Jodie Foster leaves her mark in cement at L.A.'s Chinese Theatre

Jodie Foster placed her handprints and footprints in cement Friday at the famed TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles — on a day that was also the 10^th anniversary of her marriage to Alexandra Hedison.

Before planting her hands and feet in the wet cement, Foster spoke for a few minutes in front of the theater, thanking family, friends, and colleagues for their support. “The person that I have to thank the most, really, is my wife, Alex, who I cannot believe was so generous to give up our 10-year anniversary day to come and do this with me,” she said. “Like, what are you thinking? How come you didn’t say no? I love you so much and I’m so grateful for the life we have together.” Hedison was in the front row of spectators at the ceremony.

“I love my life and I’m so grateful that all of you guys think I’m OK,” Foster said to the crowd.Foster was introduced by longtime friend Jamie Lee Curtis. She paid homage to Foster’s talent and dedication, and she noted that she and Foster starred in different movie versions of the same story 27 years apart — Freaky Friday, in which a mother and daughter switch places. Curtis cited the wedding anniversary as well.

She went on to reveal some things most people don’t know about Foster. When Hedison received an advanced degree, Foster, who loves parades, hired a marching band for the celebration, Curtis said. Also, Foster adores Christmas — she hosts a pageant as the Virgin Mary and goes around her neighborhood with children dresses as shepherds and wise men.

Honoring Jodie Foster with the Hand & Footprint Ceremony | TCMFF 2024www.youtube.com

“Before elections, Jodie Foster sends a list of all of her recommendations to all of her friends, and they then in turn send it to their friends,” Curtis continued, “because during an election cycle, Jodie Foster has taken the time and actually has read about all of the candidates and all of their pros and cons and each proposition, as she recognizes that many of us don’t have the time or patience to do that deep dive to understand what it is or who it is we are voting for and how important it is to be informed, and she shares her thoughts and hopes for us as a country.” Often people call Curtis and ask if she received Foster’s list, which Curtis then passes on to them, she said.

“She is also soft and funny and romantic and beautiful, and I could and would go on and on, but the cement is ready,” Curtis added.

The ceremony came during the TCM Classic Film Festival. Foster was a guest speaker at a screening of The Silence of the Lambs, for which she received the second of her Academy Awards for Best Actress, the first having been for The Accused.

TCM host Ben Mankiewicz also praised Foster at the ceremony, calling her "one of the great actors of her generation." He added, "Jodie has never been better than she is right now, mesmerizing us alongside Annette Bening, earning an Oscar nomination just last year in Nyad, and inviting us to look deep into her soul to figure out what is motivating this person as the Ennis, Alaska, police chief Liz Danvers in the fourth season of True Detective."

"She is kind, she is thoughtful, she is contemplative, she is honest, she is forgiving, she is decent," he concluded. "I think Jodie Foster represents the best this town has to offer."