Alexandra Hedison Bio
Alexandra Hedison is an American photographer, director, and actress whose work spans fine art photography, film, and television. She has exhibited widely, with projects exploring landscapes, memory, and the built environment, and her photographs have been shown in galleries across the United States and Europe. Hedison is the daughter of actor David Hedison, and she has pursued acting and directing alongside photography. She is married to actress and filmmaker Jodie Foster, and she continues to balance artistic photography with directing and acting projects while contributing to contemporary visual culture.
Early Life and Background
Alexandra Hedison is the daughter of actor David Hedison, a connection that gave her an early window into the world of film and storytelling. Growing up in a family with deep ties to the entertainment industry, she was exposed from a young age to the rhythms of professional acting and the broader creative culture that surrounds it. This family background helped shape her lifelong interest in visual and performing arts, encouraging her to explore multiple creative disciplines rather than settling on a single path.
As a young artist, Hedison gravitated toward photography and visual storytelling, studying the craft and developing a body of work that would later be exhibited in major galleries. Her early fascination with landscapes, memory, and architectural form became defining themes across her photographic projects. These formative years laid the groundwork for a career that would later bridge fine art, film, and television, allowing her to move fluidly between the gallery world and the entertainment industry.
Path to Celebrity
Hedison’s entry into the public eye came through her work in visual arts. She first exhibited her series of abstract landscapes in 2002 at Rose Gallery in Bergamot Station in Los Angeles. That debut exhibition marked the beginning of an expanding presence in the contemporary photography scene. In 2005, she exhibited the (Re)Building series, which addressed themes of loss, transition, and recovery while using construction as a metaphor for memory in the architecture of the subconscious.
Her large-format photographic series Ithaka, named after the C. P. Cavafy poem, was shot in the temperate rain forest of North America. First exhibited in London, the series was included in The New Yorker’s 2008 Passport to the Arts and in the Month of Photography Los Angeles the following year. These exhibitions helped establish her reputation as a serious fine art photographer and opened doors to gallery representation in the United States and Europe.
Alexandra Hedison Career
Early Career (1994–2004)
Alexandra Hedison began her professional career in 1994, building a foundation across photography, acting, and directing. Her earliest work focused on visual experimentation and the development of a recognizable artistic voice. In 2002, she mounted her first major gallery show at Rose Gallery in Los Angeles, a milestone that signaled her emergence as a serious contemporary photographer.
During this same period, she developed relationships with curators and art spaces that would later shape her career trajectory. Her abstract landscapes drew attention for their emotional depth, and her approach to landscape photography earned her a place among a new generation of American artists. These early projects set the stage for larger commissions, residencies, and international exhibitions in the years that followed.
Breakthrough (2005–2017)
The years between 2005 and 2017 marked the most prolific chapter of Alexandra Hedison’s career as a photographer. In 2005, she presented the (Re)Building series, exploring themes of loss, transition, and recovery through construction imagery. Her Ithaka series, first exhibited in London, appeared in The New Yorker’s 2008 Passport to the Arts and traveled to Los Angeles for the Month of Photography Los Angeles in 2009. That same year, the Ithaka series served as the Month of Photography Los Angeles Official Opening Night Exhibition at Frank Pictures Gallery in Santa Monica.
Her international profile continued to grow. In 2008, she was selected by Barclays Capital for international sponsorship. In 2009, she published a series of books sponsored by the Center of Cultural Intelligence in Singapore. In 2010, her solo show In the Woods was exhibited at Meredith Gunderson Projects in London, and she showed Ithaka in a solo exhibit at Mews 42 Gallery in London. In 2011, she completed a residency with Myriam Blundell Projects at the Willums Art Foundation in Pourrières, France.
From 2012 through 2017, Hedison sustained a steady rhythm of gallery presentations. In 2012, her series Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere was exhibited in a solo show at Diane Rosenstein Gallery in Beverly Hills. In 2013, she took part in the My Aim Is True exhibition at the Frostig Collection in Los Angeles and in a group show at Diane Rosenstein Fine Art. In 2016, she participated in Both Sides of Sunset: Photographs of Los Angeles at Kopeikin Gallery, and the same year her exhibition Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere opened at the Centro Cultural de Cascais in Cascais, Portugal, and was named by Time Out magazine as one of the top ten exhibitions in Lisbon that year. In 2017, Hedison and Jodie Foster co-chaired the 14th edition of the Hammer Museum’s annual Gala in the Garden.
Alongside her photography, Hedison expanded into television. She appeared in multiple television series, including Showtime’s The L Word, where she played the con artist Dylan Moreland. That role introduced her work to a wider audience and marked her most recognized on-screen performance. In March 2024, Hedison participated in an Armenian Film Society panel discussion about Armenian women in film and entertainment, moderated by Sona Movsesian, alongside concept artist Joanna Bush, business manager Anna DerParseghian, and film publicist Teni Karapetian.
Notable Works and Milestones
Hedison’s most recognized work remains the Ithaka series, a meditation on memory and landscape that has been exhibited in London, Los Angeles, and elsewhere. Her L Word role as Dylan Moreland stands as her signature acting credit, and her participation in the Hammer Museum Gala in the Garden alongside Jodie Foster reflects her standing in the cultural community. Across photography, directing, and acting, she has built a multidisciplinary body of work marked by quiet intensity and visual precision.
Alexandra Hedison Family
Alexandra Hedison is the daughter of actor David Hedison, a veteran performer whose career in film and television gave his daughter a direct connection to the entertainment industry. Through her marriage to Jodie Foster, she is the stepmother of Charlie B. Foster, Foster’s son. The family maintains a relatively private profile, though Hedison and Foster have appeared publicly together at cultural events, including the Hammer Museum’s Gala in the Garden in 2017.
Personal Life
Hedison was in a relationship with comedian and television host Ellen DeGeneres from 2000 to 2004. In April 2014, she married actress and filmmaker Jodie Foster, after dating for a year. Her personal and professional lives have often intersected, and she has continued to balance her roles as photographer, director, actress, and partner within a creative household. She is American by nationality, and her work has taken her between Los Angeles, London, and other international cultural centers.