Jodie Foster
- For the asteroid, see 17744 Jodiefoster.
Jodie Foster | |
---|---|
Born | Alicia Christian Foster |
Occupation(s) | Actor, producer, director |
Years active | 1968–present |
Alicia Christian Foster, better known as Jodie Foster (born November 19, 1962), is an American actor, director and producer.
Foster began acting in commercials at 3 years old,[1] and her first significant role came in the 1976 film Taxi Driver as the preteen prostitute, Iris, for which she received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She won an Academy Award for Best Actress in 1989 for playing a rape survivor in The Accused. In 1991, she starred in The Silence of the Lambs as Clarice Starling, a gifted FBI trainee, assisting in a hunt for a serial killer. This performance received international acclaim and her second Academy Award for Best Actress. She received her fourth Academy Award nomination for playing a backwoods hermit in Nell (1994). Other popular films include Maverick (1994), Contact (1997), Panic Room (2002), Flightplan (2005), Inside Man (2006), The Brave One (2007) and Nim's Island (2008).
Foster's films have spanned a wide variety of genres, from family films to horror. She has also won three Bafta Awards, two Academy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, a Screen Actors Guild Award, a People's Choice Award, and has received two Emmy nominations.
Early life
Foster was born in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of Evelyn 'Brandy' Ella (née Almond) and Lucius Fisher Foster III. Her father, an Air Force Lieutenant-Colonel (a veteran of the Battle of Britain and a highly decorated airman) turned real estate broker, came from a wealthy background and left his wife before Jodie was born.[2] Foster's mother supported them by working as a film producer.[3] After appearing as a child in several commercials, Foster made her first credited TV appearance on The Doris Day Show. Her first film role was in the 1970 television movie Menace on the Mountain, which was followed by several Disney productions.
Foster attended a French-speaking prep school, the Lycée Français de Los Angeles, and graduated in 1980 as the valedictorian.[4] As a teenager, Foster frequently stayed and worked in France, and still speaks the language, dubbing herself in French-language versions of most of her films.[5] She attended Yale University, and was a member of Calhoun College. She graduated magna cum laude,[6] earning a B.A. in literature in 1985. She was scheduled to graduate in 1984 but the shooting of then-President Ronald Reagan by John Hinckley, Jr., in which Hinckley's fascination with Foster created unwanted adverse publicity for her, caused her to take a year-long leave of absence from Yale.[7] She is fluent in French, and understands German[8][9] and Italian.[10]
Career
Child star
Foster made nearly 50 film and television appearances before she attended college. She began her career at age three as a Coppertone Girl in a television commercial and debuted as a television actress in a 1968 episode of Mayberry R.F.D.[11] In 1969, she appeared in an episode of Gunsmoke, where she was credited as "Jody Foster". Although not a regular on The Courtship of Eddie's Father, she appeared from time to time as Eddie's friend Joey Kelly.[12] She made her film debut in the 1970 TV movie Menace on the Mountain and was featured as Tallulah in Bugsy Malone in 1976. As a child, Foster made a number of Disney movies, including Napoleon and Samantha (1972) and One Little Indian (1973), and continued to star in Disney films into her early teens. She also co-starred with Christopher Connelly in the 1974 TV series version of Paper Moon and alongside Martin Sheen in the 1976 cult film The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane. As a teenager, Foster made several appearances on the French pop music circuit as a singer. Commenting on her years as a child actress, which she describes as an "actor's career", Foster has said that "it was very clear to me at a young age that I had to fight for my life and that if I didn't, my life would get gobbled up and taken away from me."[13] She hosted Saturday Night Live at age 14, making her the youngest person to host at that time until Drew Barrymore hosted at the age of seven.[citation needed] She also said,
"I think all of us when we look back on our childhood, we always think of it as somebody else. It's just a completely different place. But I was lucky to be around in the '70s and to really be making movies in the '70s with some great filmmakers — the most exciting time, for me, in American Cinema. I learned a lot from some very interesting artists — and I learned a lot about the business at a young age, because, for whatever reason, I was paying attention; so it was kind of invaluable in my career."[14]
Foster was originally considered for the role of Princess Leia in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, but was unable to pull out of her contract with Disney.[15] She made her debut (and only official) musical recordings in France in 1977: two 7" singles, "Je T'attends Depuis la Nuit des Temps" b/w "La Vie C'est Chouette"[16] and "When I Looked at Your Face" backed with "La Vie C'est Chouette."< The A-side of the former is sung in French, the A-side of the latter in English. The B-side of both is mostly spoken word and is performed in both French and English. These three recordings were included on the soundtrack to Foster's 1977 French film Moi, fleur bleue.
