FOSTER, JODIE

born Nov. 19, 1962, Los Angeles, Calif., U.S. original name Alicia Christian Foster astute American motion picture actress and director who began her career as a tomboyish and surprisingly mature child actress. Although she has demonstrated a flair for comedy, she is best known for her thoughtful, vivid portrayals of offbeat, misfit characters who struggle against intimidating challenges. Foster began her professional career at the age of three in an advertisement for Coppertone suntan lotion. She appeared in numerous commercials before making her television series debut in 1969 in an episode of Mayberry RFD, a situation comedy in which her older brother had a recurring role. She continued to appear on various television programs and specials throughout the early 1970s and starred in her own short-lived series, Paper Moon (1974), based on the 1973 film of the same name. She made her movie debut in 1972 in the Disney production Napoleon and Samantha. Her next noteworthy film was Martin Scorsese's Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974), in which she had a small role as a streetwise delinquent. Scorsese then cast her as Iris, the 12-year-old prostitute who becomes the object of the title character's obsession in Taxi Driver (1976); her precocious and complex performance earned her critical acclaim and an Academy Award nomination as best supporting actress. Her later films as a child actress were less impressive, but her performances were consistently admired. Foster took a brief break from acting when she entered Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, in 1980; she graduated magna cum laude in 1985. Perhaps owing to her screen image of early maturity, Foster was never dismissed as merely a child actress but instead was able to make a relatively smooth transition to adult roles. She has carefully chosen her roles, creating indelible images of strong and intelligent women, though often, as in Taxi Driver, of women subject to men's violence. In The Accused (1988) Foster gave a remarkable performance as Sarah Tobias, a complicated and imperfect young woman who is gang-raped in a bar and demands to be treated with dignity. In The Silence of the Lambs (1991) her FBI agent Clarice Starling is ambitious, driven, fiercely professional, and yet also vulnerable, as she hunts a vicious serial killer. Both performances won her Academy Awards as best actress. Considered one of the most gifted actresses of her generation, Foster branched into other areas of filmmaking in the 1990s, making her directorial debut in 1991 with Little Man Tate, in which she also costarred. In 1994 she coproduced Nell, for which she also received an Oscar nomination for best actress.