Janet Leigh
from the trailer for Little Women (1949)
Born	Jeanette Helen Morrison (1927-07-06)July 6, 1927 Merced, California, US
Died	October 3, 2004(2004-10-03) (aged 77) Los Angeles, California, US
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1947–2004
Spouse	John Carlisle (1941; annulled) Stanley Reames (1945–48; divorced) Tony Curtis (1951–62; divorced) Robert Brandt (1962–2004; her death)
Children	Kelly Curtis Jamie Lee Curtis

Janet Leigh (born Jeanette Helen Morrison; July 6, 1927 – October 3, 2004) was an American actress. She was the mother of Kelly Curtis and Jamie Lee Curtis.

Discovered by actress Norma Shearer, Leigh secured a contract with MGM and began her film career in 1947. She appeared in several popular films over the following decade, including Little Women (1949), Holiday Affair (1949), Angels in the Outfield (1951), and Living It Up (1954).

In 1951, she married actor Tony Curtis, her third husband, with whom she co-starred in five films, including Houdini (1953), The Black Shield of Falworth (1954), and The Perfect Furlough (1958). During the latter half of the 1950s, she played mostly dramatic roles in such films as Safari (1955), Touch of Evil (1958) and Psycho (1960), for which she was awarded the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She continued to appear occasionally in films and television, including The Manchurian Candidate (1962) and two films with her daughter Jamie Lee Curtis: The Fog (1980) and Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998).

Early life[link]

The only child of Helen Lita (née Westergaard) and Frederick Robert Morrison, Leigh was born as Jeanette Helen Morrison in Merced, California, and grew up in Stockton, California. Her maternal grandparents were immigrants from Denmark.^[1] In winter 1945, she was discovered by actress Norma Shearer, whose late husband Irving Thalberg had been a senior executive at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Shearer showed talent agent Lew Wasserman a photograph she had seen of Leigh while vacationing at Sugar Bowl, the ski resort where the girl's parents worked. Shearer later recalled that "that smile made it the most fascinating face I had seen in years. I felt I had to show that face to somebody at the studio."^[2] Leigh left the University of the Pacific, where she was studying music and psychology, after Wasserman secured a contract with MGM, despite having no acting experience. She was placed under the tutelage of drama coach Lillian Burns.^[3]

Career[link]

Leigh in The Naked Spur (1953)

Leigh made her film debut in the big budget film The Romance of Rosy Ridge in 1947, as the romantic interest of Van Johnson's character. She got the role when performing Phyllis Thaxter's long speech in Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944) for the head of the studio talent department in 1946.^[3] During the shooting, Leigh's name was first changed to 'Jeanette Reames', then to 'Janet Leigh' and finally back to her birth name 'Jeanette Morrison', because 'Janet Leigh' resembled Vivien Leigh too much.^[4] However, Johnson did not like the name and it was finally changed back to 'Janet Leigh'.^[4] Leigh initially left college for a film career, but enrolled in night school at the University of Southern California in 1947.^[5]

Immediately after the film's release, Leigh was cast opposite Walter Pidgeon and Deborah Kerr in If Winter Comes (1947) in the summer of 1947.^[6] Furthermore, due to the box office success of The Romance of Rosy Ridge, Leigh and Johnson were teamed up again in a film project called The Life of Monty Stratton in August 1947.^[7] The project was eventually shelved and released in 1949 as The Stratton Story, starring James Stewart and June Allyson. Another film that Leigh was set to star in, before being replaced, was Alias a Gentleman, in which she was cast in April 1947.^[8] By late 1947, Leigh was occupied with the shooting of the Lassie film Hills of Home (1948), the first film in which she received star billing.^[9]

In late 1948, Leigh was hailed the 'No. 1 glamor girl' of Hollywood, although known for her polite, generous and down-to-earth persona.^[10]

Many movies followed, notably the title role in the musical comedy My Sister Eileen, co-starring Jack Lemmon, Betty Garrett and Dick York. She proved versatile, starring in films as diverse as the baseball farce Angels in the Outfield in 1951 and the tense western The Naked Spur in 1953.

