# Jamie Lee Curtis
**Jamie Lee Curtis** (born 1958) is an American actress, author, and producer whose screen career began with the horror film *Halloween* (1978) and reached its widest recognition with the 2023 [Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress](https://www.edgepedia.org/academy-award-for-best-supporting-actress) for *Everything Everywhere All at Once*. The daughter of the film stars [Tony Curtis](https://www.edgepedia.org/tony-curtis) and [Janet Leigh](https://www.edgepedia.org/janet-leigh), she earned the nickname "Scream Queen" through her horror roles of the late 1970s and early 1980s and later built a parallel reputation in comedy, winning a BAFTA for *Trading Places* and a Golden Globe for *True Lies*.
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1958, Santa Monica, California; daughter of actors Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh[1](https://goldenglobes.com/person/jamie-lee-curtis/) |
| Breakthrough | Cast at 19 as Laurie Strode in John Carpenter's *Halloween* (1978), her first feature film[2](https://www.biography.com/actors/jamie-lee-curtis) |
| Signature honors | Academy Award and SAG Award for Best Supporting Actress (2023); Emmy for *The Bear* (2024); BAFTA for *Trading Places*; two Golden Globes[3](https://apnews.com/article/18481e06d1e3c03d337d100f10b9e382) • [4](https://californiamuseum.org/inductee/jamie-lee-curtis/) |
| Franchise anchor | Laurie Strode in *Halloween* (1978), *Halloween II* (1981), *Halloween H2O* (1998), *Halloween: Resurrection* (2002), and the 2018–2022 trilogy[5](https://catalog.afi.com/Person/244368-Jamie-LeeCurtis) |
| Writing | 13 children's books, including *Just One More Sleep* (2024); New York Times best-selling author[4](https://californiamuseum.org/inductee/jamie-lee-curtis/) |
| Producing | Founded Comet Pictures in 2019; co-produced *The Lost Bus* (2025) with Jason Blum[4](https://californiamuseum.org/inductee/jamie-lee-curtis/) |
| Philanthropy | Founder and CEO of My Hand In Yours, which raised nearly $2 million in five years for Children's Hospital Los Angeles[4](https://californiamuseum.org/inductee/jamie-lee-curtis/) |
## Early life and start in television
Curtis was born in [Santa Monica, California](https://www.edgepedia.org/santa-monica-california), to the Hollywood couple Janet Leigh, known for her role in [Alfred Hitchcock](https://www.edgepedia.org/alfred-hitchcock)'s *Psycho*, and Tony Curtis, whose films included *Some Like It Hot* and *The Defiant Ones*[1](https://goldenglobes.com/person/jamie-lee-curtis/) • [6](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jamie-lee-curtis-breaks-down-hollywood-career-60-minutes/). She did not plan to act: she studied law enforcement in college and, according to a 2025 *60 Minutes* interview, planned to become a police officer. While home from college, a friend persuaded her to audition for Universal Studios, and she signed a seven-year contract the next day and left school[6](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jamie-lee-curtis-breaks-down-hollywood-career-60-minutes/).
Her television debut came in 1977, at age 19, with episodes of *Operation Petticoat*, *Columbo*, *The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries*, and *Quincy, M.D.*[7](https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/biography/jamie-lee-curtis). The *Operation Petticoat* series, based on a 1959 film that starred her father, was a false start; she was dismissed along with most of the cast after its disappointing first season[2](https://www.biography.com/actors/jamie-lee-curtis).
## Halloween and the Scream Queen years
Curtis's breakthrough came in 1978, when she was cast as [Laurie Strode](https://www.edgepedia.org/laurie-strode), a babysitter stalked by the killer Michael Myers, in [John Carpenter](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-carpenter)'s low-budget *Halloween*. Carpenter initially preferred the actor Anne Lockhart for the part; producers felt that Curtis's family connection to Janet Leigh would invoke the imagery of *Psycho*, and [Carpenter](https://www.edgepedia.org/carpenter) warmed to her after Lockhart turned the role down[2](https://www.biography.com/actors/jamie-lee-curtis). Curtis herself acknowledged that her mother's role in *Psycho* probably influenced the casting, while crediting her audition for landing the lead[6](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jamie-lee-curtis-breaks-down-hollywood-career-60-minutes/).
Accounts of the film's earnings differ in scope: Biography.com reports $47 million over its initial theatrical run, calling it one of the most profitable movies in history relative to its initial investment, while [CBS News](https://www.edgepedia.org/cbs-news) cites a gross of more than $70 million[2](https://www.biography.com/actors/jamie-lee-curtis) • [6](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jamie-lee-curtis-breaks-down-hollywood-career-60-minutes/). The film made Curtis a star, and the string of horror roles that followed, including *The Fog*, *Prom Night*, and *Terror Train* (all 1980) and *Halloween II* (1981), earned her the title Scream Queen[7](https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/biography/jamie-lee-curtis). She returned to the character repeatedly across four decades, in *Halloween H2O* (1998), *Halloween: Resurrection* (2002), and the 2018–2022 trilogy of *Halloween*, *Halloween Kills*, and *Halloween Ends*[5](https://catalog.afi.com/Person/244368-Jamie-LeeCurtis).
