Jodie Foster is an award winning American actress, director and producer that many of us 80s kids are well aware of due to her roles in films such as Taxi Driver and The Silence of the Lambs, and below we present 14 things you may not have realised about her…
1. She Started Acting Aged 3
Jodie Foster started her acting career at the age of 3 with an appearance in a TV commercial. She had accompanied her mum and brother to the audition and ended up being offered the role herself.
2. She Was Once Mauled By A Lion
Whilst acting in the 1972 film ‘Napoleon and Samantha’, Jodie was mauled by a Lion which also carried her for a short distance in its mouth.
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3. She Received An Oscar Nomination Aged 12
Jodie first received attention from critics aged just 12 when she starred alongside Robert De Niro in Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver. Her stunning performance as an underage prostitute saw her receive an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress.
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4. The Explicit Scenes In Taxi Driver Were Acted By Her Sister
Because Foster was only 12 years old at the time, her explicit scenes in Taxi Driver were all acted by her older sister Connie.
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5. Her Stalker Tried To Assassinate The President
In 1981 she was stalked by a disturbed individual called John Hinckley Jr, who became so obsessed with Foster after watching her in Taxi Driver that he tried to assassinate US President Ronald Reagan to impress her.
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6. Her Adult Breakthrough Film Won Her An Oscar
Foster’s breakthrough into adult roles came with her amazing performance as a rape survivor in The Accused, a hard hitting drama based on a real criminal case that saw her win both the Academy Award and Golden Globe for Best Actress.
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7. She Was Horrified By Anthony Hopkins In The Silence of the Lambs
Foster has said that during the first meeting between Hannibal Lecter and Clarice Starling in The Silence of the Lambs, Anthony Hopkins’s mocking her southern accent was improvised, meaning that her horrified reaction was genuine, as she felt personally attacked.
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8. She Once Shouted At A Crewman
In The Silence of the Lambs, as Clarice Starling says the line “I thought if I could save just one…” a sound of something being dropped can be heard in the background. This was crewman dropping a wrench, causing Foster to shout “what the hell was that!” after they finished filming the scene.
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9. The Silence Of The Lambs Earned Her Another Oscar
The Silence of the Lambs, which Foster has said is one of her favourite films she has starred in, earned her another Best Actress Oscar, as well as Golden Globe and BAFTA awards.
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10. She Could Have Starred As Clarice Starling Again
Jodie decided not to reprise the role of Clarice Starling in ‘Hannibal’, a role which was eventually given to Julianne Moore.
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11. She ‘Came Out’ In 2013
At the Golden Globe Awards in 2013, Foster hinted at being gay without being specific. In April 2014 she married actress and photographer Alexandra Hedison.
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12. Her Sons Don’t Know Who Their Father Is
Foster has two sons but has not revealed to them (or to the world) who their father is, saying that she will tell them when they grow up.
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13. She Has An Asteroid Named After Her
In 1998 an asteroid called ‘17744Jodiefoster’ was named after her.
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14. She’s Now A Renowned Director
Her first film as a director was ‘Little Man Tate’ which won a number of plaudits, and she has since directed a number of independent films as well as episodes of Netflix shows ‘Orange is the new Black’ and ‘Black Mirror’.
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