Jodie Foster Birthdate: November 19, 1962 Birth location: Los Angeles, California Birth name: Alicia Christian Foster Height: 5 ft 3.5 in IMDb entry Jodie Foster (born November 19, 1962) is a two-time Academy Award–winning American actress, director, and producer. Contents 1 Biography 1.1 Early life 1.2 Career 1.3 Personal life 2 Trivia 3 Quotes 4 Filmography 5 Award Nominations 6 References 6.1 Footnotes 7 Web sites Biography Early life Alicia Christian Foster was born to Lucius Foster and Brandy Almond in Los Angeles, California. She attended an exclusive prep school, the Lycée Français de Los Angeles, before going to Yale University where she earned a B.A. in literature and graduated magna cum laude in 1985. While at Yale, Foster led a fairly normal life, considering her celebrity. She often would spend time with friends at the local dive bar Anchor, and she occasionally partied in the haunts of one of the secret societies, Manuscript Society (a scene recounting such an event is noted in Tom Perrotta's novel Joe College). Career Foster has appeared in more than 100 film and television shows since beginning her career at age three as the Coppertone Girl in a television commercial. Foster debuted as a television actress in a 1968 episode of Mayberry R.F.D.. Her first film appearance came in the 1970 TV movie Menace on the Mountain. Foster made a number of Disney movies, including Napoleon and Samantha (1972), One Little Indian (1973), Tom Sawyer (1973), Freaky Friday (1976) and Candleshoe (1977). She also co-starred with Christopher Connelly in the 1974 TV series version of Paper Moon. As a teenager, Foster made several appearances on the French pop circuit as a singer. Commenting on her years as a child actress, which she describes as an "actor’s career", Foster has said that "it was very clear to me at a young age that I had to fight for my life and that if I didn’t, my life would get gobbled up and taken away from me".[1] Publicity still of Foster as "Iris", the 12 year old prostitute in Taxi Driver (1976) At age 14, Jodie received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as a preteen prostitute in Martin Scorsese's film, Taxi Driver opposite Robert De Niro. De Niro's character in Taxi Driver intended to assassinate a presidential candidate. In 1981, John Hinckley, Jr. shot U.S. President, Ronald Reagan and three other people. He claimed his motive was to impress Foster. His obsession with Foster came after repeated viewings of the film, and he stalked her while she attended Yale University. This has been an incident of intense discomfort for Foster, who has been known to walk out of interviews if Hinckley's name is even mentioned. The punk band Jodie Foster's Army is named in reference to Hinckley's actions. Unlike child stars such as Shirley Temple or Tatum O'Neal, Foster successfully transitioned to adult roles. She won the first of her two Golden Globes and Academy Awards as Best Actress for her role as a gang-rape survivor in The Accused (1988). She earned her second for her co-starring role opposite Anthony Hopkins in the 1991 film, The Silence of the Lambs. Foster is fluent in French, which she speaks with almost no accent, and has performed in French-language films, such as Un long dimanche de fiançailles (2004). Foster made her directoral debut in 1991 with Little Man Tate, a drama about a child prodigy, in which she also costarred. She also directed Home for the Holidays (1995), a comedy starring Holly Hunter and Robert Downey Jr.. In 1992, Foster founded a production company called Egg Pictures in Los Angeles, and she began working as a producer in 1994 with the acclaimed Nell, the story of young woman raised in an isolated place who has to return to civilization. Foster as Clarice Starling in the 1991 film adaptation of The Silence of the Lambs. Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter in the reflection She appeared as a scientist for the SETI project searching for extra-terrestrial life in the sci-fi movie Contact in 1997, based on the novel by scientist Carl Sagan. She appeared alongside Matthew Mcconaughey. In the 2000s, Foster established a commercially successful persona as a tough, resourceful single mother, as embodied in the films Panic Room (2002) and Flightplan (2005). Foster has appeared in a number of Japanese commercials, mostly in the 1990s. These include advertisements for the Honda Civic, Keri cosmetics, Mt. Rainier ice coffee, and the Pasona Temporary Agency. In 1998, an asteroid, 17744 Jodiefoster, was named in her honor. After taking a break from acting, Foster returned in the 2005 film, Flightplan. Foster's latest film, Inside Man, a thriller co-starring Denzel Washington, was released on March 24, 2006 and opened at #1 at the box office. Her next film will be The Brave One, a thriller which is being filmed in New York City, directed by Neil Jordan and co-starring Terrence Howard. Commenting on her latest roles, Foster has said that she enjoys appearing in mainstream genre films that have a "real heart to them".