Jodie Foster
Foster in Paris at the César Awards 2011
Born	Alicia Christian Foster (1962-11-19) November 19, 1962 (age 49) Los Angeles, California, United States
Education	Bachelor's degree (magna cum laude)
Alma mater	Yale University
Occupation	Actress, Producer, Director
Years active	1966–present

Jodie Foster (born Alicia Christian Foster; November 19, 1962) is an American actress, film director, and producer.

Foster began acting in commercials at three years of age,^[1] and her first significant role came at age 13 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. Also that year, she starred in the cult film The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane. She won an Academy Award for Best Actress in 1989, for playing a rape victim 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 hermit in Nell (1994). Other popular films include Bugsy Malone (1976); Freaky Friday (1976); Candleshoe (1977) Maverick (1994); Contact (1997); Panic Room (2002); Flightplan (2005); Inside Man (2006); The Brave One (2007); Nim's Island (2008) and Carnage (2011), for which she received a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy.

Foster's films have spanned a wide variety of genres, from family films to horror. In addition to her two Academy Awards, she has won three BAFTA Awards for two films, two Golden Globe Awards, a Screen Actors Guild Award, a People's Choice Award, and has received two Emmy nominations.

Early life[link]

Foster was born in Los Angeles, California. She is the youngest of four children born to Evelyn Ella "Brandy" (née Almond) and Lucius Fisher Foster II. Her father, a decorated U.S. Air Force lieutenant colonel turned real estate broker, came from a wealthy background and left his wife before Jodie was born.^[2] Evelyn supported Jodie by working as a film producer.^[3] Jodie has an older brother, Buddy, and two older sisters, Lucinda and Constance.^[4] 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-language prep school, the Lycée Français de Los Angeles, and graduated in 1980, as the valedictorian.^[5] She frequently stayed and worked in France as a teenager, and still speaks the language fluently.^[6] She attended Yale University, and was a member of Calhoun College and Manuscript Society.^[7] She graduated magna cum laude,^[8] earning a bachelor's degree 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,^[9] caused her to take a semester's leave of absence from Yale.^[10][11] She later gave the Class Day speech at her alma mater in 1993, and received an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree from the university in 1997.^[8]

Fluent in French, Foster has dubbed herself in French-language versions of most of her films.^[12][13] In 2004, she took a minor role in the French WWI film, A Very Long Engagement. She also understands German,^[14][15] Spanish and can converse in Italian.^[16]

^[17]

Career[link]

Child star[link]

Jodie Foster with Christopher Connelly in Paper Moon, 1974.

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.^[18] She was managed by her mother.^[19] In 1969, she appeared in an episode of Gunsmoke, where she was credited as "Jody Foster". She is also credited as "Jodi Foster" for her 1970 Daniel Boone role and credited as "Jodie Foster" for her 1970 Adam-12 role. Although not a regular on The Courtship of Eddie's Father, she appeared from time to time as Eddie's friend Joey Kelly.^[20] 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 she continued to star in Disney films into her early teens. On television, she appeared in an episode of The Partridge Family titled "The Eleven-Year Itch", co-starred with Christopher Connelly in the 1974 TV series 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."^[21] 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.^[22]

Foster made her debut (and only official) musical recordings in France in 1977: two seven-inch singles, "Je T'attends Depuis la Nuit des Temps" b/w "La Vie C'est Chouette"^[23] 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).

Target of fan obsession[link]

John Hinckley, Jr., became obsessed with Foster after watching Taxi Driver a number of times,^[24][25] 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.^[26][27]

Another man, Edward Richardson, followed Foster around Yale and planned to shoot her, but decided against it because she "was too pretty."^[28] This all caused intense discomfort to Foster and reporters have constantly been warned in advance not to bring up the subject in front of her, as she has been known to walk out of interviews if Hinckley's name is even mentioned.^[28] In 1991, Foster canceled an interview with NBC's Today Show when she discovered Hinckley would be mentioned in the introduction.^[28] Foster's only public reactions to this were a press conference afterwards and an article titled "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"^[29] after the assassination attempt had shaken her confidence. In 1999, she discussed the experience with Charlie Rose of 60 Minutes II.^[30]

Adult career[link]

At the 61st Academy Awards Governor's Ball, March 29, 1989.

