Evelyn ‘Brandy’ Foster, who guided her daughter Jodie to two Academy Awards, dies at 90

Evelyn “Brandy” Foster, who managed her daughter Jodie’s career from her child-prodigy years through two Academy Awards, has died at her home in Los Angeles.

Foster, who suffered from dementia, died May 14, her daughters Jodie, Lucinda, Constance and son, Bud, said in a statement. She was 90.

A native of Rockford, Ill., Brandy Foster came to California as a touring big-band singer and worked as a Hollywood publicist for Grace Kelly, Gregory Peck, James Stewart and Marilyn Monroe. She met her future husband, Lucius, at a fencing match. The two later divorced.

In her 30s as a single mother she began managing the career of her third child, Bud, who then went by Buddy and was best known for his regular role in the “Andy Griffith Show” spinoff, “Mayberry RFD.”

Her youngest child, Jodie, would begin acting in commercials at age 3, her first one a television ad for Coppertone.

Brandy Foster was a demanding and savvy manager for her daughter, making moves that some questioned, like having her play a child prostitute at age 14 in Martin Scorsese’s “Taxi Driver” opposite Robert De Niro. Foster had wanted to get her daughter out of the child-actor rut and it worked. Jodie Foster got the first of her four Oscar nominations and began an elite adult career.

Later in life, Paris became her adopted second home, a place where she shopped for art and took her grandchildren on tours of the city.

“Evelyn was without a doubt the strongest person her family has ever met, a champion, a fighter, full of fire and love,” her children’s statement said. “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.”

Brandy Foster would remain her daughter’s manager until Jodie’s second Oscar, in 1992, for “The Silence of the Lambs.” Jodie Foster also won an Oscar for 1989’s “The Accused.”

She is survived by her children, 15 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

A Los Angeles Times staff writer contributed to this report.