Foster starred in three films in 1976 — Taxi Driver, Bugsy Malone, and Freaky Friday. She was nominated for the Academy Award For Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Taxi Driver. She won two British Academy Film Awards in 1977 — the BAFTA Award for Best Newcomer and the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for her performances in Bugsy Malone opposite Scott Baio and Taxi Driver opposite Robert De Niro. She received a nomination for Golden Globe Award for Best Actress for her performance in Freaky Friday. As a teenager, she also starred in the Disney adventure Candleshoe (1977) and the coming-of-age drama Foxes (1980).
Reagan assassination attempt
John Hinckley, Jr. became obsessed with Foster after watching Taxi Driver a number of times,[17][18] and stalked her while she attended Yale, sending her love letters to her campus mail box and even talking to her on the phone. On March 30, 1981, he attempted to assassinate U.S. President Ronald Reagan (shooting and wounding Reagan and three others) and claimed his motive was to impress Foster, then a Yale freshman. The media stormed the Yale campus in April "like a cavalry invasion," and followed Foster relentlessly.[19] In 1982, Foster was called to testify during his trial. After she responded to a question by saying that "I don't have any relationship with John Hinckley," Hinckley threw a pen at her and yelled "I'll get you, Foster!"[20]
Another man, Edward Richardson, followed Foster around Yale and planned to shoot her, but decided against it because she "was too pretty." This all caused intense discomfort to Foster, who has been known to walk out of interviews if Hinckley's name is even mentioned.[21] In 1991, Foster cancelled an interview with NBC's Today Show when she discovered Hinckley would be mentioned in the introduction.[21] Foster's only public reactions to this were a press conference afterwards and an article entitled "Why Me?" that she wrote for Esquire in December 1982. In that article she wrote that returning to work on the film Svengali with Peter O'Toole "made me fall in love with acting again"[22] after the assassination attempt had shaken her confidence. In 1999, she discussed the experience with Charlie Rose of 60 Minutes II.[23]
Adult career
Unlike other child stars such as Shirley Temple or Tatum O'Neal, Foster successfully made the transition to adult roles, but not without initial difficulty. Several of the films in her early adult career were financially unsuccessful, such as The Hotel New Hampshire,[24] Five Corners,[25] and Stealing Home.[26] She had to audition for her role in The Accused. She won the part and the first of her two Golden Globes and Academy Awards and a nomination for a BAFTA Award as Best Actress for her role as a rape survivor. Foster performed racy nude scenes in Catchfire, an action film costarring Dennis Hopper and Charlie Sheen which went straight to video. She starred as FBI trainee Clarice Starling in the 1991 horror film The Silence of the Lambs, for which she won her second Academy Award and Golden Globe, and won her first BAFTA Award for Best Actress. This "sleeper" film marked a breakthrough in her career, grossing nearly $273 million in theaters[27] and becoming her first blockbuster.[28]
Foster made her directorial debut in 1991 with Little Man Tate, a critically acclaimed[29] drama about a child prodigy, in which she also co-starred as the child's mother. She also directed Home for the Holidays (1995), a black comedy starring Holly Hunter and Robert Downey Jr.[14] In 1992, Foster founded a production company called Egg Pictures in Los Angeles. It primarily produced independent films until it was closed in 2001. Foster said that she did not have the ambition to produce "big mainstream popcorn" movies, and as a child, independent films made her more interested in the movie business than mainstream ones.[14] Foster played Laurel Sommersby in Sommersby opposite Richard Gere, who would comment that "She's very much a close-up actress, because her thoughts are clear."[30]
She starred in two films in 1994, first in the hugely successful western spoof Maverick[31] and later in Nell, in which she starred as an isolated woman who speaks an invented language and must return to civilization. Foster's performance earned her nominations for her fourth Academy Award, a Golden Globe, an MTV Movie Award and won her a Screen Actors Guild Award and a People's Choice Award. In 1997, she starred alongside Matthew McConaughey in the sci-fi movie Contact, based on the novel by scientist Carl Sagan. She portrayed a scientist searching for extraterrestrial life in the SETI project. She commented on the script that "I have to have some acute personal connection with the material. And that's pretty hard for me to find."[citation needed] Contact was her first science fiction film, and her first experience with a bluescreen. She commented,
