Jodie Foster is an American actress and filmmaker. Regarded as one of the greatest and most accomplished actors of her generation, Foster is known for her selectivity and playing intellectually complex, strong willed female protagonists. A career spanning six decades, Foster's career spans from being a successful child actor to an influential cinematic figure as an adult, a rarity in cinema. Over her six decades long career, Foster has starred in over 50 feature films and 30 television shows.
Foster began her professional career as a child model at age three appearing in a Coppertone commercial. Following appearances in numerous advertisements, she made her television debut at age five, in a 1968 episode of the sitcom Mayberry R.F.D., following which she guest-starred in numerous television shows including Gunsmoke, The Doris Day Show, The Courtship of Eddie's Father, My Three Sons, Bonanza, Paper Moon, and Kung Fu. Foster made her feature film debut with Disney's adventure film Napoleon and Samantha (1972). Following notable appearances as Becky Thatcher in the musical film Tom Sawyer (1973), and in Martin Scorsese's Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974), Foster rose to international prominence in 1976 at age 13 with four prominent releases: Taxi Driver, Bugsy Malone, Freaky Friday, and The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane, with the first of these earning Foster her first nomination for an Academy Award. She continued to garner praise and became a teen idol with starring roles in an array of films, including Candleshoe (1977), and Foxes (1980). During this period, Foster also made numerous European films, including the French comedy-drama Moi, fleur bleue (1977), and the Italian comedy Casotto (1978). By the end of the decade, Foster established herself as the most prominent child actor of the era.
A child prodigy, Foster decided to take a sabbatical from acting at the height of her teenage stardom for four years to attend Yale University. During this period she made five movies including Claude Chabrol's television film Le sang des autres (1983), and Tony Richardson's comedy The Hotel New Hampshire (1984), however none of them were major successes and following her graduation, Foster struggled to find substantial work. She made a series of independent films, including the experimental film Siesta (1987), and the crime-drama Five Corners (1988), and also the 1988 severely overlooked but later beloved cult-classic Stealing Home for Warner Bros., before having her adult breakthrough with the legal drama The Accused (1988), for which she won her first Academy Award for Best Actress. Her second Academy Award came for her portrayal of Clarice Starling in the psychological horror The Silence of the Lambs (1991). Other successful films in the 1990s were Sommersby (1993), Maverick (1994), Nell (1994), Contact (1997), and Anna and the King (1999). Foster made her debut as a director at age 14, when she directed a short film for BBC. Her first major directorial work came with a 1988 episode of the horror anthology series Tales from the Darkside. She made her feature film directorial debut with the family drama Little Man Tate (1991), and during this decade directed holiday comedy-drama film Home for the Holidays (1995).
During the 2000s, Foster starred in Panic Room (2002), The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys (2002), A Very Long Engagement (2004), Flightplan (2005), Inside Man (2006), The Brave One (2007), and Nim's Island (2008). By 2005, Foster was named the world's highest-paid actress. During the 2010s, Foster focused more on directing and made her acting appearances intermittent, starring in just three films, Carnage (2011), Elysium (2013), and Hotel Artemis (2018). Her directorial work during this decade includes the films The Beaver (2011) and Money Monster (2016), and episodes of the television shows Orange Is the New Black, House of Cards, Black Mirror, and Tales from the Loop.
During the 2020s, Foster returned to more frequent acting work, winning her fourth Golden Globe Award for portraying attorney Nancy Hollander in the legal drama The Mauritanian (2021), and received her fifth Academy Award nomination for her portrayal of swimming coach Bonnie Stoll in the Netflix biopic Nyad (2023). Foster appeared in her first starring role on television and her first acting appearance in the medium in five decades as Chief Liz Danvers in the fourth season of HBO's crime anthology series True Detective, winning the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie.
