ACTOR · BORN 1962
Jodie Foster
- Born
- 19 November 1962, Los Angeles, California, USA
- Known for
- The Silence of the Lambs (1991), Star Wars (1977), Taxi Driver (1976), The Brave One (2007)
29 archived facts 5 topics 1 source Last reviewed Nov 2026
Jodie Foster (born 19 November 1962) is an actor best known for The Silence of the Lambs, Star Wars and Taxi Driver.
Jodie Foster over the years
29 Interesting Facts About Jodie Foster
Interesting Facts (12)
- #001
Foster replaced Nicole Kidman at the last minute as Meg Altman in Panic Room (2002), stepping in after Kidman was injured on set. This unexpected situation demonstrated Foster's professionalism and her ability to adapt quickly. The film drew attention for Foster's strong performance and was successful at the box office.
- #002
Andrew Gunn, the producer of Freaky Friday (2003), initially hoped Foster would play the mother role, since Foster had played the daughter in the original 1976 film. Foster, however, turned down the offer out of concern that such a casting trick would overshadow the film's overall value. This decision shows the importance she places on artistic integrity.
Jodie Foster: Nurse, at an evening eventImage: Wikimedia Commons · LGEPR, CC BY 2.0 - #003
Like Kim Basinger, Foster turned down the role of Annie Reed in Sleepless in Seattle (1993) because she too found the film's premise absurd. The role later went to Meg Ryan, and the film became a major box-office success. Foster's decision shows how selective she is in her script choices and that she values artistic merit over commercial success.
- #004
After attempting to assassinate President Reagan in 1981, John Hinckley Jr. remained at St. Elizabeth's psychiatric hospital for about 35 years. He was released in July 2016, but his release was subject to many conditions. These included living with his elderly mother in a gated community in Williamsburg, Virginia, not using social media and having no contact with his victims. The event symbolizes the closing of a period that deeply affected Foster's life.
Jodie Foster: a sceneImage: Wikimedia Commons · Franz Richter ( User:FRZ ), CC BY-SA 2.5 - #005
Foster decided not to reprise the role of Clarice Starling in Hannibal (2001). The decision led her to question her attachment to the character and the story; the film's violent content and the script's shift in a different direction were also factors. The role was ultimately given to Julianne Moore, and Foster's decision showed how independent she is in her artistic choices.
- #006
Jodie Foster sees her role in The Silence of the Lambs (1991) as a counterpart to her role in Taxi Driver (1976). In Taxi Driver she played a young prostitute who needed to be rescued, while in The Silence of the Lambs she played a powerful FBI agent who rescues a captive woman. As an interesting detail, Harvey Keitel, who played her pimp in Taxi Driver, later played Clarice Starling's mentor Jack Crawford in Red Dragon (2002). This connection shows the thematic continuity in Foster's career.
- #007
- #008
- #009
- #010
Jodie Foster is known to be a distant relative of John Hinckley Jr., who made history with his 1981 assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan. The two were found to be ninth cousins once removed. This connection drew wide media attention after the event that deeply affected Foster's life.
- #011
In 2005, Jodie Foster made an interesting confession on the French talk show Le Grand Journal. The actress, known for her closeness to French culture, said she knew the lyrics of France's national anthem, La Marseillaise, by heart but did not know those of her own country's anthem, The Star-Spangled Banner. This statement revealed her strong bond with France and her cosmopolitan personality.
- #012
Jodie Foster recorded several songs for the 1977 film Stop Calling Me Baby!, including 'Je T'Attends Depuis La Nuit Des Temps', 'When I Looked at Your Face' and 'La Vie C'est Chouette'. These songs reveal her versatility, showing that she was interested in music as well as acting. However, the recordings remained in the shadow of acting, her primary profession.
Behind the Scenes (1)
- #013
During the shooting of Napoleon and Samantha (1972), Foster was attacked by a lion and was briefly carried in the lion's mouth. The incident left permanent scars on her body. For this reason, certain angles are used in some films to conceal these scars in nude scenes. The experience shows her determination to continue her career despite the difficulties she faced at a young age.
Characters & Cast (3)
- #014
Louis Malle had considered Jodie Foster for the role of Violet in Pretty Baby (1978); however, Foster turned down the offer because she had already played a similar role (an underage prostitute) in Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver (1976). Her decision stemmed from not wanting to repeat herself. The role ultimately went to Brooke Shields, and the film became an important production in Shields's career.
