Jodie Foster's Landlord Recounts Her Extraordinary Rise to Stardom

In a recent interview, veteran actress Kate Burton recounts her unexpected connection to acclaimed actress Jodie Foster. Back in the early 1980s, when Foster was an undergraduate at Yale University, Burton was her landlord, renting out one of her units to the young star.

Burton, who is now 68 years old, has high praise for Foster's acting abilities, even from those early days. "She was the most incredible child actor that has ever existed," Burton says, "and she's got an extraordinary career." Indeed, Foster's rise to stardom began long before her time at Yale, with a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for her role in the 1976 film Taxi Driver when she was just 12 years old.

After graduating from Yale in 1985, Foster's career continued to soar. She won Best Actress Oscars for her performances in The Accused (1988) and The Silence of the Lambs (1991), and earned another nomination for Nell in 1994. Her most recent Oscar nod came in 2024 for her supporting role in Nyad.

Burton, who has three Emmy nominations and three Tony nods of her own, sees Foster as a "beacon to a lot of actors, and particularly child actors who know that there's a world out there for them." With her remarkable success and longevity in the industry, Foster has indeed paved the way for many aspiring performers.