Jodie Foster marries girlfriend

Jodie Foster, the actress and director has married her girlfriend, Alexandra Hedison.

The marriage was confirmed by a publicist acting on behalf of the actress to a US showbusiness website.

Foster, 51, who had been reluctant to comment on her private life, acknowledged she was gay at the Golden Globes awards last year.

The actress who had two children by IVF had separated from her previous partner, Cydney Bernard, a film producer.

In her Golden Globes speech, she paid tribute to Bernard, whom she described as her “ex-partner in love”.

Foster and Hedison had been seen in each other’s company in Los Angeles on a number of occasions, fuelling speculation about their relationship.

It is understood the pair finally married over the weekend, although the location has not been disclosed.

Hedison, 44, previously had a relationship with the US TV personality, Ellen DeGeneres.

There are no details about the wedding, but California - where Ms Foster lives - is among 17 US states and the District of Columbia where gay marriage is legal.

Foster, 51, began her acting career in television commercials at the age of three, but found international fame in 1976 for her Oscar-nominated performance as teenage prostitute Iris in Taxi Driver.

She has since appeared in more than 40 movies, winning best actress Oscars for her role as a rape victim in the 1988 film The Accused and as the FBI agent Clarice Starling in 1991's The Silence of The Lambs.

The actress also branched out into directing, with projects including Little Man Tate in 1991.