Jamie Lee Curtis

Background

Jamie Lee Curtis is known for her award-winning work as an actress in numerous cult classic movies. She’s entertaining, gorgeous, and all-around loved by fans around the world. Curtis was born on November 22, 1958, in California, United States. Her parents are Janet Leigh and Tony Curtis, both legendary actors in the U.S. film industry whose careers spanned more than five decades. She has an older sister, actress Kelly Curtis, and half-siblings from her father’s side. Her parents separated in 1962, a period when her father was not present. She grew up with her mother and her stepfather, Robert Brandt. Born from a very wealthy family, she attended elite private schools growing up, such as the all-girls Harvard-Westlake School and Beverly Hills High School. She studied law at university but eventually dropped out after a semester to pursue a career in acting.

Curtis started her acting career with a minor role in a “Quincy” episode in 1977 and several minor roles in T.V. shows afterward. But her film debut was around a year later in John Carpenter’s “Halloween,” where she played the lead, Laurie Strode. Following the film’s major success as the highest-grossing independent film at that time, Curtis’ career took off — especially in the horror genre at that time. This earned her the title ‘scream queen,’ and she starred in several horror, thriller, and slasher films throughout the 1980s, such as “The Fog,” “Prom Night,” and “Terror Train.” In 1983, she starred in the comedy film “Trading Places.” Even though it was the first time she branched out from the horror genre, Curtis garnered a BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. This helped broaden her acting range and led her to land several roles in various genres. She landed another lead role in the cult classic “A Fish Called Wanda”, which earned her a BAFTA Award and a Golden Globe Award nomination.

Through the ‘90s and early 2000s, she ventured into acting in coming-of-age movies, such as “Queens Logic” (1991), “My Girl” (1991), “My Girl 2” (1994), and Disney’s “Freaky Friday” (2003) with Lindsay Lohan. Curtis went back to the Halloween franchise by acting in its direct sequel, “Halloween” (2018), as Laurie Strode. The film became a big hit during its first release. Alongside this, Curtis’ performance earned critical acclaim. In 2019, she acted in the hit box-office mystery film “Knives Out,” with fellow high-profile actors such as Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, and Toni Collette. In 2021, she earned the prestigious Golden Lion award at the Venice Film Festival, which honors her achievements throughout her career.

Other than acting, Curtis also ventures into the world of literature as an author. She has written numerous children’s books, with her first being “When I Was Little: A Four-Year Old’s Memoir of Her Youth,” published in 1993. All of her books are published by HarperCollins Children’s Books and illustrated by Laura Cornell. She also regularly blogs for “The Huffington Post,” an online newspaper. She is also active as a philanthropist. She also hosts an annual ‘Dream Halloween’ event for the Children Affected by AIDS Foundation, which takes place every October. Curtis married Christopher Guest in 1984, whom she first saw a picture of in “Rolling Stone” magazine. Since her father-in-law was part of the British hereditary peer, she gets the title “Baroness Haden-Guest” by marriage. Curtis chose to not use this title since she claimed that it had nothing to do with her. The couple then adopted two daughters, Annie and Ruby. She was also open about her recovering addiction to alcohol and painkillers, from which she became sober in 1999. She claimed that it was her greatest achievement in life. Curtis is also outspoken about her experience as a woman in the film industry, which aligns with her loyal support for women’s rights.