Jodie Foster and her Mom
Jodie Foster brought many to tears Sunday night when she spoke of her ailing mother during her revealing Golden Globes speech while receiving the Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement Award.
One might assume that Foster’s beautiful sentiments must surely mean that mother and daughter had a solid, uncomplicated relationship. But Foster and her mother, who was also her manager growing up, have not always seen eye-to-eye and the relationship wasn’t always so positive.
Jodie Foster was born November 19, 1962 in Los Angeles, California, the youngest of four, to Evelyn Ella “Brandy” (née Almond) and Lucius Fisher Foster II. Her father, a decorated U.S. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel, left her mother before Foster was born. Evelyn supported her children by working as a film producer.
Evelyn also managed young Jodie’s acting career, which began with a Coppertone commercial at the age of three, and by the age of 13 Foster had received an Academy Award nomination for her role in the1976 film Taxi Driver.
While discussing her relationship with her mother in a 2011 interview with David Letterman, Foster laughs and quips, “She was a mostly negative influence in my life.” Watch a clip from this interview below:
But now fast forward to Sunday night and Ms. Foster told reporters that her mom, who suffers from dementia, “… is an amazing inspiration for me…She picked me up from school and took me to see foreign films, sometimes two or three, and she wouldn’t let me do my homework because she really wanted me to see movies,” Ms. Foster said. “She passed that along to me, and I am grateful that she wanted me to be respected.”
“That was her No. 1 goal for me,” Ms. Foster continued, “and I think that permeated my early career.”
Near the end of her acceptance speech Sunday night, she focused on her mother saying, “Mom, I know you’re inside those blue eyes somewhere and that there are so many things you won’t understand tonight. But this is the only important one to take in: I love you, I love you, I love you. And I hope that if I say this three times, it will magically and perfectly enter into your soul, fill you with grace and the joy of knowing that you did good in this life.”
While most people will likely remember Foster’s Golden Globes speech because she alluded to possibly retiring from acting and made some comments regarding her sexuality, her words to her mother serve as a poignant reminder of the strength and power of love, even in the midst of the darkest of diagnoses.
With her eyes fixed on the cameras in front of her, Foster closed her address to her mother with two sentences that mirror those in the hearts of caregivers everywhere: “You’re a great mom. Please take that with you when you’re finally okay to go.”