Her initial roles were ingenues based on characters from historical literature, for example in Scaramouche opposite Stewart Granger. By 1958, she moved to more complex roles.^[11]

Janet Leigh in Touch of Evil (1958).

She co-starred with third husband Tony Curtis in five films, Houdini (1953), The Black Shield of Falworth (1954), The Vikings (1958), The Perfect Furlough (1958), and Who Was That Lady? (1960).

In 1958, Leigh starred in the Orson Welles film-noir classic Touch of Evil (1958).

Her best-known performance was as "Marion Crane" in the Alfred Hitchcock film Psycho (1960). She received a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

Leigh had starring roles in many other films, including The Manchurian Candidate (1962) with Frank Sinatra, and Bye Bye Birdie (1963) based on the hit Broadway show.

In 1975, Leigh played a retired Hollywood song and dance star opposite Peter Falk and John Payne in the Columbo episode Forgotten Lady. The episode utilizes footage of Leigh from the film Walking My Baby Back Home (1953). Some of her TV appearances include The Man From U.N.C.L.E. two-part episode, "The Concrete Overcoat Affair", in 1966, and the Murder, She Wrote 1987 episode, "Doom with a View". She also appeared in two horror films with her daughter, Jamie Lee Curtis, playing a major role in The Fog (1980), and making a brief appearance in Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998).

Leigh is also the author of four books. Her first, the memoir There Really Was a Hollywood, was a New York Times bestseller. This was followed by the novels House of Destiny and The Dream Factory and the non-fiction book Psycho: Behind the Scenes of the Classic Thriller. Leigh's daughter Jamie Lee Curtis is also an actress and popular author.

Personal life[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

Janet Leigh (middle) with her daughters Kelly (left) and Jamie Lee Curtis (right) at the National Film Society convention in 1979.

At the age of 14, Leigh married John Kenneth Carlisle in 1941. The marriage was annulled the same year. She married Stanley Reames in 1945 and they were divorced in 1948.

Leigh married her third husband, Tony Curtis, on June 4, 1951. They had two children, Kelly and Jamie Lee, who both subsequently became actresses. Following their divorce in 1962, Leigh married stockbroker Robert Brandt in Las Vegas. They remained married until her death.

She served on the board of directors of the Motion Picture and Television Foundation, a medical-services provider for actors.

Leigh was awarded an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California on May 14, 2004.

Leigh was a Democrat and appeared alongside Tony Curtis at the 1960 Democratic National Convention^[12].

Death[link]

Janet Leigh's grave

Leigh died at her home on October 3, 2004, after suffering a heart attack. She suffered from vasculitis and peripheral neuropathy, which caused her right hand to become gangrenous.^[13] Her ashes are buried in Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery.

Filmography[link]

Books[link]

• There Really Was a Hollywood (Autobiography) (Doubleday, 1984)
• Psycho: Behind the Scenes of the Classic Thriller (Harmony, 1995)
• The Dream Factory (novel) (Mira, 2002)

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Janet Leigh

• Janet Leigh at the Internet Movie Database
• Janet Leigh at the Internet Broadway Database
• Janet Leigh at the TCM Movie Database
• Janet Leigh at TVGuide.com
• Reelclassics.com Page
• Janet Leigh at Find a Grave
• Janet Leigh at Virtual History

Tony Curtis
Tony Curtis in 1955
Born	Bernard Schwartz (1925-06-03)June 3, 1925 Bronx, New York
Died	September 29, 2010(2010-09-29) (aged 85) Henderson, Nevada
Cause of death	Cardiac arrest
Nationality	American
Education	The City College of New York
Alma mater	The New School
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1948–2010
Spouse	Janet Leigh (m.1951-1962; divorced) Christine Kaufmann (m.1963-1968; divorced) Leslie Allen (m.1968-1982; divorced) Lisa Deutsch (m.1993-1994; divorced) Jill Vandenberg (m.1998-2010; his death)
Children	6, including Kelly Curtis, Jamie Lee Curtis

Tony Curtis (born Bernard Schwartz; June 3, 1925 – September 29, 2010) was an American film actor whose career spanned six decades, but had his greatest popularity during the 1950s and early 1960s. He acted in more than 100 films in roles covering a wide range of genres, from light comedy to serious drama. In his later years, Curtis made numerous television appearances.

