Jodie Foster Waited Almost 35 Years to Tell the World the Truth About Herself and Come Out With the Woman She Loves

For many celebrities, their fame and public exposure can be like a trial. They try their best to hide personal details from outsiders, such as their home, children, and other personal details. In an attempt to uncover the “hot scoop,” the press often asks stars overly personal questions. And sometimes, this tactless curiosity forces artists to further conceal their true selves from everyone. This was the case with Jodie Foster, who spent years slowly revealing her true self to the world.

Gay silence

A few years ago, an old interview with Jodie Foster went viral online. In the footage, a journalist bluntly asks the 17-year-old actress, “What kinda fellas do you like?” Despite her young age, the girl doesn’t lose her composure in front of the camera and skillfully sidesteps the question. However, her facial expression speaks for itself. Over the years, this moment even got a name: “gay silence.”

At that time, Jodie realized that it was better not to talk about her interests and personal life details to the public. She preferred to keep them private and focus solely on her work. She would adhere to this strategy for many years to come. Ricky Martin also behaved in a similar way for many years before coming out publicly.

In the ’90s, several tabloids published their thoughts that the star of The Silence of the Lambs may be a lesbian. However, there was no confirmation of this, and the actress herself ignored the tactless questions, continuing to lead one of the most private lives in Hollywood. In 1998, she gave birth to her first son, and 3 years later, her second. She traditionally kept quiet about who the children’s father was.

Public confession

Almost 35 years had passed since that same interview where 17-year-old Foster was trying to dodge the journalist’s questions when she decided enough was enough. By 2013, Jodie had received an award for outstanding contributions to the film industry. She had been called the most beautiful woman in the world more than once. If she couldn’t speak freely about herself, then who could?

At the Golden Globe Awards ceremony, speaking from the stage, she finally revealed the truth to those present: “I hope you’re not disappointed that there won’t be a big coming-out speech tonight, because I already did my coming out about a thousand years ago back in the Stone Age.”

Standing on the stage, Jodie brought up a topic that everyone in the room understood. The actress was tired of the press constantly trying to turn her personal life into a reality show. And she decided to change the rules of the game by telling the truth herself: “While I’m here being all confessional, I guess I just have just a sudden urge to say something that I’ve never really been able to air in public.”

The star revealed that she is currently single and from 1993 to 2008 she lived with producer Sidney Bernard, with whom she had 2 sons. The actress called Sidney her best friend and thanked her for their modern family. Throughout this time, there were two people in the room who were not surprised by Foster’s speech. They were her sons, Charlie and Kit. Others in the audience were in tears. The actress’s honesty that evening touched many hearts.

Demonstration of happiness

In the same year that Jodie Foster opened up to the world about herself, she met her love. That person was Alexandra Hedison, who had also worked as an actress in the past. She appeared in TV shows in the ’90s, but later realized it wasn’t for her and pursued photography instead.

Alexandra was also a celebrity in her own circles. She was involved in home design, and her photographs were showcased in museums, galleries, and public and private collections around the world. In the past, she had experience dating a public figure. From 2000 to 2004, she dated Ellen DeGeneres. The TV host then got together with Portia de Rossi, with whom she is still happy to this day.

Meanwhile, Foster and Hedison led a private life, not appearing together in public, so news of their wedding came as a surprise to many. The couple got married in 2014. By the way, have you noticed that celebrities are increasingly tying the knot secretly?

And although their relationship is no longer a secret, the women rarely appeared together in public. Only at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival did they show up on the red carpet holding hands. The spouses shone with happiness and kissed each other under the flashing cameras. And in the same year, Jodie Foster received another Golden Globe, this time for her role in the movie The Mauritanian.

And just like in 2013, in her acceptance speech, the actress was once again extremely candid. She spoke via video from home, sitting next to her beloved. She began her speech by saying, “I love my wife, thank you, Alex!” And she ended it with a kiss to Hedison. As was later written, it was an “iconic display of coolness and queer joy,” the joy of finally being true to oneself.