.[90]
^She was in talks to star inDavid Fincher's thrillerThe Game, but its production company, Polygram, dropped her from the project after disagreements over her role.[101] Foster sued the company, saying that she had an oral agreement with them to star in the film and had as a result taken "herself off the market" and lost out on other film projects.[102] The case was later settled out of court.[103]
^Ebert, Roger (August 26, 1988)."Stealing Home".Chicago Sun-Times.Archived from the original on September 27, 2015. RetrievedSeptember 27, 2015 – via rogerebert.com.
^"Contact (1997)". Box Office Mojo. October 26, 1997.Archived from the original on March 17, 2010. RetrievedMarch 7, 2010.
^Thompson, Anne (June 28, 1996)."Jodie Foster Sues PolyGram".Entertainment Weekly.Archived from the original on September 30, 2015. RetrievedSeptember 29, 2015.
^Angulo, Sandra P.; Elias, Justine (January 26, 2001).""Panic" Attack".Entertainment Weekly.Archived from the original on March 21, 2009. RetrievedMarch 1, 2009.
^Swallow, James (2007). "House Arrest".Dark Eye: The Films of David Fincher. Reynolds & Hearn. p. 153.ISBN978-1-905287-30-7.
^Dargis, Manohla (September 9, 2007)."Forever Jodie, Forever a Pro".The New York Times.Archived from the original on September 26, 2015. RetrievedSeptember 29, 2015.
Cullen, Jim (2013).Sensing the Past: Hollywood Stars and Historical Visions. Oxford University Press.ISBN978-0-19-992766-1.
Erb, Cynthia (2010). "Jodie Foster and Brooke Shields: 'New Ways to Look at the Young'". In Morrison, James (ed.).Hollywood Reborn: Movie Stars of the 1970s. Rutgers University Press.ISBN978-0-8135-4748-0.
Hollinger, Karen (2006).The Actress: Hollywood Acting and the Female Star. Taylor and Francis.ISBN978-0-415-97792-0.
Hollinger, Karen (2012). "Jodie Foster: Feminist Hero?". In Everett, Anne (ed.).Pretty People: Movie Stars of the 1990s. Rutgers University Press.ISBN978-0-8135-5244-6.
Rausch, Andrew J. (2010).The Films of Martin Scorsese and Robert DeNiro. Scarecrow Press.ISBN978-0-8108-7413-8.
Snodgrass, Mary Ellen (2008).Beating the Odds: A Teen Guide to 75 Superstars Who Overcame Adversity. Greenwood Press.ISBN978-0-313-34564-7.
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
