Claim: A The Silence of the Lambs character is Clarice Starling.

Alicia Christian `` Jodie '' Foster -LRB- born November 19 , 1962 -RRB- is an American actress and filmmaker who has worked in films and on television . She has often been cited as one of the best actresses of her generation . Foster began her career at the age of three as a child model in 1965 , and two years later moved to acting in television series , with the sitcom Mayberry R.F.D. being her debut . In the late 1960s and early 1970s , she worked in several primetime television series and starred in children 's films . Foster 's breakthrough came in Martin Scorsese 's Taxi Driver -LRB- 1976 -RRB- , in which she played a teenage prostitute ; the role garnered her a nomination for an Academy Award . Her other critically acclaimed roles as a teenager were in the musical Bugsy Malone -LRB- 1976 -RRB- and the thriller The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane -LRB- 1976 -RRB- , and she became a popular teen idol by starring in Disney 's Freaky Friday -LRB- 1976 -RRB- , Candleshoe -LRB- 1977 -RRB- and Foxes -LRB- 1980 -RRB- .   After attending college at Yale , Foster struggled to transition to adult roles until winning widespread critical acclaim for her portrayal of a rape survivor in The Accused -LRB- 1988 -RRB- , for which she won several awards , including an Academy Award and a Golden Globe . She won her second Academy Award three years later for her role in the sleeper hit The Silence of the Lambs , where she played Clarice Starling , an FBI trainee investigating a serial murder case . Foster made her debut as a film director the same year with the moderately successful Little Man Tate -LRB- 1991 -RRB- , and founded her own production company , Egg Pictures , in 1992 . The company 's first production was Nell -LRB- 1994 -RRB- , in which she also played the title role , gaining another nomination for an Academy Award . Her other films in the 1990s included period drama Sommersby , Western comedy Maverick -LRB- 1994 -RRB- , science fiction film Contact -LRB- 1997 -RRB- , and period drama Anna and the King -LRB- 1999 -RRB- . Her second film direction , Home for the Holidays -LRB- 1995 -RRB- , was not well-received commercially , while critical reviews were mixed .   After career setbacks in the early 2000s , which included the cancellation of a film project and the closing down of her production company , Foster starred in four thrillers , Panic Room -LRB- 2002 -RRB- , Flightplan -LRB- 2005 -RRB- , Inside Man -LRB- 2006 -RRB- and The Brave One -LRB- 2007 -RRB- . She has focused on directing in the 2010s , directing the films The Beaver -LRB- 2011 -RRB- and Money Monster -LRB- 2016 -RRB- , as well as episodes for Netflix television series Orange is the New Black and House of Cards . She also starred in the film Elysium -LRB- 2013 -RRB- . In addition to her two Academy Awards , Foster has won three BAFTA Awards , three Golden Globe Awards , a Screen Actors Guild Award and the Cecil B DeMille Award .