Unlike other child stars such as Shirley Temple or Tatum O'Neal, Foster successfully made the transition to adult roles, but it was not without initial difficulty, as several of the films in her early adult career were financially unsuccessful. These included The Hotel New Hampshire,^[31] Five Corners,^[32] and Stealing Home.^[33] 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. She starred as FBI trainee Clarice Starling in the 1991 thriller 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 is the film for which Foster has won the most awards. This "sleeper" film marked a breakthrough in her career, grossing nearly $273 million in theaters^[34] and becoming her first blockbuster.^[35]

Foster made her directorial debut in 1991, with Little Man Tate, a critically acclaimed^[36] 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.^[22] In 1992, Foster founded a production company called Egg Pictures in Los Angeles. It primarily produced independent films for distribution by other companies 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 had made her more interested in the movie business than mainstream ones.^[22] She 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."^[37]

Foster starred in two films in 1994, first in the hugely successful western spoof Maverick^[38] and later in Nell, in which she starred as an isolated woman who speaks an invented language and must return to civilization. Her performance earned her nominations for her fourth Academy Award, a Golden Globe, and an MTV Movie Award, and won her a Screen Actors Guild Award and a People's Choice Award. In 1996, Women in Film awarded her the Crystal Award for outstanding women who, through their endurance and the excellence of their work, have helped to expand the role of women within the entertainment industry.^[39] In the same year, Foster was awarded with the Berlinale Camera award at the 46th Berlin International Film Festival.^[40]

In 1997, she starred alongside Matthew McConaughey in the science-fiction 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 sci-fi 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."^[41]

The film was another commercial success^[42] and earned Foster nominations for numerous awards, including a Golden Globe. In 1998, an asteroid, 17744 Jodiefoster, was named in her honor.^[43] In 1999, she starred in the non-musical remake of The King and I titled Anna and the King, which became an international commercial success.^[44]

Foster at the 62nd Academy Awards ceremonies in 1990.

In 2002, Foster took over the lead role in the thriller Panic Room after Nicole Kidman dropped out due to a previous injury.^[45] The film costarred Forest Whitaker, Jared Leto, Dwight Yoakam and Kristen Stewart 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.^[22] She then performed in the French-language film Un long dimanche de fiançailles (A Very Long Engagement) (2004), speaking French fluently throughout. She returned to English-language films with the 2005 thriller Flightplan, which opened once again in the top position at the U.S. box office and was a worldwide hit.^[46] She portrayed a woman whose daughter disappears on an airplane that her character, an engineer, helped to design.^[47]

In 2006, Foster co-starred in Inside Man, a thriller directed by Spike Lee and starring Denzel Washington and Clive Owen, which again opened at the top of the U.S. box office and became another international hit.^[48] In 2007, she starred in The Brave One directed by Neil Jordan and co-starring Terrence Howard, another urban thriller that opened at No.1 at the U.S. box office.^[49] Her performance in the film earned 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, she has said she enjoys appearing in mainstream genre films that have a "real heart to them."^[50]

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.^[51]

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 developing a biographical film of Leni Riefenstahl. She directs and stars opposite her Maverick co-star Mel Gibson in a black comedy titled The Beaver, out in April 2011.^[52]

Foster provided her voice for Maggie in a tetralogy episode of The Simpsons titled "Four Great Women and a Manicure."^[53]

In March 2011, Foster said she planned to direct a family-oriented science-fiction thriller. At that point, she said, the project remained in the scripting stage.^[54]

Personal life[link]

Foster has two older sisters, Lucinda "Cindy" Foster (b. 1954) and Constance "Connie" Foster (b. 1955), and an older brother, Lucius Fisher "Buddy" Foster^[55] (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 titled Foster Child in which he stated, "I have always assumed Jodie was gay or bisexual."^[55] 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 partner, 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."^[56]

Foster has two sons: Charles "Charlie" Foster (b. July 20, 1998) and Christopher "Kit" Foster (b. September 29, 2001).^[57] Foster gave birth to both children, but has not revealed the identity of the children's father(s) or the method(s) by which they were conceived.^[58]

Foster is intensely private about certain aspects of her personal life, notably her sexual orientation, which has been the subject of speculation.^[59] In December 2007, she made headlines when, during an acceptance speech at Hollywood Reporter's "Women in Entertainment" event, she paid tribute to film producer Cydney Bernard,^[60] 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 the two had met in 1992, during the filming of Sommersby.^[60][61][62] Foster and Bernard never attended premieres or award ceremonies together, nor did they ever appear to be affectionate with each other, though Bernard has been 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."^[63][64]

