And now, she's detective Liz Danvers in the newest season of True Detective: Night Country.
But, outside of the many characters she plays on TV and in movies, she's just mom to Charles "Charlie" Bernard Foster, 25, and Christopher "Kit" Bernard Foster, 22.
In her very first appearance on The View, Jodie reflected on her career and explained why, for the longest time, her children didn't know anything about her acting career and her iconic characters.
"I guess I just didn't want them to know me that way," she said.
"I wanted them to know me as their mom and the person who went away to work and stuff. I just didn't want them to be confused about what I did for a living."
Jodie revealed that she convinced her oldest, Charlie, she was a construction worker. "I brought him to set one day and bought him a little plastic tool belt and stuff."
She continued, "And I was like, 'Yeah, and this is this set and this set and this set.' And for a really long time, he thought I was a construction worker."
The Nyad actor admitted now Charlie and Kit realize their mom is one of the biggest names in Hollywood, but they still "have no interest in watching my movies with me."
1994's Nell, one of my favorite movies that earned Jodie another Academy Award nomination, is one of the "few films that [she] would never show them because [she] would be worried about being teased."
“They do tease me often about [Nell], even though they’ve never seen the movie," she said.
“I think they’re going to catch True Detective ’cause they’re really into that.”
On that note, I'm going to watch True Detective, too. Whether she's an FBI agent, a fake construction worker, or just a mom — Jodie Foster is always a legend.