Although his early film roles were partly the result of his good looks, by the later half of the 1950s he became a notable and strong screen presence. He began proving himself to be a “fine dramatic actor,” having the range to act in numerous dramatic and comedy roles. In his earliest parts he acted in a string of "mediocre" films, including swashbucklers, westerns, light comedies, sports films, and a musical. However, by the time he starred in Houdini (1953) with his wife Janet Leigh, "his first clear success," notes critic David Thomson, his acting had progressed immensely.^[1][2]

He won his first serious recognition as a skilled dramatic actor in Sweet Smell of Success (1957) with co-star Burt Lancaster. The following year he was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actor in another drama, The Defiant Ones (1958). Curtis then gave what many believe was his best acting, in a completely different role, the comedy Some Like It Hot (1959). Thomson calls it an "outrageous film," and it was voted the number 1 funniest film in history from a survey done by the American Film Institute.^[3] It costarred Jack Lemmon and Marilyn Monroe, and was directed by Billy Wilder. That was followed by Blake Edwards’ comedy Operation Petticoat (1959) with Cary Grant. They were both “frantic comedies,” and displayed "his impeccable comic timing."^[4] He often collaborated with Edwards on later films.

His most significant serious part came in 1968 when he starred in the true-life drama The Boston Strangler, which some consider his "last major film role."^[4] The part reinforced his reputation as a serious actor with his "chilling portrayal" of serial killer Albert DeSalvo. He gained 30 pounds and had his face "rebuilt" with a false nose to look like the real DeSalvo.

Curtis was the father of actresses Jamie Lee Curtis and Kelly Curtis^[5] by his first wife, actress Janet Leigh.^[6]

Early life[link]

Curtis was born Bernard Schwartz in the Bronx, one of three sons of Helen (Klein) and Emanuel Schwartz.^[7][8] His parents were Hungarian Jewish immigrants from Mátészalka, Hungary. Hungarian was Curtis' only language until he was five or six, postponing his schooling.^[9] His father was a tailor and the family lived in the back of the shop — the parents in one corner and Curtis and his brothers Julius and Robert in another. His mother once made an appearance as a participant on the television show You Bet Your Life, hosted by Groucho Marx.^[10] Curtis said, "When I was a child, Mom beat me up and was very aggressive and antagonistic." His mother was later diagnosed with schizophrenia. His brother Robert was also institutionalized with the same mental illness.

When Curtis was eight, he and his brother Julius were placed in an orphanage for a month because their parents could not afford to feed them. Four years later, Julius was struck and killed by a truck. Curtis joined a neighborhood gang whose main crimes were playing hooky from school and minor pilfering at the local dime store. Aged 11, a friendly neighbor saved him from what he felt would have led to a life of delinquency by sending him to a Boy Scout camp where he was able to work off his energy and settle down. He attended Seward Park High School. At 16, he had his first small acting part in a school stage play.^[11]

Curtis enlisted in the United States Navy after the attack on Pearl Harbor and war was declared. After being inspired by Cary Grant's role in Destination Tokyo and Tyrone Power in Crash Dive (1943), he joined the Pacific submarine force.^[9] Curtis served aboard a submarine tender, the USS Proteus until the end of the Second World War. On September 2, 1945, Curtis witnessed the Japanese surrender in Tokyo Bay from his ship's signal bridge about a mile away.^[12]

Following his discharge from US Navy, Curtis attended City College of New York as a result of the G.I. Bill. He then studied acting at the The New School in Greenwich Village under the influential German stage director Erwin Piscator. Fellow contemporaries included Elaine Stritch, Walter Matthau, Bea Arthur, and Rod Steiger. While still at college, Curtis was discovered by Joyce Selznick, the notable talent agent, casting director, and niece of film producer David O. Selznick. He later claimed it was because he "was the handsomest of the boys."

