Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Email
Answers.com

Jamie Lee Curtis

 
AnswerNote: Jamie Lee Curtis
Home > Library > Miscellaneous > AnswerNotes
Jamie Lee Curtis
View Poster

Award-winning actress Jamie Lee Curtis has two Golden Globe awards under her belt, one for Best Actress in a TV Series (Comedy) for Anything But Love (1990), and the other for Best Actress in a Motion Picture (Comedy) for True Lies (1994). She also won the American Comedy Award for Funniest Actress in a Motion Picture for True Lies.

Born November 22, 1958, to actor parents, Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh, Jamie Lee Curtis burst out on the big screen in John Carpenter's Halloween in 1978. She went on to perform in a number of other horror films, establishing her reputation as "scream queen." In 1983, Curtis made the movie Trading Places, which brought her a BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) award for Best Supporting Actress. In 1988, she further solidified her reputation as a comedic actress in her role as Wanda Gershwitz in A Fish Called Wanda. Among her other films are: Dominick and Eugene (1988), Blue Steel (1990), My Girl (1991), My Girl 2 (1992), Forever Young (1992), The Heidi Chronicles (for TV -- 1995), Fierce Creatures (1997), Drowning Mona (2000), and The Tailor of Panama (2001).

Curtis received another Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Motion Picture (Comedy), for her performance in Freaky Friday in 2004.

Curtis has written several children's books, including, Where Do Balloons Go?,Today I Feel Silly, When I Was Little, Tell Me Again About the Night I Was Born, (what she calls a "celebration of adoption and belonging to a family."), It's Hard to Be Five, Is There Really a Human Race and Words for Little People. Curtis and her husband Christopher Guest (aka Christopher Haden-Guest) have adopted two children. In 1996, upon the death of his father, Curtis's husband became Lord Haden-Guest, and Jamie Lee Curtis became Lady Haden-Guest.

Curtis blogs for The Huffington Post online newspaper, and maintains a website about her children's books.

Last updated: January 14, 2009.

Search unanswered questions...

Enter a question here...
Search: All sources Community Q&A Reference topics

Who2 Biography: Jamie Lee Curtis, Actor / Writer
Top
Home > Library > Miscellaneous > Who2 Biographies

  • Born: 22 November 1958
  • Birthplace: Los Angeles, California
  • Best Known As: The star of Halloween and A Fish Called Wanda

Jamie Lee Curtis made her movie debut in the original Halloween (1978). The second child of movie star parents Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh, she had TV jobs as a teen, including one season of Operation Petticoat (1977-78). The success of Halloween led to an early career as a plucky heroine in horror films, including The Fog, Terror Train and Prom Night (all 1980). She showed her comedy talent and her bosom in the Eddie Murphy comedy Trading Places (1983), then was off on her way to a respectable career as a leading lady. A hint of androgyny and a careful strategy of revealing her admired physique made her a sex symbol, especially in comedies like A Fish Called Wanda (1988) and True Lies (1994, opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger). As Curtis matured she made fewer movies, but emerged as an unofficial spokesperson for being proud of an aging body -- in 2002 she appeared in More magazine without make-up, and as she turned 50 AARP magazine boasted about a "topless" photo (in fact, it was a cropped photo of Curtis in a strapless dress). Since 1995 she's been publishing children's books with illustrator Laura Cornell, including Tell Me Again About the Night I Was Born (2000) and Is There Really a Human Race? (2006). Her other films include Love Letters (1984), Drowning Mona (2000, starring Casey Affleck) and Freaky Friday (2003, starring Lindsay Lohan).

Curtis grew up with her mother, Janet Leigh, and stepfather... She married comedy writer and filmmaker Christopher Guest (Best in Show) in 1984... A long-standing, out-of-left-field rumor -- unproven -- is that Curtis was born a hermaphrodite.

