An overflowing talent for acting since she was a child and a solid career in Hollywood made it difficult for her, at times, to be faithful to such a stubborn concern.

Jodie Foster ‘s face has been appearing on screen since she was three years old when she was chosen to promote a sunscreen ad (the famous Coppertone girl ) and she has not stopped appearing in them since. Her mother, such a cinephile to the point of wanting all her children to dedicate themselves to cinema, surely never imagined that her little girl would go from being the girl on TV to ending up under the orders of filmmakers such as Martin Scorsese , Claude Chabrol , Robert Zemeckis , David Fincher or Spike Lee . Despite everything, if there is a common denominator that marks the career of the actress and director, it is that of keeping media access to her privacy at bay.

Perhaps knowing from such an early age the dangerous codes under which the entertainment industry operates made her take refuge from such a long shadow and protect her privacy without offering concessions. And despite being one of the most established stars of her generation, she has managed to maintain a discreet profile for decades. “If you had been a public person since childhood, if you had had to fight to be able to have an authentic and normal life, perhaps you would also protect your privacy above all else,” the actress said in one of her notorious speeches.

A femme fatale at only 12 years old

She was never the casting directors’ first choice for The Accused , The Silence of the Lambs or Taxi Driver , and yet it was these roles that built a remarkable career for her. You never know if the risk of accepting certain roles is worth it until production is over – in Jodie Foster’s case, it always works out. Among the countless quotes attributed to her is “if you don’t take risks, you’ll never amount to anything better than mediocrity . ”

That at just 12 years old she decided to play a teenage prostitute in Taxi Driver (Martin Scorsese) not only served to convince the world to put aside that moral battle but to forget that until then she had been the friendly face of conservative America to position herself as a young professional determined to commit to more auteur adult cinema. Perhaps today that decision would be perceived differently, but at that cultural moment the furor for lolitas reigned . From Sue Lyon in the film adaptation of Nabokov’s text to Brooke Shields, the 70s were ready to surrender to her character in Scorsese’s film. Playing Iris was the first of the milestones of her career and for which she received her first nomination for an Oscar.

Amidst an uncontrollable bout of hiccups and still nervous after finishing her performance on Saturday Night Live , in the profile that Andy Warhol dedicated to her at the end of 1976 for Interview after a conversation together, the artist decided that calling her “the new femme fatale” was the label that best defined her. It was late 1976 and Jodie Foster was thus closing her great year.

Jodie Foster, in an archive image from 1976

 Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

Guilty of assassinating the president

While statistics show that adolescence is a swampy terrain for artists who stand out early in front of the cameras, Jodie Foster –with intellectual concerns– decides to enter Yale. Such a career in Hollywood at such an early age was not enough for her. As stated by the actress herself in the documentary Jodie Foster, Hollywood in the skin (available on RTVE Play), “I wanted to be like the others. I suppose that coming from where I come from I wanted to fit in and feel accepted .” The lucidity with which she faces the rules of the world of entertainment –and which is documented through her numerous television appearances in the aforementioned documentary– conveys the idea that she was always careful not to lose control over the direction of her career. And, most importantly, that she did not let herself be dazzled by how promising it seemed.

However, her time on campus, instead of giving her a university life like any other girl her age, put her back in the media spotlight, and she could do nothing to prevent it. John Hinckley Jr., a guy who had been sending her love letters for months, made an attempt on the life of the President of the United States, Ronald Reagan, obsessed with the actress and inspired by the plot of Taxi Driver. Jodie Foster ended up holding a press conference and testifying before the FBI to corroborate that she had no relationship with the accused. Before this episode led to an even greater need to protect her privacy, two years after the tragic event she signed a text for Esquire entitled Why me? where she reproduced all the sensations she experienced carrying out a normal life as a student under the persecuted anonymity.

The 90s, his prodigious decade

If we have to mark a stage as the most outstanding of a lifetime in front of the cameras, the 90s are the most important with two Oscars for the actress before turning 28 for two consecutive films, The Accused and The Silence of the Lambs . As has always been said, Jodie Foster opens the doors of great Hollywood entertainment to women. Of course, through characters as complex as they are highly psychologically charged.

The choice of certain roles as a deliberate consequence of episodes in her personal life led her directly to the lead role in The Accused (Jonathan Kaplan). According to some, her appearance in the film served to compensate her for her status as a victim that marked her so much when she was involved in the attack on Reagan. In the 1988 film she plays the protagonist of a case of multiple rape in which she is discredited as a victim because it is considered that she is the one who provoked the situation. It is said that it was Jodie herself who suggested that her character move away from the idea of ​​the perfect victim in order to offer a more interesting reading.

