Jamie Lee Curtis

Jamie Lee Curtis (born November 22, 1958, Los Angeles, California, U.S.) is an American actress and author who first rose to fame with a series of popular horror movies, most notably Halloween (1978) and its sequels, and who later found success with comedic and action roles. In 2023 she won the Academy Award for best supporting actress for her performance in Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022).

Early life and education

She was born into Hollywood royalty, the younger of two daughters of stars Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh. After they divorced in 1962, Jamie Lee Curtis rarely saw her father, and she lived with her mother and stepfather, Robert Brandt. She struggled academically and attended several high schools, including Westlake School (now Harvard-Westlake School) in Los Angeles and Choate Rosemary Hall in Wallingford, Connecticut. She briefly attended the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California, before deciding to pursue an acting career.

Acting career

“Scream Queen”

In 1977 Curtis began to appear in television shows, notably Operation Petticoat, which was based on a 1959 film starring her father and Cary Grant. The show was canceled in 1978, and that year she made her big-screen debut, starring in John Carpenter’s Halloween. She played Laurie Strode, a shy studious babysitter terrorized by the seemingly unkillable Michael Myers. According to reports, Curtis was offered the role, in part, because her mother had appeared in the iconic shower scene in Alfred Hitchcock’s horror classic Psycho (1960). Nevertheless, Curtis’s performance helped make Halloween a huge hit, and some consider it to be the best horror film ever made.

Discover the fascinating events that shaped the world, straight from our editors.

SIGN UP

By clicking “Sign Up”, you consent to the Britannica Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

She subsequently appeared in a series of other scary movies, earning her the nickname “Scream Queen.” In 1980 she starred in The Fog, which was directed by Carpenter and also featured her mother, and Prom Night. The following year Curtis appeared in Halloween II. Her other credits from 1981 include the TV movie Death of a Centerfold, a true-crime drama about the murder of Dorothy Stratten.

Later Halloween movies and Knives Out

In 1998 Curtis reprised the role of Laurie Strode in Halloween H20: Twenty Years Later; her mother had a small role in the film. Curtis later appeared with Pierce Brosnan and Geoffrey Rush in John Boorman’s The Tailor of Panama (2001), an adaptation of John le Carré’s novel. In Halloween: Resurrection (2002), Curtis’s character is killed, which seemed to end her involvement in the series. She returned to comedy with Freaky Friday (2003), a remake, costarring Lindsay Lohan, of the 1976 film in which a mother and daughter switch bodies. Curtis then appeared in a series of largely forgettable films while making occasional appearances on television.

Explore Britannica Premium!

The trusted destination for professionals, college students, and lifelong learners.

SUBSCRIBE

In 2018 Curtis returned to her roots, starring in Halloween. Directed by David Gordon Green, it was a sequel to the 1978 film and ignored plot lines from other installments in the series. That movie broke various box-office records, and it sparked something of a resurgence for the actress. She later joined an all-star cast for Knives Out (2019), a hugely popular comedic mystery from writer-director Rian Johnson that featured Daniel Craig as a detective. Her success continued with Halloween Kills (2021) and Halloween Ends (2022). The latter was the last installment in Green’s trilogy, and Curtis said it was her final movie in the franchise.

Other activities

Besides acting, Curtis found success as an author of children’s books. When I Was Little: A Four-Year-Old’s Memoir of Her Youth was published in 1993, and it was followed by such works as Today I Feel Silly & Other Moods That Make My Day (1998), I’m Gonna Like Me: Letting Off a Little Self-Esteem (2002), It’s Hard to Be Five: Learning How to Work My Control Panel (2004), and Me, Myselfie & I: A Cautionary Tale (2018).

In addition, Curtis cocreated the podcasts Letters from Camp (2020–22), a scripted show that uses a fictional story to address issues facing adolescents, and Good Friend with Jamie Lee Curtis (2021–22), which features her interviews with various people. In addition, she added inventor to her résumé in 1988 after being granted a patent for a disposable diaper that included a pocket for baby wipes.

Personal life

In 1984 Curtis wed British director, actor, and writer Christopher Guest—she reportedly saw his photograph in Rolling Stone magazine and said she was going to marry him—and they later adopted two children. Following his father’s death in 1996, Guest became the 5th Baron Haden-Guest, which made Curtis a baroness. However, the couple never used their titles. In the late 1980s Curtis developed an addiction to alcohol and Vicodin; she began using the opioid following plastic surgery that she had undergone in response to a cameraman’s comment about her eyes. She became sober after undergoing treatment in 1999. Known for her candor, Curtis was open about her struggles, hoping to help others. She was also outspoken in her later refusals to conform to unrealistic—and often sexist—beauty standards.