Jodie Foster's Real Name: Alicia Christian Foster

Quick answer: Jodie Foster's real name is Alicia Christian Foster. Jodie is the name she has used professionally since childhood. She was born on November 19, 1962, in Los Angeles. She began as a child star and won best actress Oscars for The Accused (1988) and The Silence of the Lambs (1991). She has also directed films and TV (Britannica; Library of Congress).

Real name and early life

Britannica's quick facts give her "Original name" as Alicia Christian Foster. The Library of Congress name authority files her as "Foster, Jodie" and lists "Foster, Alicia Christian" as a variant. Its citation reads "Jodie Foster; Alicia Christian Foster; b. Nov. 19, 1962 in Los Angeles, Calif.; actress, director, producer."

Britannica says she started her career as a very young child in TV commercials. She then appeared in Gunsmoke, The Courtship of Eddie's Father, and My Three Sons, and starred in her own short-lived series, Paper Moon (1974). Her Disney films began with Napoleon and Samantha (1972). Despite her busy childhood career, she graduated magna cum laude from Yale University in 1985.

Career highlights

Martin Scorsese gave her a small part in Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974). He then cast her as Iris, a 12-year-old exploited by the adults around her, in Taxi Driver (1976). That performance earned her an Oscar nomination for best supporting actress. Britannica says her screen image of early maturity helped her move smoothly into adult roles.

As Sarah Tobias, a rape survivor fighting the justice system in The Accused, she won her first best actress Oscar. Playing FBI agent Clarice Starling in The Silence of the Lambs brought her second. She made her directing debut with Little Man Tate (1991), directed Home for the Holidays (1995), and produced Nell (1994), which brought another best actress nomination. Later roles included Contact (1997), Panic Room (2002), Inside Man (2006), The Brave One (2007), Carnage (2011), and Elysium (2013).

She directed The Beaver (2011) and Money Monster (2016), as well as episodes of Orange Is the New Black and House of Cards. Her role in The Mauritanian (2021) won a Golden Globe for supporting actress. For playing Bonnie Stoll in Nyad (2023), she received a supporting actress Oscar nomination. As an Alaska police chief in True Detective: Night Country (2024), she won Emmy and Golden Globe awards. She received the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 2013.

Name notes for searchers

Alicia is her legal first name, and Christian is her middle name. Jodie is the name she uses professionally. Foster is her family surname. LOC links "Jodie Foster" and "Alicia Christian Foster" as the same person.