With unforgettable films like “Taxi Driver” and “The Silence of the Lambs,” Jodie Foster (61) has immortalized herself in the Hollywood Olympus. But she kept her acting career a secret from her sons for a long time so that they could lead as normal a life as possible.
The two-time Oscar winner revealed this strategy on Friday on the talk show “The View”. “I think I just didn’t want them to know me like that,” Jodie Foster explained. “I wanted them to know me as their mom and the person who goes to work and stuff. I just didn’t want them to be confused about what I do for a living.”
The actress has two sons, born in 1998 and 2001. She did take her eldest, Charlie, to the film studio when he was three years old. Still, he believed for a long time that she was a construction worker: “One day I brought him to the set and bought him a little plastic tool belt. And I said, ‘Yeah, and that’s this set and this set and this set.’ And for a long time he thought I was a construction worker.”
While it’s unclear exactly when the boys discovered their mother’s global fame, Charlie has since followed in her footsteps. He played theater throughout his school years. Despite her boys’ interest in the entertainment industry, the legendary actress joked that they “have no interest in watching my movies with me.” But she also doesn’t want to watch all of them with them: “There are a few films that I would never show them because I would be afraid of being teased,” joked Foster, especially referring to “Nell.” In the 1995 film, she played a wild girl who spent most of her childhood isolated.
Just earlier this week, Charlie accompanied her to “The Tonight Show” and cheered her on from the audience. Foster is currently promoting the fourth season of True Detective. Moderator Jimmy Fallon (49) praised: “That’s a supportive son. We love you, Charlie!”
Foster has kept most of her private life out of the public eye – particularly when it comes to her sons and her relationship with her wife Alexandra Hedison, 54, whom she married in 2014. She previously dated Cydney Bernard until 2008. It was only in December 2007 that she publicly acknowledged her long-term partner.
