Jodie Foster (born November 19, 1962)

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Jodie Foster began her acting career at age three, appearing in several Disney TV productions. By the time she achieved worldwide fame, at age thirteen in Taxi Driver, she had already made eight features, including Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore and One Little Indian. She won a Best Actress Oscar for The Accused in 1988 and another for Silence of the Lambs in 1991. She has also won multiple Golden Globes, BAFTAs, and SAG Awards.

For many years, Foster was determined to protect the privacy of her personal life, despite persistent rumors going back to her college days. As a condition for journalists who wanted to obtain an interview, Foster would reportedly insist that no questions be asked about her sexual orientation.

Foster was critical of her brother Buddy, not only for writing about his suspicion that Jodie was gay or bisexual, but also for revealing that their mother had a long-term domestic partnership with another woman. “I grew up with two gay parents,” he wrote in his autobiography Foster Child. “I had my Aunt Jo and my mother.”

Foster has two sons: Charles "Charlie" Foster (b. July 20, 1998) and Christopher "Kit" Foster (b. September 29, 2001). Speculation is that their father was producer Randy Stone, one of the founders of the Trevor Project, which offers counseling to gay and questioning youth. Stone died in February 2007.

Speculation about Jodie Foster ended in December 2007 when she publicly acknowledged her “longtime friend” and roommate for fourteen years, film producer Cydney Bernard, as “my beautiful Cydney, who sticks with me through the rotten and the bliss.” Foster has done nothing to discourage the press and public from recognizing this as her coming out.


Jodie Foster began her acting career at age three, appearing in several Disney TV productions. She won a Best Actress Oscar for The Accused in 1988 and another for Silence of the Lambs in 1991. She has also won multiple Golden Globes, BAFTAs, and SAG Awards. In her acceptance speech upon receiving the Cecil B. DeMille Award at the 2013 Golden Globe Awards, she thanked Bernard, calling her "my heroic co-parent, my ex-partner in love but righteous soul sister in life".

Bernard was believed to be her girlfriend since the two had met in 1992, during the filming of Sommersby. 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."

In her acceptance speech upon receiving the Cecil B. DeMille Award at the 2013 Golden Globe Awards, she commented about her sexual orientation: "I already did my coming out about 1,000 years ago back in the stone age, those very quaint days when a fragile young girl would open up to trusted friends and family and co-workers, and then gradually and proudly to everyone who knew her, to everyone she actually met." She thanked Bernard, calling her "my heroic co-parent, my ex-partner in love but righteous soul sister in life". Foster also thanked Mel Gibson as one of the people who "saved" her.
Stern, Keith (2009-09-01). Queers in History: The Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Historical Gays, Lesbians and Bisexuals (Kindle Locations 5029-5044). Perseus Books Group. Kindle Edition.

Further Readings:

Foster Child: A Biography of Jodie Foster by Buddy Foster and Leon Wagener
Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: Signet (January 1, 1998)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0451195612
ISBN-13: 978-0451195616
Amazon: Foster Child: A Biography of Jodie Foster

One of four children raised by a controlling, ambitious mother, Jodie Foster achieved early fame and went on to stardom with roles in "Taxi Driver, The Silence of the Lambs" and "Contact". Now, her brother Buddy reveals the true insider's account--from the John Hinckley stalking to the men and woman in her love life to the incredible talent that earned her two Academy Awards and her own production company, this biography takes readers from the superstar's stormy childhood to her emergence as one of Hollywood's youngest power brokers.