In 1948, Curtis arrived in Hollywood aged 23. When he was placed under contract at Universal Pictures, he changed his name from Bernard Schwartz to Tony Curtis. The first name was from the novel Anthony Adverse and "Kurtz" from a surname in his mother's family.^[13] Although Universal Pictures taught him fencing and riding, in keeping with the cinematic themes of the era, Curtis admitted he was at first only interested in girls and money. Neither was he hopeful of his chances of becoming a major star. Curtis biggest fear was having to return home to the Bronx as a failure:

I was a million-to-one shot, the least likely to succeed. I wasn't low man on the totem pole, I was under the totem pole, in a sewer, tied to a sack.^[11]

Career[link]

With wife Janet Leigh during a break in the filming of Houdini (1953)

Curtis's uncredited screen debut came in Criss Cross (1949) playing a rumba dancer. In his second film, City Across the River (also in 1949), he was credited as "Anthony Curtis".^[14] Later, as "Tony Curtis", he cemented his reputation with breakthrough performances such as in the role of the scheming press agent Sidney Falco in Sweet Smell of Success (1957) with Burt Lancaster (who also starred in Criss Cross) and an Oscar-nominated performance as a bigoted escaped convict chained to Sidney Poitier in The Defiant Ones.

He did both screen comedy and drama, and became one of the most sought after stars in Hollywood. Curtis' comedies include Some Like It Hot (1959, although voice actor Paul Frees read his and Jack Lemmon's "Daphne" and "Josephine" dialogues), Sex and the Single Girl (1964) and The Great Race (1965), and his dramas included playing the slave Antoninus in Stanley Kubrick's Spartacus (1960) co-starring Kirk Douglas and Laurence Olivier,^[15] The Outsider (1961), the true story of WW II veteran Ira Hayes, and The Boston Strangler (1968), in which he played the self-confessed murderer of the film's title, Albert DeSalvo. The latter film was praised for Curtis' performance. He was also part of the all-star ensemble in Elia Kazan's 1976 drama The Last Tycoon. Curtis was nominated for a Golden Globe for Supporting actor for his performance in Spartacus (1960) alongside co star Kirk Douglas.

Curtis appeared frequently on television; he co-starred with Roger Moore in the TV series The Persuaders!. Later, he co-starred in McCoy and Vega$. In the early 1960s, he was immortalized as "Stony Curtis," a voice-over guest star on The Flintstones.

Throughout his life, Curtis enjoyed painting, and since the early 1980s, painted as a second career. His work commands more than $25,000 a canvas now. In the last years of his life, he concentrated on painting rather than movies. A surrealist, Curtis claimed "Van Gogh, [Paul] Matisse, Picasso, Magritte" as influences.^[9] "I still make movies but I'm not that interested in them any more. But I paint all the time." In 2007, his painting The Red Table was on display in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. His paintings can also be seen at the Tony Vanderploeg Gallery in Carmel, California.

Curtis spoke of his disappointment at never being awarded an Oscar. In March 2006, Curtis received the Sony Ericsson Empire Lifetime Achievement Award. He also has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and received the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Order of Arts and Letters) from France in 1995.

Personal life[link]

Marriages and children[link]

With his first wife, Janet Leigh

Curtis was married six times.^[16] His first wife was actress Janet Leigh, to whom he was married from 1951 to 1962, and with whom he fathered actresses Kelly and Jamie Lee Curtis. "For a while, we were Hollywood's golden couple," he said. "I was very dedicated and devoted to Janet, and on top of my trade, but in her eyes that goldenness started to wear off. I realized that whatever I was, I wasn't enough for Janet. That hurt me a lot and broke my heart."^[16][17]