- #015
Callie Khouri wrote the role of Thelma Dickinson in Thelma & Louise (1991) for Jodie Foster. However, director Ridley Scott rejected her, thinking Foster was too young for the role. The role ultimately went to Geena Davis, and the film became an important example of feminist cinema. Foster's missing out on this role led her career to move in a different direction.
- #016
Career & Awards (4)
- #017
Jodie Foster is known for her language skills. She spoke fluent French by the age of 14 and demonstrated the ability by delivering her own lines in French in Stop Calling Me Baby! (1977), A Very Long Engagement (2004) and The Brave One (2007). She began learning Spanish at a young age and was also fluent in Italian by the time she was 18. This multilingualism proved a significant advantage in her international career.
- #018
At the 31st AFI Life Achievement Awards, Foster stated that Robert De Niro had introduced her to the art of true acting. During the shooting of Taxi Driver (1976), De Niro would insist on meeting her at a local diner to rehearse their scenes. Initially bored by this routine, Foster learned the subtleties of acting once De Niro began to improvise. The experience became one of the most important turning points in her career.
- #019
By the time Foster was six years old, she had appeared in 50 commercials. The experience she gained at such an early age made her comfortable in front of the camera and laid the foundation for her later acting career. This intense work in the advertising industry helped her develop her professionalism early on.
- #020
Jodie Foster was preparing to star in the 1981 television film The Best Little Girl in the World. An actors' strike at the time, however, halted the film's shooting and the project was postponed. When production resumed, Foster was continuing her education at Yale University, so Jennifer Jason Leigh took the role. The episode shows the importance Foster placed on her academic career.
Life & Family (9)
- #021
Foster's older sister, Connie Foster, served as her stunt double on Martin Scorsese's masterpiece Taxi Driver (1976). This shows that Foster was supported by a professional team even at a young age and that family ties played an important role in her career. Connie's work not only kept Jodie safe in difficult scenes but also stood as a sign of solidarity between the two sisters.
- #022
Foster deliberately stays away from today's common social media platforms: Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. This choice reflects the importance she places on her private life and her understanding of privacy. Despite her fame, she prefers to control her own life by avoiding the constant surveillance and pressure for interaction that social media brings.
- #023
In an interview with the New York Times on September 5, 2006, Foster described herself as a serious NPR (National Public Radio) listener and said she was such a radio enthusiast that she could sit in her garage until a program on her car radio ended. This passion led her to change her character in The Brave One (2007) from a journalist to a public radio programmer. The detail shows how Foster reflects her personal interests in her work.
- #024
The role played by Sean Penn in The Game (1997) was originally written for Foster; in the original script, Foster was to play the daughter of Michael Douglas's character. Douglas, however, wanted the character to be his sister, and Foster disliked the idea on the grounds that it did not suit the character's age, so she withdrew from the project. The episode shows how meticulous Foster is in her choices of scripts and characters.
- #025
Foster was stalked by John Hinckley Jr. during her university years. Hinckley attempted to assassinate US President Ronald Reagan in order to impress her. The event left a traumatic mark on Foster's life and increased her security concerns. It also reinforced the importance she places on the privacy of her personal life.
- #026
In a speech at the Hollywood Reporter's Women in Entertainment event, Foster paid tribute to her long-term partner Cydney Bernard, putting an end to all speculation about her sexual orientation. The speech changed her stance on sharing her personal life with the public and was regarded as a brave step. It was also an important moment for the visibility of LGBT+ individuals in society.
- #027
Foster's longest relationships were with two people who worked on the series The L Word (2004). Cydney Bernard, her partner from 1993 to 2008 and the mother of two of her children, served as a unit production manager on the series. Alexandra Hedison, whom she married in April 2014, played the character Dylan Moreland on the series. The coincidence shows how intertwined the relationships in Foster's life are with the world of work.
- #028
Jodie Foster's parents divorced three years before she was born. For this reason, Foster was raised by her mother Brandy and Brandy's lesbian partner Josephine Dominguez Hill (1930-1984). This unusual family structure shaped her childhood and gave her a different perspective. Josephine became an important figure in Foster's life, and her name inspired Foster being called "Jodie."
- #029
Foster returned to work to begin shooting Anna and the King (1999) four months after the birth of her son Charles. Similarly, she began shooting The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys (2002) four months after the birth of her son Kit. This shows her determination to balance motherhood and career.
Related pages
- Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle — Jodie Foster comes up in the facts on that page
- Footloose — Jodie Foster comes up in the facts on that page
- Kate Winslet — Jodie Foster comes up in the facts on that page
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Sources & editorial notes
Reference databases
- Wikipedia
- IMDb
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