Foster is an atheist ^[65] and does not follow any "traditional religion." She has discussed the god of the gaps.^[66][67] Foster has "great respect for all religions" and spends "a lot of time studying divine texts, whether it's Eastern religion or Western religion."^[37][68] She and her children celebrate both Christmas and Hannukah.^[69] Some sources claim that Foster is a member of Mensa,^[70][71] but Foster stated that she is not a member during an interview on Italian TV network RAI.^[72]

Filmography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Biography portal

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Jodie Foster

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Jodie Foster

• Jodie Foster at AllRovi
• Jodie Foster at the Internet Movie Database
• Jodie Foster collected news and commentary at The New York Times
• Jodie Foster at the TCM Movie Database
• Works by or about Jodie Foster in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
• Pelisek, Christine (December 2, 2011). "Jodie Foster's Father Accused of California Housing Scam". The Daily Beast. Archived from the original on December 4, 2011. http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/12/02/jodie-foster-s-father-accused-of-california-housing-scam.html. 

Scott Baio
Scott Baio, September 2006
Born	Scott Vincent James Baio (1960-09-22) September 22, 1960 (age 51) Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Occupation	Actor, director
Years active	1971–present
Spouse	Renee Sloan (m. 2007) «start: (2007)»"Marriage: Renee Sloan to Scott Baio" Location: (linkback:http://en-wiki.pop.wn.com/index.php/Scott_Baio)
Website
http://www.scottbaio.com

Scott Vincent James Baio ( /ˈbeɪ.oʊ/; born September 22, 1960) is an American actor and television director, best known for his roles as Chachi Arcola on the sitcom Happy Days and its spin-off, Joanie Loves Chachi, and as the title character on the sitcom Charles in Charge.

Career[link]

In 1976, Baio played the title character Bugsy Malone in the cult children’s gangster musical directed by Alan Parker, which also co-starred Jodie Foster. Baio and Foster later worked together again in the 1980 teen girl drama Foxes, helmed by Adrian Lyne. When he was 16, Baio was then cast as The Fonz's cousin, Chachi Arcola, on Happy Days. During his time on Happy Days, Baio earned two Emmy Award nominations for his lead performances in the TV movies Stoned (1981) and All The Kids Do It (1985). He won two Young Artists Awards during the Third Annual Youth in Film Awards (1980–1981) as Best Young Actor in a Television Special for Stoned and Best Young Comedian in Television or Motion Pictures for Happy Days. He also starred in the made-for-television youth drama specials The Boy Who Drank Too Much with Lance Kerwin and Senior Trip with Mickey Rooney.

In 1982, Baio was in a spin-off of Happy Days entitled Joanie Loves Chachi with Erin Moran, which lasted 17 episodes. That same year, he appeared opposite another actor, Willie Aames, in the film Zapped!, and recorded an album for RCA (he also recorded a 2nd album The Boys Are Out Tonight the following year). During this same period, he also starred with Danny Aiello and undertook the lead role of Francis Geminiani in the special HBO cable TV presentation of "Gemini", an adaptation of the Broadway comedy-drama "Happy Birthday, Gemini" by the award-winning playwright Alberto Innauranto. From 1984 until 1990, Baio starred in the syndicated comedy series Charles in Charge. In 1985, he was part of an ensemble cast for Alice in Wonderland, where he portrayed Pat the Pig. From 1987 through 1991, he was a director of Out of This World.

During the 1990s, Baio appeared in various television programs, including the short-lived Look Who's Talking small screen spin-off Baby Talk. In 1991, he joined Diana Muldaur and Ally Walker in the NBC Monday Night Movie Perry Mason and the Case of the Fatal Fashion, as a young prosecutor. Between 1992 and 1995, he portrayed Dr. Jack Stewart in the medical mystery series Diagnosis: Murder starring Dick Van Dyke. Baio was a guest-star on many shows, including Full House, Touched by an Angel, Veronica's Closet and The Nanny. He was also in a number of TV series and commercials. He also starred in several films on TV and video releases such as Detonator, Bar-Hopping, Dumb Luck, Face Value and Danielle Steel's Mixed Blessings.

Baio's other movies include the independent films Very Mean Men, Face to Face and The Bread, My Sweet.

