Jodie Foster

Jodie Foster is an Academy Award-winning actress who began her acting career at the tender age of 3, with a role as the Coppertone Girl in a television commercial for the iconic brand of suntan lotion. Over the course of her career, Foster has received numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, three BAFTA Awards, and three Golden Globe Awards. In 2013, she was also honored with the Cecil B. DeMille Award and, later, the Honorary Palme d'Or in 2021.

Despite never having taken an acting class, she dove headfirst into show business in 1968 with her first television show, "Mayberry R.F.D." From there, she would continue on to a busy career as a child actress, appearing in over 50 television shows and becoming a breadwinner for the family. She also started her journey into film acting with her feature film debut in "Napoleon and Samantha." All the while, Foster was studying at the private prep school Lycée Français de Los Angeles, juggling a challenging course load and becoming fluent in French. Her fluency in French has enabled her to act in French films, further expanding her international appeal.

Foster's unforgettable and controversial breakout film role came when she was only 12 years old. "Taxi Driver," an iconic and dark Martin Scorsese picture set in the gritty underbelly of 1970s-era New York, saw Foster playing a child prostitute who becomes the obsession of the title character, played by Robert De Niro. "Taxi Driver" garnered Foster an Oscar nomination, establishing her as a teenage star and leading to roles in popular films like "Freaky Friday" and "Foxes," further cementing her place as Hollywood's next darling.

Her next widely acclaimed role came in another intense and gritty picture when she played rape survivor Sarah Tobias in "The Accused." For this performance, she won both an Academy Award and Golden Globe for Best Actress, establishing her as one of Hollywood's most esteemed serious actresses. She continued to impress with her performance as FBI agent Clarice Starling in the blockbuster hit "The Silence of the Lambs," for which she won her second Academy Award and Golden Globe.

Firmly established as one of Hollywood's biggest stars and enjoying the professional and financial freedom to follow a different path, Foster turned to directing. Her feature-film directorial debut, "Little Man Tate," won widespread plaudits from critics. She also founded her own production company, Egg Pictures, in 1992 and directed films such as "The Beaver," and "Money Monster." Also, she has directed episodes for TV shows like "House of Cards" and "Black Mirror."

Between her occasional directorial projects, Foster continued to act in hit movies such as "Maverick," "Contact," and the box office smash "Panic Room." In 2018, Foster starred in the dystopian film "Hotel Artemis." In 2021, she appeared in the legal drama "The Mauritanian," for which she won a Best Supporting Actress Golden Globe. In 2023, she played a supporting role in the Netflix biopic "Nyad" alongside Annette Bening, for which Foster and Bening both received Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations for their performances. Foster also received a 2025 Golden Globe nomination for her work in "True Detective: Night Country."