Acting credits +Key Denotes works that have not yet been released
Film Year Title RoleNotes 1972 Napoleon and Samantha Samantha Kansas City Bomber Rita 1973 Tom Sawyer Becky Thatcher One Little Indian Martha McIver 1974 Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore Audrey 1976 Taxi Driver Iris Steensma Echoes of a Summer Deirdre Striden Bugsy Malone Tallulah The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane Rynn Jacobs Freaky Friday Annabel Andrews / Ellen Andrews 1977 Moi, fleur bleue Isabelle Tristan / Fleur Bleue Casotto Teresina Fedeli Candleshoe Casey Brown 1980 Foxes Jeanie Carny Donna 1982 O'Hara's Wife Barbara O'Hara 1984 The Hotel New Hampshire Frannie Berry 1986 Mesmerized Victoria Thompson 1987 Siesta Nancy 1988 Five Corners Linda Stealing Home Katie Chandler The Accused Sarah Tobias 1990 Catchfire Anne Benton 1991 The Silence of the Lambs Clarice Starling Little Man Tate Dede Tate Shadows and Fog Dorrie 1993 Sommersby Laurel Sommersby It Was a Wonderful Life Narrator Voice; Documentary 1994 Maverick Mrs. Annabelle Bransford Nell Nell Kellty 1997 Contact Dr. Eleanor Arroway 1999 Anna and the King Anna Leonowens 2002 The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys Sister Assumpta Panic Room Meg Altman 2003 Abby Singer Herself 2004 A Very Long Engagement Elodie Gordes 2005 Flightplan Kyle Pratt 2006 Inside Man Madeline White 2007 The Brave One Erica Bain 2008 Nim's Island Alexandra Rover 2009 Motherhood Herself 2011 The Beaver Meredith Black Carnage Penelope Longstreet 2013 Elysium Secretary of Defense Jessica Delacourt 2018 Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché Narrator Voice; Documentary Hotel Artemis Jean Thomas / The Nurse 2019 Love, Antosha Herself Documentary 2021 The Mauritanian Nancy Hollander 2023 Nyad Bonnie Stoll 2025 A Private Life Lilian Steiner Breakdown: 1975 Narrator Voice; Documentary 2026 Queen Celeste Voice
Television Year Title RoleNotes 1968–1970 Mayberry R.F.D. Fairy / Little Girl 2 episodes 1969 The Doris Day Show Jenny Benson 1 episode 1969–1971 The Courtship of Eddie's Father Joey Kelly 5 episodes 1969 Julia Cindy Blanchard 1 episode 1969–1972 Gunsmoke Susan Sadler / Patricia / Marieanne 3 episodes1970 Menace on the Mountain Suellen McIver TV movie Daniel Boone Rachel 1 episode Adam-12 Mary Bennett 1 episode Nanny and the Professor Angela 1 episode 1971 My Three Sons Priscilla Hobson 6 episodes1972 Bonanza 'Bluebird' 1 episode Ghost Story Judy 1 episode The Paul Lynde Show Maggie 1 episode The New Scooby-Doo Movies Pugsley Addams 1 episode My Sister Hank Henrietta 'Hank' Bennett TV movie The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan Anne Chan Voice; 16 episodes Ironside Pip Morrison 1 episods1973 Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice Elizabeth Henderson 5 episodes Rookie of the Year Sharon Lee TV movie ABC Afterschool Special Sue 1 episode The Partridge Family Julie 1 episode Love Story Ellie Madison 1 episode Kung Fu Alethea Patricia Ingram 1 episode The New Perry Mason Hildy Haynes 1 episode The Addams Family Pugsley Addams Voice; 16 episodes 1974 Smile, Jenny, You're Dead Liberty Cole TV movie Paper Moon Addie Loggins 13 episodes 1975 Medical Center Ivy 1 episode The Secret Life of T. K. Dearing T.K. Dearing TV movie 1976 Saturday Night Live Herself (host) Episode: "Jodie Foster/Brian Wilson" 1983 Svengali Zoe Alexander TV movie 1984 The Blood of Others Hélène Bertrand TV movie 1996 Frasier Marlene Voice; Episode: "Moon Dance" 1997 The X-Files Betty Voice; Episode: "Never Again" 2005 Statler and Waldorf: From the Balcony Herself Episode 8 2009 The Simpsons Maggie Simpson Voice; Episode: "Four Great Women and a Manicure" 2014 Makers: Women Who Make America Narrator Voice; Episode: "Women in Space" 2024 True Detective Liz Danvers 6 episodes (season 4)
Filmmaker credits + Director Year Title Notes 1988 Tales from the Darkside Episode: "Do Not Open This Box" 1991 Little Man Tate 1995 Home for the Holidays 2011 The Beaver 2013–2014 Orange Is the New Black Two episodes ("Lesbian Request Denied", "Thirsty Bird") 2014 House of Cards Episode: "Chapter 22" 2016 Money Monster 2017 Black Mirror Episode: "Arkangel" 2020 Tales from the Loop Episode: "Home"
+ Producer Year Title Notes 1986 Mesmerized Co-producer 1994 Nell 1995 Home for the Holidays 1998 The Baby Dance Television film; Executive producer 2000 Waking the Dead Executive producer 2002 The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys 2007 The Brave One Executive producer 2020 Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché Documentary; Executive producer 2024 True Detective: Night Country Executive producer Alok
See also List of awards and nominations received by Jodie Foster
References
External links