The studio he was under contract with, Universal-International, generally stayed out of their stars' love lives. However, when they chose to get married, studio executives spent three days trying to talk him out of it, telling him he would be "poisoning himself at the box office." They threatened "banishment" back to the Bronx and the end of his budding career. In response, Curtis and Leigh decided to defy the studio heads and instead eloped and were married by a local judge in Greenwich Connecticut. Comedian and close friend Jerry Lewis came as a witness.^[11]

It was Leigh's third marriage. They divorced in 1962, and in 1963, Curtis married Christine Kaufmann, the 17-year old German co-star of his latest film, Taras Bulba. He stated that his marriage with Leigh had effectively ended "a year earlier".^[9] Curtis and Kaufmann had two daughters, Alexandra (born July 19, 1964) and Allegra (born July 11, 1966). They divorced in 1968. Kaufmann resumed her career, which she had interrupted during her marriage.

Curtis was also married to:

• Leslie Allen (April 20, 1968 – 1982); divorced, two sons: Nicholas Curtis (1970–1994) and Benjamin Curtis (born May 2, 1973)
• Lisa Deutsch (February 28, 1993 – 1994); divorced
• Jill Vandenberg Curtis (November 6, 1998 – September 29, 2010; his death)

His last wife was 42 years his junior. They met in a restaurant in 1993 and married in 1998. "The age gap doesn't bother us. We laugh a lot. My body is functioning and everything is good. She's the sexiest woman I've ever known. We don't think about time. I don't use Viagra either. There are 50 ways to please your lover."^[18]

His son Nicholas (December 31, 1970 — April 2, 1994,^[19] with Leslie Allen) died of a heroin overdose at the age of 23. On his son's death, Curtis remarked, "You never get over that. The death of a child. No. Can't talk about it,"^[20] and that it's "a terrible thing when a father loses his son."^[21]

According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Curtis, who had a problem with alcoholism and drug abuse, went though the treatment center of the Betty Ford Clinic in the mid 1980s, which was successful for him.

Philanthropy[link]

Tony Curtis

Beginning in 1990, Curtis and his daughter Jamie Lee Curtis took a renewed interest in their family's Hungarian Jewish heritage, and helped finance the rebuilding of the "Great Synagogue" in Budapest, Hungary.(photo) The largest synagogue in Europe today, it was originally built in 1859 and suffered damage during World War II.^[22] In 1998, he also founded the Emanuel Foundation for Hungarian Culture, and served as honorary chairperson. The organization works for the restoration and preservation of synagogues and 1300 Jewish cemeteries in Hungary. He dedicated this to the 600,000 Jewish victims of the Holocaust in Hungary and lands occupied by the Hungarian Army.^[23] He also helped promote Hungary's national image in commercials.^[24]

Curtis, during a signing of his 2008 memoir, American Prince

Books and appearances[link]

In 1994,^[25] a mural featuring his likeness, painted by the artist George Sportelli, was unveiled on the Sunset Boulevard overpass of the Hollywood Freeway Highway 101 in California. The mural was relocated to Hollywood Blvd and Bronson Ave in Sept 2011.

In 2004, he was inducted into the University of Nevada, Las Vegas Hall of Fame.^[26] A street is named after him in the Sun City Anthem development in Henderson, Nevada.^{[citation needed]}

In 2008, he was featured in the documentary The Jill & Tony Curtis Story about his efforts with his wife to rescue horses from slaughterhouses.^[27]

In October 2008, Curtis's autobiography American Prince: A Memoir, was published.^[28] In it, he describes his encounters with other Hollywood legends of the time including Frank Sinatra and James Dean, as well as his hard-knock childhood and path to success. It was followed by the publication of his next book, The Making of Some Like it Hot: My Memories of Marilyn Monroe and the Classic American Movie (2009).^[29] Curtis shared his memories of the making of the movie, in particular about Marilyn Monroe, whose antics and attitude on the set made everyone miserable.

