The Silence of the Lambs
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"I'm a technician. I don't go for the get-into-the-role stuff. I read the lines and play the scenes." Jodie Foster has been a mainstay in Hollywood for so long that it is hard to imagine a cinematic world without her. Seemingly born to be a performer, Foster has been entertaining fans around the world since she was just six-years-old. As an actor's actor, Foster has lit up the screen in every type of film. From Taxi Driver and Silence of the Lambs to Freaky Friday and Contact, Foster has showcased the type of range that most performers can only dream of.
Despite the longevity of Foster's career and the consistent quality of her work, far too few people understand what she has gone through over the years. As a child prodigy turned acting legend, Foster has had one of the most fascinating and fulfilling careers in all of Hollywood. If you weren't a fan of Jodie Foster yet, keep on reading.
A Child Prodigy is Born
Jodie Foster was born November 19, 1962, in Los Angeles, CA. Foster was the youngest child of Lucius Fisher Foster III and Evelyn Ella Foster. Lucius, her father, was raised in a wealthy family with direct descendants dating back to the Mayflower that arrived in America in 1620, notably including John Alden. Lucius is a graduate from Yale University as well as a real estate broker and honored United States Air Force Lieutenant Colonel. Evelyn, Jodie's mother, was born and raised in Rockford, Illinois. Jodie's parents had wed in Las Vegas and had divorced before Foster was ever born. Jodie had never gotten to know her father, nor had she ever really established a relationship with.
As a child, Foster exhibited clear signs of higher intelligence. Foster was beginning to talk by nine months old, and she was able to read fluently by the age of three. She was fluent in French by prep school. As a result, Foster has been able to record all of her lines for her movies that receive a French dub. Foster also understands Italian, German, and Spanish. Foster would even give her valedictory address in high school via the French language.
Jodie never seriously pursued acting classes as a child, but she would still manage to find herself in front of the camera. While most child stars end up pursuing other work, Foster was only just getting started.
Child Star to Hollywood Hero
By the time that Jodie was three-years-old, she was appearing with regularity in television advertisements. Her mother had wanted only Jodie's older brother, Buddy, to audition, but Jodie had come along for all of the casting calls, anyway. Jodie was immediately noticed by the casting team, and she was brought in to start working. By the time that Jodie was six-years-old, she had appeared on television in the sitcom, Mayberry R.F.D (1968) alongside her brother. Foster would go on to appear in more than fifty television shows and advertisements as a child, and she was the primary moneymaker in the household. Foster knows that she wouldn't have been able to succeed without her mother's support. Foster has said, "I still treasure her impact. She was very strong, self-educated, but wasn't pushy."
While Foster loved performing as a child, her mother was concerned that acting would begin to dry out as Jodie grew older. Fortunately, Jodie would remain committed to the work and her dedication would pay off. At just 12-years-old, Jodie would land a role in Martin Scorsese's masterpiece, Taxi Driver (1976). Foster would play a controversial character in the film, and she was almost barred from the work, if not for intervention from then-governor Pat Brown. A social worker was always on set with Foster while she worked in order to ensure that the setting was safe. Foster would end up nominated for an Oscar for her work.
During her work on Taxi Driver, Jodie and Robert De Niro grew fond of each other. De Niro pushed Foster to take the work seriously and this was the first time that Foster realized what could be in store for her. Foster claims that this is the first time that she quit treating acting like a hobby. Shortly after Taxi Driver, Foster would appear in another Palme d'Or nominated film by way of Bugsy Malone (1976). Renowned film critic Roger Ebert lauded Foster for her work. By November 1976, Foster would become the youngest person to ever host an episode of Saturday Night Live.
Foster would move to France in order to separate herself from the whirlwind that was her sudden scorching career. She'd spend nine months overseas wherein she worked on a number of French films, including Moi, Fleur Bleue (1977). Foster also recorded songs on the soundtrack of the film. By 1980, Foster was back in Hollywood and ready to begin pursuing a regular life. She would attend Yale University and take the time in order to discover who she was as a person, rather than who she was as a performer.
After finishing her time at Yale, Foster would leap back into the film industry with a breakthrough role in the film, The Accused (1988). The project was darker than anything Foster had ever been in but considerably darker than what was to come. Foster had taken on the role in order to give acting 'one last try' before moving on to a more traditional life. Foster would win several awards for the work, including a Golden Globe, a BAFTA nomination, and an Academy Award.
With The Accused showing Foster's range, nobody was surprised when she was brought onboard The Silence of the Lambs (1991). The film would also star Anthony Hopkins as the infamous serial killer, Hannibal Lecter. The film would launch Foster into true superstardom as she would win an Oscar Award for the Best Actress in a Leading Role, her second such award in a three-year period. After this bout of success, Foster would experience an array of setbacks. She would end up attached to a string of productions that ended up being canceled. Finally, Foster came back with a string of hits in Contact (1997), Panic Room (2002) and Flifhgtplan (2005).
When Foster isn't working on a project, she is famously tight-lipped about her private life. Ever since the infamous John Hinckley incident, which featured an obsessed and dangerous stalker, Foster has kept largely to herself when in the public eye. Foster has two children with former partner Cydney Bernard. In 2014, Foster would go on to marry Alexandra Hedison. Foster has a handful of projects in development with her most recent release being Hotel Artemis in 2018.
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