"Blue walls, blue roof. It was just blue, blue, blue. And I was rotated on a lazy Susan with the camera moving on a computerized arm. It was really tough." [32]
In 1998, an asteroid, 17744 Jodiefoster, was named in her honor.[33] The film was another huge commercial success[34] and earned Foster nominations for numerous awards, including a Golden Globe. In 1999, Foster starred in the non-musical remake of The King and I entitled Anna and the King, which became an international commercial success.[35]
In 2002, Foster took over the lead role in the thriller Panic Room after Nicole Kidman dropped out due to a previous injury.[36] The film costarred Forest Whitaker, Kristen Stewart and Jared Leto and was directed by David Fincher. It grossed over $30 million in its opening weekend in the United States, Foster's biggest box office opening success of her career so far.[14] She then performed in the French-language film Un long dimanche de fiançailles (A Very Long Engagement) (2004), speaking French fluently throughout. Foster returned in the 2005 film Flightplan which opened once again in the top position at the U.S. box office and was a worldwide hit.[37] Foster portrayed a woman whose daughter disappears on an airplane that her character, an engineer, had helped to design.[38]
In 2006, she starred in Inside Man, a thriller directed by Spike Lee and co-starring Denzel Washington and Clive Owen, which again opened at the top of the U.S. box office and became another international hit.[39] In 2007, she starred in The Brave One directed by Neil Jordan and co-starring Terrence Howard, another urban thriller that opened at #1 at the U.S. box office[40] Foster's performance in the film would earn her a sixth Golden Globe for Best Actress nomination and another People's Choice nomination, for Favorite Female Action Star. Commenting on her latest roles, Foster has said that she enjoys appearing in mainstream genre films that have a "real heart to them".[41]
In 2008, Foster starred in Nim's Island alongside Gerard Butler and Abigail Breslin, portraying a reclusive writer who is contacted by a young girl after her father goes missing at sea. The film was the first comedy that Foster has starred in since Maverick in 1994, and was also a commercial success.[42]
Current projects
Foster was set to direct, as well as reunite with actor Robert De Niro, for the film Sugarland; however, the film was shelved indefinitely in 2007. Foster is currently developing a biopic of Leni Riefenstahl.
Foster will provide her voice in a Tetralogy episode of The Simpsons entitled "Four Great Women & A Manicure", set for airing in 2009.[43]
Personal life
Foster says she has only met her father three times in her entire life and that their meetings had been very awkward. She has two older sisters, Lucinda "Cindy" Foster (b. 1954), Constance "Connie" Foster (b. 1955), and an older brother, Lucius Fisher "Buddy" Foster[44] (b. 1957). During the filming of both Taxi Driver and The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane, Connie was her stand-in. Buddy Foster had his own career for several years appearing in regular spots on television shows such as Hondo and Mayberry, R.F.D. Foster and her brother have been estranged for many years. In 1997, he wrote a book entitled Foster Child in which he stated "I have always assumed Jodie was gay or bisexual."[44]
In the book, he writes that she was conceived in her father's office three years after their parents divorced when their mother went to him for child support. He also claims that her name was changed from "Alicia" to "Jodie" because it was a code "Jo D" for their mother's lesbian lover, Josephina Dominguez. Jodie Foster called the book:
"A cheap cry for attention and money filled with hazy recollections, fantasies and borrowed press releases. Buddy has done nothing but break our mother's heart his whole life".[45]
Foster is intensely private about certain aspects of her personal life, notably her sexual orientation, which has been the subject of speculation.[46] In her teens, Foster was romantically involved with actor Scott Baio, her costar in Bugsy Malone and Foxes. This is the only relationship of Foster's that has been acknowledged. In July 2007, Baio told Entertainment Weekly that he and Foster would make out on set.[47] In an interview in 2005, Foster said for a scene with Rob Lowe on the set of The Hotel New Hampshire, they "got to spend the entire day naked in bed, and when everyone went out to eat lunch we ordered in and talked about our lives and played music and laughed and fell asleep."[citation needed] Foster described this as a "brother-sister moment."[citation needed] At the 1989 Academy Awards Ceremony, Foster was seen kissing Julian Sands, her costar in Siesta. For years, Russell Crowe accompanied her to premieres and award ceremonies, but they never commented on the rumor that they were romantically involved.