Very Mean Men (2000) was a comedy directed by Tony Vitale about a mob war between two families. Baio served as a co-producer with his older brother Steven on said film, and even played the crucial role of impetuous crime scion Paulie Minnetti who unwittingly instigates the crime feud. Variety praised his performance: "A career-reviving turn by Scott Baio."^{[citation needed]}

Face to Face (2001; renamed Italian Ties) was a comic drama directed by Ellie Kanner about three young men (Scott Baio as Richie, Thomas Calabro as Philly and Carlo Imperato as Al) who kidnap their emotionally distant fathers for a weekend of genuine bonding. Baio co-wrote the screenplay with Jeffrey Gurian. The movie won the Audience Prize for Best Comedy at the Marco Island Film Festival, the Silver Screen Accolade in the Reno Film Festival and the 10 Degrees Hotter Best Feature Award during the Valley Film Festival.

The Bread, My Sweet (2001; retitled A Wedding For Bella) a romance film directed by Melissa Martin and produced by Adrienne Wehr. Baio portrayed Dominic Pyzola who is both a corporate raider in the daytime and a pastry chef at night. He earned three Best Lead Actor prizes in the Atlantic City Film Festival, the Kansas City Halfway To Hollywood Film Festival and the San Diego Film Festival. The movie itself collected top accolades from the Santa Monica, Stony Brook, Marco Island, Houston World fest and Iowa Hardacre Film Festivals.

Baio was also in the Emmy award winning comedy series Arrested Development as the madcap Bluth family's serious but overpaid lawyer, Bob Loblaw (pronounced similar to "Ba-bla-bla, a running joke). He took over the role of the clan's legal counselor from former Happy Days co-star Henry Winkler in four episodes: "Forget Me Now", "Notapusy", "Mr. F", and "Making a Stand". The Online Film and Television Association nominated him as Best Guest Actor in a Comedy Series.

In August 2006, Baio was formally invited by the AIA Actors Studio to discuss his professional experiences in television and movies. He talked about his own acting career plus his recent forays into writing, directing and producing.

In 2007, Baio starred in the successful VH1 celebrity reality series Scott Baio Is 45...and Single and its successor the following year, Scott Baio Is 46...and Pregnant.

Baio was also the co-host of the VH1 reality show Confessions of a Teen Idol, in which former teen idols attempt to resurrect their careers.^[1]

Personal life[link]

In 2007, Baio married his longtime girlfriend Renee Sloan, and accepted Kaelyn Sloan-Robinson as his step-daughter.^[2] In July 2007, he told E!: Entertainment Television's Ted Casablanca that they were expecting a baby girl in December. Initially pregnant with twins, Renee lost one of the babies at 11 weeks gestation.^[3]

Their daughter, Bailey DeLuca Baio, was born in November 2007, 5 weeks premature. The family has started the Bailey Baio Angel Foundation to provide financial support to other families who are dealing with metabolic disorders.^[4]

Scott Baio is cousin to actor Jimmy Baio and to Vampire Weekend's bassist Chris Baio.

Politics[link]

Baio has voiced that his politics are conservative. He was one of the famous guests in attendance during the historical ceremonies of the late U.S. President Ronald Reagan's televised state funeral. The New York Daily News published Michelle Caruso's article "A Goodbye As The Sun Sets In The West" (June 12, 2004) which mentioned Scott who had been seated near former U.K. Prime Minister Baroness Margaret Thatcher: "Scott Baio who played Chachi on the hit sitcom Happy Days said: 'President Reagan made me feel proud to be an American. Today, I feel sadness.'"

In April 2010, Baio was involved in a controversy surrounding his Twitter postings. His posting, “Taxes are DONE...That should feed, house & provide medical for a few lazy non working people at my expense. Have a great Monday!" was picked up by the blog Jezebel, and the heated web-based discussion between Baio, his wife, the Jezebel.com authors, Jezebel readers and Baio fans was covered by major news organizations.^[5][6][7]

On July 1, 2010 he hosted The Dennis Miller Show and gave his views on current events, such as the BP oil spill. Baio is a registered Republican.^[8]

In May 2011, Baio was honored as a featured guest speaker during the Hollywood Congress of Republicans monthly meetup, saying, "I was never afraid to speak my mind. But I do remember times on a set where I'd hear my 'Liberal' friends talking and I didn't speak out. I stepped back and did not comment because there is a stigma (within the industry) that if you talk (as a conservative and/or Republican), you don't work."

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Scott Baio at the Internet Movie Database
• Scott Baio at AllRovi