## Comedy and mainstream film work
Curtis said in a 2025 interview that it was her first comedy feature, *Trading Places* (1983), directed by [John Landis](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-landis), that really launched her career[6](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jamie-lee-curtis-breaks-down-hollywood-career-60-minutes/). In it she played Ophelia, a sex worker, opposite [Dan Aykroyd](https://www.edgepedia.org/dan-aykroyd) and [Eddie Murphy](https://www.edgepedia.org/eddie-murphy), and the performance won her a BAFTA[7](https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/biography/jamie-lee-curtis) • [4](https://californiamuseum.org/inductee/jamie-lee-curtis/). She followed it with the drama-romance *Perfect* (1985), as aerobics instructor Jesse opposite John Travolta, and the heist comedy *A Fish Called Wanda* (1988) as the con artist Wanda Gershwitz, a role that drew both BAFTA and Golden Globe nominations[7](https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/biography/jamie-lee-curtis) • [4](https://californiamuseum.org/inductee/jamie-lee-curtis/).
Television brought her first Golden Globe: the sitcom *Anything but Love* (1989–1992) won her the award for Best Actress in a Television Series, Musical or Comedy in 1990, along with a People's Choice Award[4](https://californiamuseum.org/inductee/jamie-lee-curtis/) • [1](https://goldenglobes.com/person/jamie-lee-curtis/). Her second Golden Globe came for *True Lies* (1994), [James Cameron](https://www.edgepedia.org/james-cameron)'s action thriller, in which she played Helen Tasker, a suburban housewife married to [Arnold Schwarzenegger](https://www.edgepedia.org/arnold-schwarzenegger)'s undercover agent[4](https://californiamuseum.org/inductee/jamie-lee-curtis/). Later mainstream work included *My Girl* (1991), Disney's 2003 remake of *Freaky Friday*, in which she body-swapped with [Lindsay Lohan](https://www.edgepedia.org/lindsay-lohan), *Christmas with the Kranks* (2004), and Rian Johnson's *Knives Out* (2019)[8](https://time.com/5434332/jamie-lee-curtis-halloween-movie/) • [4](https://californiamuseum.org/inductee/jamie-lee-curtis/).
## Hiatus, return, and the 2018 Halloween
Curtis's screen appearances dwindled after *Christmas with the Kranks* (2004), and for several years she was known primarily as a spokesperson for Activia yogurt. In 2006 she announced she had retired from acting to focus on her family and her work as a picture book author, though she took occasional parts in films such as *Beverly Hills Chihuahua* (2008) and *You Again* (2010)[2](https://www.biography.com/actors/jamie-lee-curtis). From 2012 she appeared in recurring television roles on *NCIS* and *New Girl*, and in 2015 she returned to television full time in Ryan Murphy's *Scream Queens*, playing a university dean terrorized by a serial killer, a performance that earned a Golden Globe nomination[2](https://www.biography.com/actors/jamie-lee-curtis) • [4](https://californiamuseum.org/inductee/jamie-lee-curtis/).
Forty years after her debut, Curtis reprised Laurie Strode in David Gordon Green's *Halloween* (2018). Her godson Jake Gyllenhaal encouraged her to take the part, recommending Green, whom he had worked with on *Stronger*[8](https://time.com/5434332/jamie-lee-curtis-halloween-movie/). The film earned $77.5 million in its opening weekend, a record debut for a movie starring an actress over the age of 55, and drew critical acclaim for Curtis[2](https://www.biography.com/actors/jamie-lee-curtis). She later said she had not known when she signed on that the project would become a trilogy[9](https://www.cinemablend.com/movies/jamie-lee-curtis-wasnt-pumped-doing-new-halloween-trilogy-there-was-silver-lining).
## Awards and late-career recognition
Curtis's first Academy Award nomination came for her role as the IRS agent Deirdre Beaubeirdre in *Everything Everywhere All at Once* (2022), and she won Best Supporting Actress at the March 2023 ceremony, at age 64 becoming the eighth oldest winner in the category's history, surpassing Judi Dench[3](https://apnews.com/article/18481e06d1e3c03d337d100f10b9e382). She had said before the nomination that she had all but resigned herself to never being nominated[3](https://apnews.com/article/18481e06d1e3c03d337d100f10b9e382). In her acceptance speech she paid tribute to her Oscar-nominated parents: her mother had been nominated for *Psycho* and her father for *The Defiant Ones* in 1959[3](https://apnews.com/article/18481e06d1e3c03d337d100f10b9e382). She also won the Screen Actors Guild Award for the role and received Golden Globe and Independent Spirit Award nominations[4](https://californiamuseum.org/inductee/jamie-lee-curtis/).
