Jodie Foster has married her girlfriend, Alexandra Hedison.

The 51-year-old Oscar winner tied the knot with the 44-year-old Los Angeles-based photographer at the weekend, Jodie's publicist Jennifer Allen confirmed.

It is the first marriage for Jodie, who came out publicly in a rambling, heartfelt speech at the 2013 Golden Globe Awards, where she accepted lifetime achievement honours.

After saying that she planned to make a big announcement which would make her publicist nervous, Jodie jokingly revealed that she was single.

"I hope that you're not disappointed that there won't be a big coming-out speech tonight," she said, "because I already did my coming-out about a thousand years ago back in the Stone Age."

She said celebrities are now expected to reveal they are gay "with a press conference, a fragrance and a primetime reality show", but her approach had been more personal.

Jodie acknowledged long-time partner Cydney Bernard, with whom she has two sons. The couple ended their 20-year relationship in 2008. While Jodie never hid the relationship, she kept her sexuality private until the Globes speech.

Cable television channel E!, which was first to report the wedding, said Jodie and Alexandra have been dating since last summer.

Alexandra, who was previously linked to Ellen DeGeneres, is also an actress with TV credits including Nash Bridges and The L Word.