Jodie foster pays tribute to her lesbian partner publicly

London, Dec 12 (UNI) Hollywood actress Jodie Foster has finally acknowledged her lesbian partner Cydney Bernard.

The fiercely-private actress has always resolutely refused to discuss her sexuality.

But after winning an award at a Women in Entertainment breakfast, she broke her taboo to thank her girl friend Cydney Bernard with whom her relationship is 14 years old.

Foster, 44, a double Oscar winner, praised her film producer partner Cydney Bernard ''who sticks with me through all the rotten and the bliss''.

Her emotional speech brought tears in the eyes of some of her audience , revealing a vulnerable side to a star who has long resisted calls from gay rights activists to clarify her personal life, the Daily Mail reported.

The couple met on the set of the film Sommersby in 1993 and are raising two sons, Charles, nine, and Kit, six, at their Malibu home.

Foster landed her first job in a sun cream commercial when she was three years old and appeared in 50 films before she left school, including her shocking breakthrough role as a child prostitute in Taxi Driver with Robert De Niro.

She became one of the most successful adult stars in Hollywood by taking on gutsy roles like rape victim Sarah Tobias in 'The Accused'in 1988 and Clarice Starling in 'Silence of the Lambs' three years later, both of which won her Best Actress Oscars.

UNI