On May 22, 2009, Curtis apologized to the BBC radio audience after he used three profanities in a six-minute interview with BBC presenter William Crawley. The presenter also apologized to the audience for Curtis's "Hollywood realism". Curtis explained that he thought the interview was being taped, when it was in fact live.

Later years and death[link]

Curtis was a lifelong Democrat and attended the 1960 Democratic National Convention alongside such liberal performers as Edward G. Robinson, Shelley Winters, Ralph Bellamy, and Lee Marvin^[30].

In 1984 Curtis was rushed to hospital suffering from advanced cirrhosis as a result of his alcoholism and cocaine addiction. He then entered the Betty Ford Clinic and vowed to overcome his "various illnesses".^[31] He underwent heart bypass surgery in 1994.^[32]

Curtis nearly died when he contracted pneumonia in December 2006 and was in a coma for several days. As a result he used a wheelchair and could only walk short distances.^[33]

On July 8, 2010, Curtis, who suffered from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), was hospitalized in Las Vegas after suffering an asthma attack during a book signing engagement in Henderson, Nevada, where he lived.^[34]

Curtis died at his Henderson home on September 29, 2010, of a cardiac arrest.^{[35][36][37][38]} In a release to the Associated Press, his daughter, actress Jamie Lee Curtis, stated:

"My father leaves behind a legacy of great performances in movies and in his paintings and assemblages. He leaves behind children and their families who loved him and respected him and a wife and in-laws who were devoted to him. He also leaves behind fans all over the world. He will be greatly missed."^[39]

He was interred at Palm Memorial Park Cemetery in Green Valley, Nevada on October 4, 2010.^[40][41] His memorial service was attended by his daughters, Jamie Lee Curtis and Kelly Curtis, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rich Little, and Vera Goulet, Robert Goulet's widow.^[41] Investor Kirk Kerkorian, actor Kirk Douglas and singer Phyllis McGuire were among the honorary pallbearers.

Filmography[link]

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Curtis, Tony; Barry Paris (1993). Tony Curtis: The Autobiography. New York: William Morrow & Company. ISBN 978-0-688-09759-2. 
• Ayres, Ian (2006). Van Gogh's Ear: The Celebrity Edition. Paris: French Connection. ISBN 978-2-914853-07-1.  The book includes Tony Curtis's prose, poetry, and artwork.
• Curtis, Tony; Peter Golenbock (2008). Tony Curtis: American Prince: My Autobiography. New York: Harmony Books. ISBN 978-0-307-40849-5. 
• Curtis, Tony (2009). Some Like it Hot: My Memories of Marilyn Monroe and the Making of the Classic Movie. New York: John Wiley & Sons. p. 240. ISBN 978-0-470-53721-3. 

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Tony Curtis

United States Navy portal

• CBS news: Tony Curtis 1925-2010 video: 1.5 minutes
• Tony Curtis at the Internet Movie Database
• Tony Curtis at the TCM Movie Database
• Biography and naval service from the California Center for Military History website
• Tony Curtis' Famous Friends - slideshow by Life magazine
• 2009 interview with Dodd Vickers for the Magic Newswire
• 2007 interview by Nick Thomas in Nevada Magazine
• Tony Curtis and Nehemiah Persoff talk about Some Like it Hot
• John Patterson, "Some like it very hot", The Guardian, 18 April 2008
• Alison Jackson, Some tormented Hollywood souls still like their gossip hot, Profile: Tony Curtis, Sunday Times, 20 April 2008
• Documentary film, The Jill & Tony Curtis Story
• Photographs and literature
• Tony Curtis: Life and Times - slideshow by Life magazine
• The Telegraph obituary
• Interview by Michael Hainey for GQ Magazine

Jamie Lee Curtis
Curtis in June 2010
Born	(1958-11-22) November 22, 1958 (age 53) Santa Monica, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actress Author Blogger
Years active	1977–present
Spouse	Christopher Guest (1984–present)

Jamie Lee Curtis (born November 22, 1958) is an American actress and author. Although she was initially known as a "scream queen" because of her starring roles in several horror films early in her career, such as Halloween, The Fog, Prom Night, and Terror Train, Curtis has since compiled a body of work that spans many genres, and has won BAFTA and Golden Globe awards. Her 1998 book, Today I Feel Silly, and Other Moods That Make My Day, made the best-seller list in The New York Times. Curtis has appeared in advertisements, and is a blogger for The Huffington Post online newspaper. She is married to actor, screenwriter, and director Christopher Guest.

