She received her fourth Academy Award nomination for playing a hermit in Nell (1994). Foster’s films have spanned a wide variety of genres, from family films to horror. After appearing as a child in several commercials, Foster made her first credited TV appearance on The Doris Day Show. in 2004, she took a minor role in the French WWI film, A Very Long Engagement. Foster has German, English and Irish roots, being the descendant of Mayflower passengers William Mullins and his wife Alice, and of Priscilla and John Alden.