Fewer actresses have enjoyed the kind of success that Jodie Foster has recorded in the movie industry. Since commencing her career at the very tender age of three, the L.A. native has built an accomplished career and has garnered lots of accolades including BAFTAs, Academy Awards, and Golden Globes. She has also blessed Hollywood with her versatility, which is expressed in faculties of directing and producing and has gone on to become a showbiz icon.

Such an illustrious career has predictably resulted in bountiful financial rewards for Foster and she is now one of the richest actresses in Hollywood. She however does not live an extravagant life but keeps her head down, a trait that she herself has attributed to her aversion for publicity having spent nearly all of her life in the spotlight.

Her Early Days as a Child Star

Jodie Foster owes the lion’s share of her fortune to her acting career which she commenced at the mere age of three. The actress was born Alicia Christian Foster on November 19, 1962, but later adopted the name ‘Jodie’, a nickname given to her by her siblings. Before she was born, her parents, Evelyn Ella ‘Brandy’ and Lucius Fisher Foster III were already separated and she thus grew up with her mother and his partner, alongside her three siblings, in Los Angeles. Jodie’s early venture into showbiz was thanks to her mother’s career as a film producer.

She started as a child model, appearing in commercials for different companies, and soon stepped into the world of movies. Her debut TV appearance was in Mayberry R.F.D. in a 1968 episode. Following that successful first outing, Jodie hit the big screens in the early 70s, starring in feature films such as Napoleon and Samantha, One Little Indian, Tom Sawyer, and Martin Scorsese’s Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. She finally got her breakthrough after portraying the role of a child prostitute in the 1976 thriller, Taxi Driver. Her excellent performance earned her rave reviews as well as an Oscar nomination for best supporting actress. It also led to an impressive paycheck.

Holding Sway as the Highest-Paid Hollywood Actress of the late 90s and early 2000s

Since her Taxi Driver days, Jodie Foster has successfully transitioned into a film star and has featured in about 40 films including highly-acclaimed works such as Anna and the king, The Accused, Flightplan, Inside Man and The Brave One. All these works have paid her well but her biggest paychecks remain the $10-$12 million she earned for 2007’s The Brave One and the $15 million she pocketed for 1999 period drama, Anna and The King. Both paychecks made her one of the highest-paid actresses in Hollywood at that time. It also helped her build up the impressive fortune that she has today.

Producing and Directing Credits

Another revenue source for Jodie Foster is producing and directing. The multiple Oscar winner has served as the executive producer of projects such as Nell, The Baby Dance, and Waking The Dead. Under her now-defunct production company, Egg Pictures which she founded in 1992 she has released films such as Nell, and The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys. Even though Egg Pictures tasted some success, Nell for instance grossed about $106 million on a budget of $31 million, Foster later shut down the company stating that producing was a bad and thankless job.

Since coming to that realization, the actress has focused on directing and has so far directed several movies and TV series episodes including Little Man Tate, Home for the Holidays, The Beaver, Orange is the New Black, House of Cards, Black Mirror, and Money Monster. These projects have experienced decent success with the 2016 thriller, Monster Money, grossing $93.3 million on a budget of $27.4 million.

Though it is not clear how much Foster earns for directing, it is known that the average director salary for a feature film in Hollywood starts at $750,000 and can reach up to $20 million depending on your status (think Martin Scorsese or Christopher Nolan).

The Fortune that Jodie Foster has Amassed

Foster now has a net worth of about $100 million, making her one of the richest stars in Hollywood. The L.A. native however maintains an understated lifestyle and is not one for grandiose or lavish spending. She owns several properties in Los Angeles but has been steadily off-loading them in recent times. In May 2020, the actress listed her 4,920 square feet mansion in Calabasas for sale at the amount of $2.9 million. The home featured four bedrooms and five baths as well as a cozy master bedroom suite, pool, patio, and lawns. Back in the winter of 2019, Foster also listed her 7,500 square feet home in Beverly Hills for sale at the asking price of $15.9 million. The five-bedroom and six baths house featured a traditional style and was eventually sold for about $14.9 million.

Her Long Term Relationship with Cydney Bernard

Jodie Foster’s personal life is quite interesting. First, she marries a woman, has children, and separates from the woman. Then she goes on to date a man briefly before settling for women again. Back in 1993, the actress commenced a relationship with the producer, Cydney Bernard. The two first crossed paths on the set of the 1993 film, Sommersby, in which Foster featured and Cydney worked behind-the-scenes as a production coordinator.

They began dating shortly afterward and remained together for about 15 years during which they welcomed two sons namely Charlie (b. in 1998) and Kit (b. in 2001). The couple later broke up in the year 2008 ostensibly because Foster had fallen in love with another woman named Cindy Mort. Mort is a producer/writer whom she met during the filming of the 2005 blockbuster, The Brave One. Their relationship commenced in 2008 and lasted for quite some time.

Meanwhile, Foster and Bernard remain on amicable terms and continue to co-parent their two sons. There have been continued speculations regarding the paternity of their kids. While some sources say that the actress was artificially inseminated for the pregnancies using the sperm of a 6 feet 2 Ph.D. candidate, others say that it was her good friend, Hollywood producer, and gay rights advocate, Randy Stone, that did the honors.

Foster Is Now Married To Alexandra Hedison

Foster famously came out as gay during her acceptance speech at the 2013 Golden Globes ceremony where she received the Cecil B. DeMille lifetime achievement award. Since then, she has gone on to tie the knot with her girlfriend, Alexandra Hedison. Hedison is an accomplished photographer whose works have been exhibited in cities such as Los Angeles, New York, London, and California. She has also worked as an actress and has featured in productions such as The L Word, Nash Bridges, Seven Days, Melrose Place and Tomorrow Never Dies.

Foster and Hedison (who previously dated chat show host – Ellen DeGeneres between 2001 and 20014) commenced their relationship in the summer of 2013. They remained together for about a year before quietly tying the knot in April 2014. They were no elaborate details about the nuptials but it most likely took place in the state of California. Since then, the couple has been together and have kept their romance out of the news. They rarely make public appearances and as such, not much is known about the dynamics of their relationship.