Early life[link]

Curtis was born in Santa Monica, California, to actor Tony Curtis and actress Janet Leigh. Her paternal grandparents were Hungarian Jewish immigrants^[1] and two of her maternal great-grandparents were Danish.^[2] Curtis's parents divorced in 1962, after which her mother married Robert Brandt. Curtis has an older sister, Kelly Curtis, who is also an actress, and several half-siblings (all from her father's remarriages), Alexandra, Allegra, Ben, and Nicholas Curtis (who died in 1994 of a drug overdose).^[3] Curtis attended Westlake School in Los Angeles and Beverly Hills High School, and graduated from Choate Rosemary Hall. Returning to California in 1976, she attended the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California. She considered majoring in social work, but quit after one semester to pursue an acting career.

Career[link]

Film[link]

Curtis's film debut occurred in the 1978 horror film Halloween, in which she played the role of Laurie Strode. The film was a major success and was considered the highest grossing independent film of its time, earning accolades as a classic horror film. Curtis was subsequently cast in several horror films, garnering her the title, "scream queen".

Her next film was the horror film The Fog, which was helmed by Halloween director John Carpenter. The film opened in February 1980 to mixed reviews but strong box office,^[4] further cementing Curtis as a horror film starlet. Her next film, Prom Night, was a low-budget Canadian slasher film released in July 1980. The film, for which she earned a Genie Award nomination for Best Performance by a Foreign Actress, was similar in style to Halloween, yet received negative reviews which marked it as a disposable entry in the then-popular "slasher film" genre. That year, Curtis also starred in Terror Train, which opened in October and was met with negative reviews akin to Prom Night. Both films performed only moderately well at the box office.^[5] Curtis had a similar function in both films - the main character whose friends are murdered, and is practically the only protagonist to survive. Film critic Roger Ebert, who had given negative reviews to all three of Curtis' 1980 films, said that Curtis "is to the current horror film glut what Christopher Lee was to the last one-or Boris Karloff was in the 1930s".^[6] Curtis later appeared in Halloween II, Halloween H20: 20 Years Later and Halloween: Resurrection, as well as giving an uncredited voice role in Halloween III: Season of the Witch.

Her role in 1983's Trading Places helped Curtis shed her horror queen image, and garnered her a BAFTA award as best supporting actress.^[7] 1988's A Fish Called Wanda achieved near cult status – while showcasing her as a comedic actress; she was nominated for a BAFTA as best leading actress.^[7] She won a Golden Globe for her work in 1994's True Lies. Her recent film roles include Disney's Freaky Friday (2003), opposite Lindsay Lohan, filmed at Palisades High School in Pacific Palisades, California, near where Curtis and Guest live with their children. She was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for this film.^[8]

In October 2006, Curtis told Access Hollywood that she had closed the book on her acting career to focus on her family. She returned to acting after being cast in June 2007 in Disney's live-action-animated film, Beverly Hills Chihuahua, co-starring opposite Piper Perabo as one of three live-action characters in the film. She also starred in the 2010 comedy film You Again, opposite Kristen Bell and Sigourney Weaver.^[9]

Television[link]

Curtis made her television debut in an episode of Columbo, but her first starring TV role was opposite Richard Lewis in the situation comedy Anything But Love, which ran for four seasons from 1989 through 1992. Her performance as Hannah Miller received both a Golden Globe and People's Choice Award. She appeared as nurse Lt. Duran in the short-lived television series, Operation Petticoat; based on the big-screen version which starred her real-life father.