Foster has two sons: Charles Foster (b. July 20, 1998) and Christopher "Kit" Foster (b. September 29, 2001).[citation needed] Foster gave birth to both children, but has not revealed the identity of the children's father(s) or the specifics of their conception.[48]
In December 2007, Foster made headlines when, during an acceptance speech at Hollywood Reporter's "Women in Entertainment" event, she paid tribute to film producer Cydney Bernard,[49] referring to her as "my beautiful Cydney, who sticks with me through the rotten and the bliss." Some media interpreted this as Foster coming out, as Bernard was believed to be her girlfriend since both met in 1992 during the filming of Sommersby.[49][50][51] Foster and Bernard never attended premieres or award ceremonies together, nor did they ever appear to be affectionate with each other. However, Bernard was seen in public with Foster's children on many occasions. On May 15, 2008, several news outlets reported that Foster and Bernard had "called it quits."[52][53]
Foster is an atheist[54] and does not follow any "traditional religion." She has discussed the god of the gaps.[55][56] Foster has "great respect for all religions" and spends "a lot of time studying divine texts, whether it's Eastern religion or Western religion."[30][57] She and her children celebrate both Christmas and Hannukah.[58] Some sources claim that Foster is a member of Mensa,[59][60] however Foster herself denied that she is a member in an interview on Italian TV network RAI.[61]
Filmography
Actress
Producer
Year | Title | Notes |
---|---|---|
1986 | Mesmerized | co-producer |
1994 | Nell | |
1995 | Home for the Holidays | |
1998 | The Baby Dance | (TV) executive producer |
2000 | Waking the Dead | executive producer |
2002 | The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys | |
2007 | The Brave One | executive producer |
Director
Year | Title | Notes |
---|---|---|
1988 | Tales from the Darkside | (1 episode, "Do Not Open This Box") |
1991 | Little Man Tate | |
1995 | Home for the Holidays |
References
- ^ "Jodie Foster". Yahoo movies.
- ^ Abramowitz, Rachel. "What It Means To Be Jodie Foster." Us Weekly. May 8, 2000.
- ^ "Jodie Foster Biography." The Biography Channel.
- ^ Gollin, Timothy. "Foster's Fanatic." People. April 20, 1981.
- ^ "Jodie Foster: Hollywood fait confiance à mes choix." StudioMagazine.fr.
- ^ Yale Bulletin and Calendar Commencement 1997 [1] June 2 - June 23, 1997 Volume 25, Number 33 News Stories
- ^ "Commencement 1997" ([dead link] – Scholar search), Yale Bulletin and Calendar, June 2, 1997, retrieved 2007-12-14
{{citation}}
: External link in
(help)|format=
- ^ Movie Reporter (2007). Jodie Foster in Berlin at the premier of her film, "The Brave One". Retrieved 19 June 2009.
- ^ Spiegel Online Culture (2005)."I do not need muscles" "I have intensely coached my German, in any case. A few lumps (scattered words and phrases) are still left from my childhood, because at that time my mother had often taken me with her to see German films." Retrieved 19 June 2009. translated online.
- ^ "Che tempo che fa" (Windows Media). RAI.
At 4:23 approx.
(in Italian) - ^ Erickson, Hal. "Allmovie - Jodie Foster Biography." Retrieved April 17, 2007
- ^ Brooks, Tim; Marsh, Earle (1992). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network TV Shows, 1946 to Present (5th ed.). New York: Ballantine Books. ISBN 0-345-37792-3.
- ^ "The StarPhoenix". Retrieved 2006-03-31.
- ^ a b c d Reich, J. Sperling (March 2002). "Entering the Panic Room: Actress Jodie Foster Relates to a Mother's Worst Fears in her New Thriller". Reel.com. Retrieved April 20, 2007.
- ^ "Star Wars." Not Starring. Retrieved March 31, 2007.
- ^ "Jodie Foster." Rotten Tomatoes.]
- ^ "Taxi Driver: Its Influence on John Hinckley, Jr." UMKC Law School. Retrieved April 17, 2007.
- ^ Noe, Denise. "Taxi Driver." Crime Library. truTV. Retrieved April 17, 2007.
- ^ Schneider, Karen S. "Foster Mom." People. March 23, 1998.
- ^ Noe, Denise. "I'll Get You, Foster!" Crime Library. truTV. Retrieved March 31, 2007.
- ^ a b "Jodie Foster." UMKC Law School. Retrieved March 10, 2007.