The critics remained united in their desire to praise Jodie for this role and this continued with the arrival of another triumph, that of the unforgettable agent Starling in The Silence of the Lambs (Jonathan Demme) two years later. In her role as Clarice, in addition to maneuvering with the psyche of a serial killer like Hannibal Lecter, her petite physique makes her way into a space dominated by men. A character –to date, the most memorable of her career– to which she owes the repeated double of awards (another Oscar and the Golden Globe) as well as the consecration as one of the best actresses of her generation. The same year, she launched into directing her first film, Little Tate .

The outing of a celebrity and their relationship with the community

Jodie Foster at the 2013 Golden Globes

 Handout/Getty Images

In 2013, when accepting the Cecil B. DeMille Award, given by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for her lifetime achievement, she took the opportunity to make a concession to her privacy in front of millions of viewers. It was the much talked about ‘coming out’ of the actress who, at 50 years old, 15 years married to a woman and with two children from both, decided to tell what had been obvious for a long time: her sexual orientation. Although at that time there were few women in the entertainment industry who publicly acknowledged themselves as lesbians, those who did so ran the risk of being blacklisted by Hollywood. This is what happened to combative figures such as Ellen Degeneres, who for going public in the 90s in the episode of the puppy (in which the protagonist realized that she liked women), was punished by years without working alongside her co-star in the video, Laura Dern. “I came out thousands of years ago ,” said Jodie Foster, in what was understood as a rather light-hearted speech. A watered-down statement that she partly did not find necessary.

Her relationship with the LGTBIQ+ community has gone through delicate moments, especially after the release of The Silence of the Lambs . A part of the community, angry with the harmful image that the film cast on trans people, plastered New York with posters with the actress’s image in a forced attempt to out her. It was she, the most visible face of the film, who was asked to account for it. Over time, Jodie has ended up being an icon for a movement that does not hesitate to rummage through the newspaper archives and turn the actress into the well-known gay silence meme , taken from a video interview in which she was asked at the age of 17 if she had a boyfriend.

His public appearances are few but notable. And he always seems to choose the Golden Globes to open up to the world. At the 2021 ceremony, when pandemic restrictions only allowed awards ceremonies in a home format, he decided to appear in pajamas (Prada, of course) on the sofa in his house with his current wife, the photographer Alexandra Hedison. With her he would parade on the red carpet at Cannes that same year.

Applause for a career

On her first visit to the Cannes Film Festival in 1976, she arrived at the age of 13, with impeccable French and three films to her name: Taxi Driver , Bugsy Malone, Grandson of Al Capone and The Girl on the Trail . She has been invited on numerous occasions (also representing the films she has directed herself) until 45 years later she returned to the Palais to receive the Palme d’Honneur in 2021. “An exceptional artist” was the combination of words that Pedro Almodóvar chose to present her with the award.

Jodie Foster, in an archive image from 1987

 David Hume Kennerly/Getty Images
A brilliant artistic career, a unique personality and a discreet (but firm) commitment to the great issues of our time were the reasons why the festival that changed her life decided to grant her this honourable recognition. After more than 50 years of career, Jodie Foster confessed to still appreciating the creativity that renews the craft, the magic of images and the authenticity of emotions. Cinema, as she understands it, is there to excite, connect and transform.

And finally, their long-awaited comeback

Unlike the accelerated pace at which she accumulated titles in her filmography when she was little, years can go by without us seeing her appear on screen. The last time, in 2021 with The Mauritanian (Kevin Macdonald). In the same way that she takes care of her private life, she carefully selects the films she delves into, which is why it is time to celebrate that this new year brings us her return and, on top of that, in double. For both the small and big screen, Jodie Foster has two titles pending release that could place her as an option among the nominees for the next awards season.

In Nyad (Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin, available on Netflix from November 3), she plays the friend and coach of swimmer Diana Nyad and, as can be seen from those who have seen her at festivals such as Telluride, she offers an interpretive recital that overshadows the work of her co-star, Annette Bening, to become the real surprise of the film.

In the realm of series, where Foster feels especially comfortable directing episodes ( Orange Is the New Black , Tales from the Loop or Black Mirror ), the premiere of True Detective: Noche Polar (Issa López, on HBO Max on January 15) has been announced at the beginning of the year. A new installment of the saga starring the actress alongside Kali Reis, who will play a pair of detectives on a mission to discover the disappearance of a group of men from a research station in the middle of the Arctic.