Jodie Foster is simply one of the greatest actresses who ever lived. The two-time Oscar winner got her start at an early age working with the likes of Martin Scorsese, ultimately graduating to a forceful filmmaker in her own right. She’s not only worked with the best directors in Hollywood over the course of her illustrious career, but she’s also become a director and producer as well.
As an actress, Foster is currently filming the Guantanamo Bay legal drama Prisoner 760. To remind us of what a terrific actor Foster is, let’s take a look at her 10 most iconic roles to date!
Delacourt (Elysium)
When Foster wields the awesome power of the country’s might as Defense Secretary, her role earns a coveted top spot among her most iconic yet. That Foster essentially came out of quasi-retirement to play the part makes it even more substantial!
Neill Blomkamp’s ambitious sci-fi spectacle traces Earth’s sectionalized population following a cataclysmic event. Foster plays the almighty decision-maker who goes against the will of her higher-ups to achieve her own agenda.
Meg Altman (Panic Room)
In a turn of equal parts brawn and brain, Foster outwits a trio of home-invading thieves in David Fincher’s thrilling Panic Room. We’re still awaiting a sequel!
When single-mother Meg (Foster) and her diabetic daughter Sarah (K Stew) find their home suddenly broken into, they retreat in the house’s secured panic room. But with Sarah’s medical needs increasing, Meg must form a plot to escape, quell her assailants, and ensure her daughter is given her medicine. Foster is bold, brazen and brutally badass!
Dede Tate (Little Man Tate)
In yet another iconic role as a single mother, Foster directs herself in a performance for the ages in Little Man Tate.
The film follows a prodigious seven-year-old genius, who happens to be the son of single mother Dede Tate. As Fred’s exposure increases, opportunities come his way that is not quite healthy for such a young kid. Dede protects her son and goes to great lengths to ensure he isn’t exploited, cheated, harmed, or see his abilities compromised.
Annabelle Bransford (Maverick)
In Dick Donner’s rollicking western adventure Maverick, Foster flashes her cunning comedic chops opposite Mel Gibson, who has since become one of her best friends off-screen. It’s all about who ya know!
The story finds Bret Maverick (Gibson) in dire need of quick cash. As a result, he arranges a poker game, during which several hilarious accidents and interruptions take place. Maverick’s biggest challenge, however, is Annabelle Bransford, a charming woman thief who can woo the pants right of any sucker with a pocket full of change.
Erica Bain (The Brave One)
In Neil Jordan’s vicious and visceral revenge tale, Foster gives one of her most emotionally distraught and physically demanding turns of all. The plot may seem straightforward, but it’s the character that makes the movie soar.
One day, Erica Baine and her fiancé are suddenly accosted on the streets of NYC. The attack leaves Erica in a coma and her fiancé dead. Overcoming severe grief and PTSD, Erica mounts a violent revenge campaign on her assailant, regaining the power to live in the process. A towering turn from Foster in one of her last great performances!
Eleanor Arroway (Contact)
Foster absolutely soared as Eleanor Arroway in Contact, the gallant astronomer dedicated to making the first contact with extraterrestrial life. However, it’s what she values most on Earth that makes the movie so profound!
Directed by visionary Robert Zemeckis, what makes the performance so iconic is Eleanor’s undying love of her deceased father Ted (David Morse), who is her number one inspiration for becoming an astronomer in the first place. Foster earned a Golden Globe nod for her moving work as a skyrocketing pioneer!
Nell (Nell)
As the title character in Michael Apted’s Nell, Foster delivered the fourth and most recent Oscar-nominated turn of her splendid career. She’s never been better!
The richly textured character study centers on Nell, a complex and peculiar small-town recluse with a wealth of personal secrets. Raised by her mother and twin sister, Nell has never met another soul. But when a local M.D. named Jerome finds Nell in the wild, he tries to understand the woman’s upbringing, broken English, and weird way of life.
Iris (Taxi Driver)
At just 13 years of age, Foster earned her first Academy Award nomination for her searing work as an underage prostitute in Scorsese’s iconic Taxi Driver!
When title character Travis Bickle botches a romance with political volunteer Betsy (Cybill Shepherd), he sets out to save young Iris (Foster) from her abusive pimp, Sport (Harvey Keitel). However, the insouciant Iris does not want to be rescued, setting up a harrowingly violent finale the annals of cinematic history will never forget!
Sarah Tobias (The Accused)
In one of the most difficult movies to watch, Foster earned her much-deserved second Academy Award win as a gang-rape victim in the 1988 film The Accused. Even more impressive? She brought light to a true story.
The devastating story, which is based on the real-life case of Cheryl Ann Araujo, picks up after Sarah Tobias is brutally raped by several men over a pool table in a bar one night. Despite being intoxicated at the time, a female D.A. tries to prosecute those responsible, as well as the spectators who did nothing to stop the vile act.
Clarice Starling (The Silence Of The Lambs)
Come on now, we all knew the number one role of Foster’s career belongs to that of Clarice Starling in the Big-5 Oscar-sweeping horror classic, The Silence of the Lambs!
Winner of the Best Picture, Director (Jonathan Demme), Adapted Screenplay (Ted Tally), Leading Actor (Anthony Hopkins) and Leading Actress (Foster), Jonathan Demme’s near-perfect film is anchored by Foster’s first-rate performance. The vulnerable pathos she emits along with her physically combative demeanor makes for the most well-rounded turn of her career so far!
