Jodie Foster Mourns the Death of Her Mom Evelyn at 90: She Was 'An Original Like No Other'
Jodie Foster is mourning the death of her mom Evelyn “Brandy” Foster, who managed her career until her 1991 Oscar win for The Silence of the Lambs.
Foster and her siblings Lucinda, Constance and Bud released a sweet and moving obituary for their mom, who died at 90 on Monday just the day after Mother’s Day. The family revealed Evelyn died from complications related to dementia.
“Evelyn was without a doubt the strongest person her family has ever met, a champion, a fighter, full of fire and love,” the obituary, obtained by PEOPLE, read. “No one could beat her style, all five feet tall with naturally ‘cork screw’ hair. Her family will remember those dimple smiles and big hugs and well placed four letter words. No one messed with Nana, an original like no other. May she live in all of us forever.”
Evelyn also managed Foster’s brother Bud’s career, who starred in the sitcom Mayberry R.F.D. from 1968 to 1971. The “entertainment savy” former big band singer also worked as a publicist for Arthur Jacobs for a time, whose clients included Grace Kelly, Gregory Peck, James Stewart and Marilyn Monroe.
Read on for the family’s full obituary, which asks that well-wishers “look up at the sky, open your arms and say her name” in lieu of flowers. “She would get a kick out of that,” they wrote.
Evelyn ‘Brandy’ Foster, mother of Jodie, Lucinda, Constance and Bud, passed away peacefully in her home on May 13th from complications related to dementia. She was 90 years old.
She was raised in Rockford, Illinois but in the forties took her big band singing chops on the road to California. There she met Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Lucius Foster at a fencing match. They married and had four children together. Lucius went on to become a successful real estate developer in Los Angeles. Evelyn worked briefly as a Hollywood publicist for Arthur Jacobs, whose clients included Grace Kelly, Gregory Peck, James Stewart and Marilyn Monroe. In her thirties, suddenly divorced and a single mother of four, Evelyn brought her entertainment savvy to managing the young acting career of her son Buddy best known as Ken Berry’s son in the series Mayberry RFD. At three, her youngest daughter Jodie landed her first commercial, the famed 60’s Coppertone ad. Evelyn successfully managed and guided her daughter’s career until her second Best Actress Oscar win in 1991 for The Silence of The Lambs.
Paris was her second home where she loved spending time walking the streets with her grandchildren and collecting art for her apartment on the Ile de St. Louis. Always happiest surrounded by beautiful things, you would find her on Sundays amid a pile of art and architecture magazines. She was a passionate world cinema lover and a liberal firebrand, always ahead of her time, with an opinion about virtually everything and a voice for social justice.
Evelyn was without a doubt the strongest person her family has ever met, a champion, a fighter, full of fire and love. No one could beat her style, all five feet tall with naturally “cork screw” hair. Her family will remember those dimple smiles and big hugs and well placed four letter words. No one messed with Nana, an original like no other. May she live in all of us forever.
Her family will mourn her passing privately. In lieu of flowers, they suggest you look up at the sky, open your arms and say her name. She would get a kick of that.
