Jodie Foster has been famous nearly her entire life. She first began acting in commercials at the age of two. By the time she was 12, she had appeared in more than 50 commercials, had recurring roles on “Gunsmoke,” “The Courtship of Eddie’s Father,” “My Three Sons,” and starred in her own short-lived series, “Paper Moon.”
Foster, born Alicia Christian and nicknamed “Jodie” by her siblings, is fluent in French, enabling her to act in French films and do her own dubbing in French-language versions of most of her English-language films. She attended Yale University and graduated magna cum laude.
Foster was 12 years old when she landed the life-changing role of Iris, a child sex worker, in the controversial Martin Scorsese film “Taxi Driver.” Her intelligent and complex performance earned her critical acclaim and an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. Her mature performances, including those in “Bugsy Malone” and “Echoes of a Summer,” set her on a path to transition smoothly into adult roles.
Foster’s critically acclaimed performance as a rape survivor in “The Accused” was her breakthrough into the adult acting world. For that role, she earned Academy, Golden Globe, and National Board of Review awards and a BAFTA Award nomination. Her next role, that of FBI trainee Clarice Starling in the massively popular thriller “The Silence of the Lambs” would cement her success. She won Academy, Golden Globe, and BAFTA awards for her portrayal of Starling.
1991 marked Foster’s feature film directorial debut with “Little Man Tate,” with the following years seeing her star in “Sommersby,” “Maverick,” “Contact,” and “Anna and the King.” The early 2000s included “Panic Room,” “A Very Long Engagement,” “Flight Plan,” and “Inside Man.”
By the 2010s, Foster was focused on directing. She directed and appeared in “The Beaver,” helmed the Wall Street thriller “Money Monster,” and directed a number of episodes of television series including “Tales from the Darkside,” “Orange Is the New Black,” and “House of Cards.”
In May 2022, it was announced that Foster will star in and executive produce the fourth season of the HBO drama “True Detective.” She will play Detective Liz Danvers in “True Detective: Night Country,” making it her first major adult television role.