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At the opening gala for this year’s Cannes Film Festival, Jodie Foster was honored for her extraordinary career in film, both onscreen and behind the camera. It marks her eighth visit to the legendary celebration of world cinema, her first appearance being in 1976—when she was just 13 years old—in support of Taxi Driver. For that film, Martin Scorsese took home the Palme d’Or, and now, 45 years later, Foster is receiving her own.
“Cannes is a festival to which I owe so much, it has completely changed my life,” said Foster last month of the award. “Showcasing one of my films here has always been a dream of mine. Cannes is a film festival by auteur filmmakers who honor artists, and I greatly appreciate that.”
It’s a well-deserved accolade that caps Foster’s many career achievements thus far, spanning unforgettable performances across five decades and an impressive transition to directing over the past 10 years, when she’s worked on TV shows like Orange Is the New Black and House of Cards (the former of which earned her an Emmy nomination) and the films Little Man Tate, Home for the Holidays, The Beaver, and Money Monster.
Here, we dive into Foster’s back catalog and round up eight of her greatest films—but you can be sure there will be many more to come.
Taxi Driver (1976)
At just 12 years old, Jodie Foster delivered one of the defining performances of her career as a child prostitute in Martin Scorsese’s grueling portrait of social dysfunction on the streets of 1970s New York. While she later expressed her discomfort with some of the scenes involving extreme violence that she witnessed as a young actor, she also noted it as a formative experience, both for the mentorship she received from her co-star Robert De Niro and for the improvisation skills it helped her to cultivate. The incredible maturity and depth of Foster’s performance has stood the test of time, and earned her the first of her four Academy Award nominations.
How to Watch: Stream on Amazon.
Bugsy Malone (1976)
Released just six months after her performance in Taxi Driver, Bugsy Malone—a Prohibition-era musical featuring children playing gangsters and gun molls—served as further confirmation of Foster’s talents, even just for its showcase of her sheer versatility. More than that, though, Foster’s turn as cabaret singer and flapper girl Tallulah was a perfect vehicle for her precocious charms. At just 12 years old, playing a character with poise far beyond her years was already Foster’s signature.
How to Watch: Stream on Amazon.
The Accused (1988)
The film that would continue Foster’s run of searingly intense performances as damaged but tenacious characters, The Accused tells the story of a young waitress who is brutally gang-raped and then victim-blamed in court before ultimately emerging triumphant. Foster’s extraordinary portrayal of the protagonist, Sarah Tobias, elevated a narrative that could easily have been sensationalized, and lent it both emotional heft and profound dignity. Winning her first Oscar for her haunting performance, Foster cemented her journey from child actor to bona fide Hollywood star.
How to Watch: Stream on Amazon.
The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
While Anthony Hopkins’s brilliantly flamboyant turn as serial killer Hannibal Lecter may hog the most memorable quotes in Jonathan Demme’s masterpiece, it’s Foster’s understated performance as FBI upstart Clarice Starling that anchors the film—and, unsurprisingly, earned her a second Academy Award. From her verbal sparring with Lecter in their early tête-à-têtes through a Perspex screen, to her transformation into action heroine for the nail-biting climax as she navigates her way around the dark basement of Buffalo Bill’s lair, Foster’s performance in one of the most celebrated films of all time remains the true star of the show.
How to Watch: Stream on Amazon.
Little Man Tate (1991)
Given it came out the same year as The Silence of the Lambs, Foster’s Little Man Tate—also serving as her directorial debut—has often been overlooked. Charting the relationship between a young working-class mother and her intellectually gifted son over the course of two years, the film’s echoes with Foster’s own life as a preternaturally talented youth helped her weave a surprisingly personal (and critically acclaimed) yarn. While the spotlight is firmly turned to the impressive screen presence of her nine-year-old co-star, Adam Hann-Byrd, the sheer force of maternal love and empathy communicated by Foster onscreen makes this an especially touching gem within her extensive canon.
How to Watch: Stream on HBO Max.
Contact (1997)
For one of Foster’s more cerebral showings, look no further than her performance as the scientist Dr. Ellie Arroway in Robert Zemeckis’s sci-fi drama Contact. While only a moderate box office success at the time, this eerie, philosophical take on the sci-fi genre—originally adapted from a novel by Carl Sagan—eventually became a cult hit and one of Foster’s best-loved (and unusual) characters. A childhood obsession with the possibility of extraterrestrial life leads Arroway on a space odyssey like no other, where the troubled past lurking under her stoic demeanor is finally reconciled. Foster’s wide-eyed performance is as unforgettably mind-bending as the film itself.
How to Watch: Stream on Amazon.
Panic Room (2002)
In the hands of a lesser actress, David Fincher’s riveting and technically ambitious thriller Panic Room could have ended up feeling cold or clinical. But Foster’s heartfelt performance as a mother trying to protect her daughter during a break-in at her New York City townhouse lends the film its beating heart, helped in part by the close emotional bond she formed on set with a young Kristen Stewart. It may not always be counted among her most notable performances, but as a slick and endlessly watchable thriller that was a runaway box office success, it’s proof that Foster is just as capable of heading up a blockbuster as she is earning nominations across the board in any indie.
How to Watch: Stream on Amazon.
The Mauritanian (2021)
While Foster spent much of the 2010s working behind the camera, she made a triumphant return to the screen earlier this year with The Mauritanian opposite Tahar Rahim and Shailene Woodley. Playing the real-life criminal defense lawyer Nancy Hollander, who worked to free a Mauritanian man held without due process at Guantánamo Bay for alleged links to Al-Qaeda, Foster’s formidable and fearsome performance as a no-nonsense courtroom bulldog ensured the film’s occasionally wobbly plotting was kept pacy. Consider it proof that even after a period outside of the spotlight, there’s still plenty more to come from Foster’s illustrious acting career.
How to Watch: Stream on Amazon.
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