Television brought a further honor: she won the 2024 Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for playing Donna Berzatto on the Hulu series *The Bear*, and received nominations in the same category in 2025 and 2026[10](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/jamie-lee-curtis). In 2021 she received the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the Venice Film Festival, and in 2024 she was named a Disney Legend[4](https://californiamuseum.org/inductee/jamie-lee-curtis/) • [11](https://d23.com/walt-disney-legend/jamie-lee-curtis/). Her later screen work includes *Freakier Friday* (2025), the sequel to *Freaky Friday*, and a leading role as mystery writer Jessica Fletcher in a *Murder, She Wrote* film set for release in 2027[4](https://californiamuseum.org/inductee/jamie-lee-curtis/) • [12](https://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/Movies/2026/03/26/jamie-lee-curtis-murder-she-wrote-movie/4291774527087/).
## Writing, producing, and philanthropy
Curtis began writing children's books after observing her young daughter Annie growing and changing, and she has published 13 titles, including *Big Words for Little People* and *Just One More Sleep* (2024), all exploring core childhood issues[11](https://d23.com/walt-disney-legend/jamie-lee-curtis/). She has said the writing career was unexpected and that she never had to rely on it financially, producing roughly a book every two years for a long period[13](https://static1.squarespace.com/static/60ec9407d9325f2e5304ba57/t/67a1479256f6770d904b4147/1738622866805/Jamie%2BLee%2BCurtis%2Bon%2BHer%2B13th%2BChildren%E2%80%99s%2BBook%2C%2B%E2%80%98Just%2BOne%2BMore%2BSleep%E2%80%99.pdf).
In 2019 she formed Comet Pictures, a film, television, and podcast production company. Its most recent production as of 2025 was *The Lost Bus* for Apple Original Films, co-produced with Jason Blum, and its upcoming projects include the Amazon Prime Video series *Scarpetta*, starring Nicole Kidman and Curtis, based on Patricia Cornwell's novels, which Curtis acquired to produce in 2021[4](https://californiamuseum.org/inductee/jamie-lee-curtis/). She is also the founder and CEO of My Hand In Yours, a charitable organization selling comfort and celebratory gifts, with 100 percent of every sale donated to Children's Hospital Los Angeles; in five years it raised nearly $2 million[4](https://californiamuseum.org/inductee/jamie-lee-curtis/) • [11](https://d23.com/walt-disney-legend/jamie-lee-curtis/).
## Personal life
Curtis married the writer-director Christopher Guest, known for *Waiting for Guffman*, and the couple have two children[8](https://time.com/5434332/jamie-lee-curtis-halloween-movie/). She has spoken openly about her recovery from an addiction to painkillers, calling it "the single greatest thing I'll ever do in my life"[8](https://time.com/5434332/jamie-lee-curtis-halloween-movie/). Despite her association with horror, she has said she does not like horror films as a genre[8](https://time.com/5434332/jamie-lee-curtis-halloween-movie/).
## References
1. [Jamie Lee Curtis, Golden Globes Awards Database](https://goldenglobes.com/person/jamie-lee-curtis/)
2. [Jamie Lee Curtis: Biography, Oscar-Winning Actor, Scream Queen, Biography.com](https://www.biography.com/actors/jamie-lee-curtis)
3. [Jamie Lee Curtis wins Oscar for best supporting actress, AP News (March 13, 2023)](https://apnews.com/article/18481e06d1e3c03d337d100f10b9e382)
4. [Jamie Lee Curtis, California Museum inductee profile](https://californiamuseum.org/inductee/jamie-lee-curtis/)
5. [Jamie Lee Curtis filmography, AFI Catalog](https://catalog.afi.com/Person/244368-Jamie-LeeCurtis)
6. [Jamie Lee Curtis never thought she'd be an actor, CBS News 60 Minutes (May 11, 2025)](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jamie-lee-curtis-breaks-down-hollywood-career-60-minutes/)
7. [Jamie Lee Curtis, EBSCO Research Starters biography](https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/biography/jamie-lee-curtis)
8. [Jamie Lee Curtis Is So Much More Than Just a Horror Legend, TIME (October 25, 2018)](https://time.com/5434332/jamie-lee-curtis-halloween-movie/)
9. [Jamie Lee Curtis Wasn't Pumped About Doing The New Halloween Trilogy, CinemaBlend](https://www.cinemablend.com/movies/jamie-lee-curtis-wasnt-pumped-doing-new-halloween-trilogy-there-was-silver-lining)
10. [Jamie Lee Curtis, Emmy Awards and Nominations, Television Academy](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/jamie-lee-curtis)
11. [Jamie Lee Curtis, Disney Legends, D23](https://d23.com/walt-disney-legend/jamie-lee-curtis/)
12. [Jamie Lee Curtis to play Jessica Fletcher in 'Murder, She Wrote' movie, UPI (March 26, 2026)](https://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/Movies/2026/03/26/jamie-lee-curtis-murder-she-wrote-movie/4291774527087/)
13. [Jamie Lee Curtis on Her 13th Children's Book, 'Just One More Sleep', Shondaland interview transcript](https://static1.squarespace.com/static/60ec9407d9325f2e5304ba57/t/67a1479256f6770d904b4147/1738622866805/Jamie%2BLee%2BCurtis%2Bon%2BHer%2B13th%2BChildren%E2%80%99s%2BBook%2C%2B%E2%80%98Just%2BOne%2BMore%2BSleep%E2%80%99.pdf)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 1970s to 1990s › Surnames Co to C*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license