Before Kate Burton became a household name thanks to projects such as Grey’s Anatomy, she worked as a landlord and revealed one of her tenants was Jodie Foster.
During a recent interview with People, Burton, 68, recalled that Foster, 62, once lived in one of her units in New Haven, Connecticut.
“She was my tenant at Yale, I was her landlord, because she was an undergraduate and I was a graduate student,” Burton, who appears as Ellis Grey on the ABC medical drama, said of Foster.
Foster found success as a child star and even earned a best supporting actress Oscar nomination for her role in the 1976 movie Taxi Driver. However, she took a break from Hollywood to further her education at Yale in 1980. The Hotel Artemis actress studied African-American literature and she graduated magna cum laude in 1985.
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While reflecting on Foster’s talent, Burton told the outlet, “She was the most incredible child actor that has ever existed — and she’s got an extraordinary career.”
“She’s a beacon to a lot of actors, and particularly child actors who know that there’s a world out there for them,” Burton continued of Foster’s impact in the entertainment industry.
Foster continued to pursue acting when she graduated from Yale, and she even won the best actress award at the Oscars for 1988’s The Accused and 1991’s The Silence of the Lambs. Additionally, she earned another nod in the category for the 1994 film Nell. Foster’s critically acclaimed performances have continued over the years, with her being nominated for best supporting actress for the 2024 film Nyad.
Foster returned to Yale in April 2018 when she received the Yale Undergraduates’ lifetime achievement award for her work as an actress, director and producer. “Thank you so much for receiving me back in my hometown,” she said while accepting her award, per Yale News. “This place means more to me than almost any place else … I came to Yale and the second I walked on campus it was like I had just found the love of my life.”
She continued her speech by reflecting on her fond memories of her time at the college. “Yale for me is lying on the floor of my dorm room, crying and crying and crying, but it’s also going to one of the tops of those towers with beer in my hand going like ‘Woo, woo, woo!’” she said. “The darkness and the ecstatic-ness. That’s part of this moment in time in your life, and that’s what makes it so special.”
Foster went on to admit that she thought her acting career was over when she turned 18. “But it is very telling, this feeling of failure, which seems to be a theme in my life. Even coming here. I felt like everybody else was smarter than me. I had to pretend that I knew what I was talking about,” she said. “All of these other students just seemed so amazing. I think that if you don’t have that feeling of being insignificant and wanting to be significant, you must not be significant. I think that pushes you to not be satisfied with who you are and pushes you to be the best person you can be.”
This story was originally reported by Parade on Nov 10, 2025, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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