Jodie Foster

Foster in 2011, photo by PrPhotos.com

Birth Name: Alicia Christian Foster

Place of Birth: Los Angeles, California, United States

Date of Birth: November 19, 1962

Ethnicity: English, some Scots-Irish/Northern Irish, Scottish, Irish, possibly German, distant French

Jodie Foster is an American actress, director, producer, filmmaker, and child model. She has twice won the Academy Award for Best Actress, for The Accused (1988) and The Silence of the Lambs (1991). She is also known for her roles in the films Napoleon and Samantha, Kansas City Bomber, Tom Sawyer (1973), Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Taxi Driver, Bugsy Malone, The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane, Freaky Friday (1976), Candleshow, Foxes, Carny, The Hotel New Hampshire, Mesmerized, Stealing Home, Shadows and Fog, Sommersby, Maverick (1994), Nell, Contact, Anna and the King, The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys, Panic Room, A Very Long Engagement, Flightplan, Inside Man (2006), The Brave One, Nim’s Island, Carnage (2011), Elysium, Hotel Artemis, The Mauritanian, and Nyad. She has also directed the films Little Man Tate, Home for the Holidays, The Beaver (2011), and Money Monster, the first and third of which she starred in; and directed Black Mirror: Arkangel and episodes of Orange Is the New Black. She founded production company Egg Pictures.

She is the daughter of Evelyn Della/Ella “Brandy” (Almond), a film producer, and Lucius Fisher Foster III, a real estate broker, and decorated U.S. Air Force lieutenant colonel. Her brother is actor Buddy Foster (Lucius Fisher Foster IV). Jodie is married to photographer, director, and actress Alexandra Hedison. Jodie has two children with her former partner Cydney Bernard.

On her father’s side, she has English, along with Scots-Irish/Northern Irish, Scottish, Irish, and distant French, ancestry. Jodie’s mother was born in the Bronx, New York, and raised in Rockford, Winnebago, Illinois; she is sometimes cited as being of part German descent. Jodie has also said that she has roots in County Cork, Ireland.

Jodie speaks French, and dubs her own roles into the language.

Jodie’s paternal grandfather was Lucius Fisher Foster (the son of Alexis Caldwell Foster and Alice Eddy Fisher). Lucius was born in Denver, Colorado, and was a member of the 336th Fighter Squadron. He was from a family with deep Colonial American roots, particularly in Massachusetts and Connecticut, and was a Mayflower descendant. Alexis was the son of Turner Saunders Foster and Harriet/Harriett Erwin. Alice was the daughter of Lucius George Fisher, Jr. and Katherine Louise Eddy.

Jodie’s paternal grandmother was Constance Marie Robertson (the daughter of Samuel R. Robertson and Elizabeth Hughes). Constance was born in Paris, Henry, Tennessee. Samuel was the son of William Platt Robertson, who had Scottish and Irish heritage; and of Louanna Noble Harris. Elizabeth was the daughter of Napoleon Emmett Hughes and Maria Constance Courtenay/Courtney.

Jodie’s biological maternal grandmother was named Josie Almond, and was born in Rockford. Jodie’s biological maternal grandfather has not been publicly identified. Jodie’s mother was adopted by Lucy M. (Lefler) and John Clinton Almond, who were related to her own biological mother.

Through her Almond line, Jodie likely descends from William Almond and Mary Ann Day, who were English, from Yorkshire.

Sources: Rolling Stone article about Jodie Foster, 1991 – http://www.rollingstone.com

Genealogies of Jodie Foster – http://famouskin.com
https://www.geni.com
http://www.countyhistorian.com

Genealogy of Jodie Foster (focusing on her father’s side) – http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com

Jodie’s mother on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org
Jodie’s mother on the 1940 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org

Jodie’s mother’s adoptive parents, John Clinton Almond and Lucy M. Lefler, on the 1920 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org