Jodie Foster started her career at the age of two. For four years, she made commercials and finally gave her debut as an actress in the TV series Mayberry R.F.D., on which her brother, Buddy Foster, was a regular. In 1975, Jodie was offered the role of the prostitute Iris in the movie Taxi Driver. This role, for which she received an Academy Award nomination in the "Best Supporting Actress" category, marked a breakthrough in her career. In 1980, she graduated as the best of her class from the College Lycée Français and began to study English Literature at Yale University, from where she graduated magna cum laude in 1985. One tragic moment in her life was March 30th, 1981 when John Hinckley attempted to assassinate the President of the United States, Ronald Reagan. Hinkley was obsessed with Jodie and the movie Taxi Driver, in which Travis Bickle, played by Robert De Niro, tried to shoot presidential candidate, Palantine. Despite the fact that Jodie never took acting lessons, she received two Oscars before she was thirty years of age. She received her first award for her part as Sarah Tobias in The Accused and the second one for her performance as Clarice Starling in The Silence of the Lambs.



The Brave One (2007): $15,000,000
Flightplan (2005): $13,000,000
Panic Room (2002): $12,000,000
Anna and the King (1999): $15,000,000
Contact (1997): $9,000,000
Nell (1994): US$4,500,000 for acting + US$5,000,000 for producing
Maverick (1994): $5,000,000
The Hotel New Hampshire (1984): US$500,000

Chosen by Empire magazine as one of the 100 "Sexiest Stars" in film history (#45) (1995). As a child, was attacked by a lion and carried briefly in its mouth while filming Disney's Napoleon and Samantha (1972). Gave birth to Charles Bernard Foster on 20 July 1998 and Kit Bernard Foster on 29 September 2001. Ranked #18 in Empire (UK) magazine's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list (October 2007). Graduated in 1980 as the class valedictorian from the private academy Lycée Français in Los Angeles. Fluent in French by age 14, she spoke her own lines in the 1977 film Moi, fleur bleue (1977) and the 2004 film Un long dimanche de fiançailles (2004). Listed as one of twelve "Promising New Actors of 1976" in John'Willis' Screen World, Vol. 28 (1976). Made her acting debut in a Coppertone Suntan Lotion commercial when she was 3 years old. Was offered a role in Me and Rubyfruit (1989) twice and turned it down. Enjoys kickboxing, yoga, karate, aerobics, and weightlifting and collects fancy kitchenware and B&W photos. Her favorite book is "Franny and Zooey" by J.D. Salinger. Gave the Class Day speech at Yale in 1993 and received an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree from Yale in 1997. Youngest host of "Saturday Night Live" (1975) until Drew Barrymore hosted in 1982. Starred as Addie Pray in the short-lived TV show "Paper Moon" (1974), which was originally a movie starring Tatum O'Neal. Got the role of Clarice Starling in The Silence of the Lambs (1991) after Michelle Pfeiffer turned it down. Father Lucius Foster left the family when Jodie's mother was a few months pregnant with her. Was named one of the 50 Most Beautiful People by People Magazine in 2002. Was first choice to play the role of Princess Leia in the original "Star Wars" trilogy but could not get out of her contract with Disney. George Lucas then decided to make Princess Leia older. Recorded a number of songs for her film Moi, fleur bleue (1977), including "Je T'Attends Depuis La Nuit Des Temps," "When I Looked at Your Face" and "La Vie C'est Chouette." Was in a serious relationship with Cydney Bernard since they met on the set of the movie Sommersby (1993) until they broke up in 2008. Her sister, Connie Foster, was her stand-in during the more explicit scenes in Taxi Driver (1976). Is doubled by stuntwoman Jill Stokesberry in most of her films, starting with Sommersby (1993). Considers her role in The Silence of the Lambs (1991) to be a counterpart to her role in Taxi Driver (1976). In Taxi Driver (1976), she is a young girl in bondage who has to be rescued. In The Silence of the Lambs (1991), she rescues the captive woman. In an interesting twist, her pimp in Taxi Driver (1976) was played by Harvey Keitel, who went on to play her future mentor, Jack Crawford, in Red Dragon (2002). Her production company, Egg Pictures, is named after the character played by Seth Green in The Hotel New Hampshire (1984) in which Jodie starred. She was fluent in Italian by the age of 18. She was all set to star in the TV film The Best Little Girl in the World (1981) (TV). Unfortunately an actors' strike prevented the film from being made. By the time the production was ready to go, Jodie was already studying at Yale. The leading role went to Jennifer Jason Leigh. She was the Commencement Speaker at University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in May 2006 and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the school. In an article published on 5 September 2006, Foster told The New York Times that she is such a "'serious N.P.R. [National Public Radio]-head' - the sort of person who will sit in her garage listening to the car radio until a show is over" that she changed her character in The Brave One from a newspaper reporter to the host of a public radio show. Revealed during a 2005 interview on the French talk show "Le Grand Journal" that she knows the words to the French national anthem, "La Marseillaise", but does not know "The Star-Spangled Banner". Her favorite actress is Meryl Streep. Ranked #30 on EW's The 50 Smartest People in Hollywood (2007). Attended Yale University at the same time as Jennifer Beals. Her family celebrates both Christmas and Hanukkah. Has a fear of snakes. Has said that her only regret is that she would love to live life without knowing what it's like to be famous. Turned down the role of "Catherine Tramell" for Basic Instinct (1992), that ultimately went to Sharon Stone. The Game (1997) was originally written as a star vehicle for her, but the project changed direction and the female lead became male. Was considered by Sergio Leone for the role of Deborah Gelly in his final movie Once Upon a Time in America (1984), but the role went to Elizabeth McGovern. Turned down the role of Angel in Little Darlings (1980). Kristy McNichol played the part. Turned down the role of Suzanne Stone in To Die For (1995). The part went to Nicole Kidman. Turned down the role of Annie Reed in Sleepless in Seattle (1993). Meg Ryan got the part. Turned down the role that was played by Molly Ringwald in Pretty in Pink (1986). Foster was pursued by an obsessed fan named John Hinckley. Hinckley came up with a plan to impress her by attempting to assassinate Ronald Reagan but missed him and wounded James Brady. Hinckley has been in a psychiatric hospital ever since. Member of the same Los Angeles gym as Ryan Gosling, Bradley Cooper, Jason Sarayba, Michelle Monaghan, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, and Ashley Tisdale. Returned to work four months after giving birth to her son Kit in order to begin filming The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys (2002). As she is fluent in the language, she often dubs over her own character's voice for the French version of her films.