- ^ Foster, Jodie. "Why Me?" Esquire. December 1982. Retrieved March 31, 2007.
- ^ "Jodie Foster, Reluctant Star." 60 Minutes II. 1999. Retrieved April 24, 2007.
- ^ "The Hotel New Hampshire." Box Office Mojo. Retrieved April 17, 2007.
- ^ "Five Corners." Box Office Mojo. Retrieved April 17, 2007.
- ^ "Stealing Home." Box Office Mojo. Retrieved April 17, 2007.
- ^ "Silence of the Lambs." Box Office Mojo. Accessed March 16, 2009.
- ^ "Jodie Foster." Box Office Mojo. Accessed March 16, 2009.
- ^ "Little Man Tate". Rotten Tomatoes.
{{cite web}}
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ignored (help) - ^ a b Millea, Holly. Mother Knows Best. Mirabella. September 1998. Retrieved April 20, 2007.
- ^ http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=maverick.htm
- ^ Svetkey, Benjamin (1997-07-18). "Cover Story: Making Contact". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2007-04-17.
- ^ "Caussols discovers." Astrosurf.com. May 15, 2005. Retrieved April 17, 2007.
- ^ http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=contact.htm
- ^ "Anna and the King." Box Office Mojo.
- ^ Angulo, Sandra P. (2001-01-26). "'Panic' Attack". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2009-03-01.
{{cite web}}
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suggested) (help) - ^ http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=flightplan.htm
- ^ Deming, Mark. "Flightplan." Allmovie. Retrieved April 17, 2007.
- ^ http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=insideman.htm
- ^ "'Brave One' Leads Slow Weekend." Box Office Mojo. September 17, 2007.
- ^ "Foster, Howard to star in Neil Jordan film". UPI. Retrieved 2006-03-27.
- ^ "Nim's Island." Box Office Mojo.
- ^ Dan Snierson (2008-09-03). "Exclusive: Jodie Foster, Anne Hathaway to guest on 'The Simpsons'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2008-09-04.
- ^ a b Foster, Buddy; Wagener, Leon (1997). Foster Child: A Biography of Jodie Foster. New York: E. P. Dutton, published by Penguin Group (USA). ISBN 0-525-94143-6.
{{cite book}}
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ignored (help) - ^ Sydney, Laurin (1997-05-15). "Foster Angry Over Brother's Tell-All". CNN.
- ^ Musto, Michael (2007-04-04). "Cover Story: The Glass Closet". Out. Retrieved 2007-06-29.
- ^ "Legendary Ladie's Man, Scott Baio". Actress Archives. 2007-12-11.
- ^ "Jodie Foster's Other Starring Role". USA Today. 2002-03-03.
- ^ a b Hankins, Justine (2007-12-11). "Congratulations on coming out, Jodie. Why did it take so long?". The Guardian. Retrieved 2008-02-26.
- ^ Warn, Sarah (2007-12-05). "Jodie Foster Thanks Cydney in Accepting Sherry Lansing Leadership Award". AfterEllen.com. Retrieved 2008-02-26.
- ^ Schmidt, Veronica (2007-12-12). "Jodie Foster comes out... finally The notoriously private Oscar-winning actress has acknowledged her lesbian partner in public for the first time". Times Online. Retrieved 2008-02-26.
- ^ "Jodie Foster parts ways with lover". Retrieved 2008-05-15.
- ^ "Lesbian star couple Jodie Foster, Cydney Bernard 'break-up'". Retrieved 2008-05-15.
- ^ Valby, Karen (2007-08-30). "Jodie Foster: Unbreakable". Entertainment Weekly.
- ^ The Georgia Straight, Interview with Jodie Foster by Dan McLeod, July 10-17, 1997; page 43.
- ^ Interview with Charles Gibson, Good Morning America, July 7, 1997.
- ^ Q and A with Jodie Foster Jeanne Wolf. E! Online. July 1997.
- ^ Valby, Karen (2007-08-30). "Jodie Foster: Unbreakable". Entertainment Weekly.
- ^ McLeod, Michael (2005-10-31). "Mensa exam begs question: Why bother?". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved 2008-01-22.
- ^ "Jodie Foster Still Searching For Connection". CBS News. 2008-03-14. Retrieved 2008-06-26.
- ^ "Che tempo che fa" (Windows Media). RAI.
At 4:23 approx.
(in Italian)
External links
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