Jodie Foster | African-American Literature

At this point, just about everyone can recognize Jodie Foster, and that’s thanks to her amazing performance in the iconic 1991 psychological horror flick The Silence of the Lambs. Beginning her career as a child model, she landed her acting debut with a part in the 1968 TV sitcom Mayberry RFD. With that said, other projects she’s landed an acting credit for include Taxi Driver, Anna and the King, Flightplan, and Panic Room.

More often than not, internalizing a character requires plenty of brainpower, which this actress surely has plenty of. After learning how to read at just three years old, Foster eventually became fluent in the French language. She was also quite a knowledgeable student. After all, not only did she graduate high school as a valedictorian, but she also finished college as a magna cum laude, majoring in African-American literature.