She starred in the 1981 TV film, Death of a Centerfold: The Dorothy Stratten Story, playing the part of the eponymous doomed Playmate. She earned a Golden Globe nomination for her work in TNT's adaptation of the Wendy Wasserstein play The Heidi Chronicles. More recently, Curtis starred in the CBS television movie Nicholas' Gift, for which she received an Emmy nomination. Curtis also appeared in the science fiction series, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, and an early episode of The Drew Carey Show. Jamie Lee Curtis was a game-show panelist on several episodes of Match Game.

In 2012, she appeared in three episodes of the television series NCIS, playing the role of Dr. Samantha Ryan, a potential romantic interest of Special Agent Gibbs. It has been hinted that her role may be a recurring one. During an interview, she openly said that if they could develop a story line that she would be more than happy to be on the show more.^[10] If the role is made recurring, it will be at least the second time Harmon has worked with Curtis; he played her fiancée and later husband in the 2003 remake of Freaky Friday ^[11]

Children's books[link]

Working with illustrator Laura Cornell, Curtis has written a number of children's books,^[12] all published by HarperCollins Children's Books.^[13]

• When I Was Little: A Four-Year Old's Memoir of Her Youth, 1993.
• Tell Me Again About The Night I was Born, 1996.
• Today I Feel Silly, and Other Moods That Make My Day, 1998; listed on the New York Times best-seller list for 10 weeks.^[14]
• Where Do Balloons Go?: An Uplifting Mystery, 2000.
• 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.
• Is There Really a Human Race?, 2006.
• Big Words for Little People, ISBN 978-0-06-112759-5, 2008.
• My Friend Jay, 2009, edition of one, presented to Jay Leno
• My Mommy Hung the Moon: A Love Story, 2010.

Invention[link]

In 1987, Curtis filed a US patent application that subsequently issued as Patent No. 4,753,647. This is a modification of a diaper with a moisture proof pocket containing wipes that can be taken out and used with one hand.^[15] Curtis refused to allow her invention to be marketed until companies started selling biodegradable diapers,^[16] although the full statutory term of this patent expired February 20, 2007 and is now in the public domain.

Humanitarian and political causes[link]

In March 2012, Curtis was featured with Martin Sheen and Brad Pitt in a performance of Dustin Lance Black's play, '8' — a staged reenactment of the federal trial that overturned California's Prop 8 ban on same-sex marriage — as Sandy Stier.^[17] The production was held at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre and broadcast on YouTube to raise money for the American Foundation for Equal Rights.^[18][19]

Personal life[link]

Curtis married actor Christopher Guest on December 18, 1984, becoming Lady Haden-Guest when her husband inherited the Barony of Haden-Guest in 1996, upon the death of his father. The couple have two adopted children (Annie, b. 1986; Thomas b. 1996).^[20] Curtis is actor Jake Gyllenhaal's godmother.^[21]

On her website, Curtis tells her young readers that she "moonlights as an actor, photographer, and closet organizer."^[12] She takes time to support various philanthropic groups. Curtis was Guest of Honor at the 11th annual Gala and Fundraiser in 2003 for Women in Recovery, Inc., a Venice, California-based non-profit organization offering a live-in, twelve-step program of rehabilitation for women in need. Past honorees of this organization include Sir Anthony Hopkins and Angela Lansbury. Curtis is also involved in the work of the Children Affected by AIDS Foundation, serving as the annual host for the organization's "Dream Halloween" event in Los Angeles, launched every year in October.^[22][23]

Curtis appeared on the cover of the May/June 2008 issue of AARP Magazine, with gray hair and in water up to her chest.^[24]

Curtis was an alcoholic who was once addicted to pain killers that she began using after a routine cosmetic surgical procedure. She became sober in 1999^[25] and maintains that recovery is the greatest achievement of her life.^[26]

Curtis has appeared in advertisements for Activia since 2007,^[27] and is a blogger for The Huffington Post online newspaper.^[28] During California's 2008 General Election, Curtis appeared in the "YES on Prop 3" TV advertisements.^[29]

Filmography[link]

References[link]