[2] Foster gave the Class of 2006 University of Pennsylvania commencement address on May 15, 2006, the university's 250th Commencement. The university also conferred to her the Doctor of Arts (honoris causa) degree for her lifelong achievement and contribution to film in both acting and directing[1][2]. Her address is available in webcast and mp3 format. Personal life Foster is intensely private about her personal life. She has two sons, Charles (b. 1998) and Christopher (b. 2001), but has not revealed the father's identity or even if they have the same father. Because she has lived with producer Cydney Bernard for several years, some people assume that she is a lesbian, but Foster has not made any public statements regarding her sexual orientation. An unauthorized biography, Foster Child, written by her brother Buddy Foster, identifies her as bisexual. Trivia Chosen by Empire magazine as one of the 100 "Sexiest Stars" in film history (#45). [1995] Was supposed to be Commencement Speaker for Smith College in Massachusetts but eventually had to decline. [2000] Uses her own voice in all of the French versions of any of her movies because she can speak French fluently. As a youngster, was mauled by a lion and carried briefly in its mouth after a day of filming Napoleon and Samantha, a Disney movie. Had to pull out of Double Jeopardy (1999) because she became pregnant. Ranked #18 in Empire (UK) magazine's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time. She has two sisters and a brother, Lucinda "Cindy" Foster (b. 1954), Constance "Connie" Foster (b. 1955), and Lucius "Buddy" Foster (b. 1957). During the filming of both Taxi Driver and The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane her stand-in was her older sister, Connie Foster. Made her debut (and only official) musical recordings in France in 1977: two 7" singles, "Je T'attends Depuis la Nuit des Temps" b/w "La Vie C'est Chouette" and "When I Looked at Your Face" b/w "La Vie C'est Chouette". The A-side of the former is sung in French, the A-side of the latter in English. The B-side of both is mostly spoken word and is performed in both French and English; with its Avant-discoesque music in the background, it is oddly reminiscent of the surviving Doors accompanying the late Jim Morrison's recorded poetry on An American Prayer a few months later in 1978. These three recordings were included on the soundtrack to Foster's 1977 French film Moi, fleur bleue. An early 1980's hardcore punk band was known as J.F.A., standing for "Jodie Foster's Army". They made at least two or three recordings which directly referenced Foster. There have been at least 20+ punk, hardcore, heavy metal, new wave and no wave rock 'n' roll recordings that directly or indirectly reference Foster, included works by U.K. Subs, J.F.A., PH2, Half Japanese, Sonic Youth, Darlington and Caustic Christ. Foster's voice has been sampled from interviews and film performances and included on some tracks. Canadian poet R. W. Watkins dedicated a 2002 broadside of haiku poems to "Foster on her 40th". The haiku are based on her 1976 film The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane (and the 1974 novel of the same name by Laird Koenig), and were expanded to 24-page chapbook-size for a 2005 republication by Nocturnal Iris Publications. The new edition features at least one avant-garde drawing of Foster by Watkins dating from 1988. Watkins also publishes a highly eccentric and in-depth fanzine Cellar, which concentrates on Foster's early and/or darker cinematic work, the work of novelist/playwright/screenwriter Laird Koenig, and (in particular) the point at which their careers intersect: The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane. Quotes "Kids talk like sailors now. Adults don't want to know." -- at age 14. On the advantages of being an actress who is months from turning 40: "They've lived longer, they're more confident about their choices and they don't have to be hip and cool anymore, which I think is a godsend - you make really bad choices when you are trying to be hip." -- April 2004 "If I fail, at least I will have failed my way." On "Foster Child", her brother, Buddy Foster's unauthorized biography about her: "A cheap cry for attention and money filled with hazy recollections, fantasies and borrowed press releases. Buddy has done nothing but break our mother's heart his whole life". Filmography Year Title Role Notes 2007 Sugarland Announced The Brave One In Production 2006 Inside Man Madeline White 2005 Flightplan Kyle Pratt 2004 A Very Long Engagement (Un long dimanche de fiançailles) Elodie Gordes 2003 Abby Singer Herself 2002 Panic Room Meg Altman The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys Sister Assumpta Also producer 1999 Anna and the King Anna Leonowens 1998 The Uttmost Herself Documentary 1997 Contact Ellie Arroway 1994 Nell Nell Kellty Also producer Maverick Mrs. Annabelle Bransford 1993 Sommersby Laurel Sommersby 1992 Shadows and Fog Prostitute 1991 Little Man Tate Dede Tate Also director The Silence of the Lambs Clarice Starling 1990 Catchfire Anne Benton a.k.a. Backtrack 1988 The Accused Sarah Tobias Stealing Home Katie Chandler 1987 Siesta Nancy Five Corners Linda 1986 Mesmerized Victoria Also co-producer 1984 The Blood of Others (Le Sang des autres) Hélène The Hotel New Hampshire Frannie Berry 1983 Svengali Zoe Alexander 1982 O'Hara's Wife Barbara O'Hara 1980 Foxes Jeanie Carny Donna 1977 Candleshoe Casey Brown Casotto Teresina Fedeli Stop Calling Me Baby! (Moi, fleur bleue) Isabelle Tristan (aka Fleur bleue) 1976 The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane Rynn Freaky Friday Annabel Andrews Bugsy Malone Tallulah Taxi Driver Iris Steensma Echoes of a Summer Deirdre Striden 1975 The Secret Life of T.K. Dearing T.K. Dearing TV 1974 Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore Audrey Smile, Jenny, You're Dead Liberty Cole TV 1973 Rookie of the Year Sharon Lee TV Alexander, Alexander Sue TV The Addams Family Pugsley (voice) TV Kung Fu Alethea Patricia Ingram TV Tom Sawyer Becky Thatcher One Little Indian Martha McIver 1972 Kansas City Bomber Rita Napoleon and Samantha Samantha My Sister Hank Henrietta "Hank" Bennett TV 1970 Menace on the Mountain Suellen McIver TV Award Nominations Year Group Award Won? Film 1976 BAFTA Best Supporting Actress and Best Newcomer Yes Bugsy Malone 1977 Golden Globe Best Motion Picture Actress - Musical/Comedy No Freaky Friday 1977 Academy Awards Best Supporting Actress No Taxi Driver 1977 BAFTA Best Actress in a Supporting Role Yes Taxi Driver 1978 Saturn Award Best Actress No The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane 1988 Golden Globe Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama Yes The Accused 1988 Academy Awards Best Actress Yes The Accused 1991 New York Film Critics Circle Awards Best Actress Yes The Silence of the Lambs Academy Awards Academy Award for Best Actress BAFTA BAFTA Award for Best Actress Golden Globe Award Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama 1992 Saturn Award Best Actress No The Silence of the Lambs 1995 Screen Actors Guild Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Yes Nell 1995 Academy Awards Academy Award for Best Actress No Nell 1997 Golden Globe Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama No Contact 1998 Saturn Award Best Actress Yes Contact 2003 Saturn Award Best Actress No Panic Room 2006 Saturn Award Best Actress No Flightplan Preceded by: Cher for Moonstruck Academy Award for Best Actress 1988 for The Accused Succeeded by: Jessica Tandy for Driving Miss Daisy Preceded by: Kathy Bates for Misery Academy Award for Best Actress 1991 for The Silence of the Lambs Succeeded by: Emma Thompson for Howards End References Footnotes ^ The StarPhoenix. A class act: Jodie Foster riding high with Flightplan and Inside Man. Retrieved on March 31, 2006. ^ UPI. Foster, Howard to star in Neil Jordan film. Retrieved on March 27, 2006. Japanese commercials Web sites Jodie Foster at the Internet Movie Database Jodie Foster Timeline Jodie Foster Online TV and Movie Trivia Tribute: Jodie Foster Jodie Foster.nu unofficial fansite Another fansite with pictures Search Term: "Jodie_Foster" Categories: 1962 births | Best Actress Oscar | Best Actress Oscar Nominee | Best Supporting Actress Oscar Nominee | American child actors | American film actors | American film directors | Atheists | Female film directors | Living people | People from Los Angeles | Yale University alumni