Quotes By: Jamie Lee Curtis
Top
Home > Library > Literature & Language > Quotes By

Quotes:

"My breasts are beautiful, and I gotta tell you, they've gotten a lot of attention for what is relatively short screen time."

Actor: Jamie Lee Curtis
Top
Home > Library > Entertainment & Arts > Actors
  • Born: Nov 22, 1958 in Los Angeles, California
  • Occupation: Actor
  • Active: '80s-2000s
  • Major Genres: Comedy, Drama
  • Career Highlights: Halloween, A Fish Called Wanda, Trading Places
  • First Major Screen Credit: Halloween (1978)

Biography

The daughter of film stars Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh, Jamie Lee Curtis launched her film career as a "scream queen." After a nondescript supporting role on the TV series Operation Petticoat, Curtis rose to cult stardom playing the straight-laced teenage babysitter imperiled by an unknown slasher in Halloween (1978). Upon appearing in the film's sequel and in such spookers as The Fog (1979) and Prom Night (1980), she seemed in danger of being limited to blood-splattered horror films. But Curtis wasn't about to be typed this early in the game: with a meaty secondary role as a prostitute -- featuring several well-publicized nude scenes -- in the big-budget comedy Trading Places (1983), she made the transition from imperiled teen type to knowing adult with nary a hitch.



Curtis didn't exactly have a string of box-office smashes after Trading Places, but she was always worth watching even when the films weren't. And when the good parts did come along, notably her roles in A Fish Called Wanda (1988) and My Girl (1991), she proved she was an actress of range and stature and not just another "movie star's kid." Taking a potentially humiliating role as the unknowing wife of a secret agent in the megabucks Arnold Schwarzenegger adventure True Lies (1994), Curtis delivered a sparkling performance, emerging as the only truly likable character in a loud and misogynistic melodrama. In 1997, she was reunited with the cast of A Fish Called Wanda (Kevin Kline, John Cleese, and Michael Palin) for Fierce Creatures, another comedy farce in the same vein as Wanda. Unfortunately, the film was largely disappointing; but, the following year, Curtis rebounded with a return to familiar territory in Halloween: H2O. The slasher flick, although less than a critical favorite, proved to be popular with audiences. In 1999, Curtis again ventured into the big-budget realm with the action thriller Virus, and had a supporting role in Daddy and Them, Billy Bob Thornton's sophomore writing/directorial effort. She could then be seen in Drowning Mona, a black comedy in which she played a waitress caught up in an affair with the husband of her town's most infamous dead woman.

The 2000s have brought Curtis several interesting opportunities, including a live performance at Paul McCartney's benefit for the controversial animal rights organization PETA in 2000, and a no-holds-barred photo shoot with More magazine in 2002 -- the then 44-year-old actress wanted to emphasize that even high-profile celebrities look "normal" without the help of a team of makeup artists and digital alterations. In 2001, Curtis starred alongside Oscar-winner Geoffrey Rush and James Bond front man Pierce Brosnan in the espionage thriller The Tailor of Panama, and returned for a cameo appearance in Halloween: Resurrection, which supposedly marked her final role in the Halloween franchise. Curtis would return to more family-oriented pictures in 2003's spirited Freaky Friday with Lindsay Lohan, which featured the forty-something actress playing a punky teen whose spirit had magically been transferred to her mother's body; the success of that film led to the curdled comedy of the critically drubbed Christmas With the Kranks.

Married to actor Christopher Guest since 1984, Curtis became a Baroness, Lady Haden-Guest, when her husband inherited the Barony in 1996. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Filmography: Jamie Lee Curtis
Top
Home > Library > Entertainment & Arts > Actors

Freaky Friday

Buy this Movie

Halloween: Resurrection

Buy this Movie

Daddy & Them

Buy this Movie

The Tailor of Panama

Buy this Movie

Drowning Mona

Buy this Movie

Paul McCartney and Friends: The PETA Concert for Party Animals

Buy this Movie

Virus

Buy this Movie

Homegrown

Buy this Movie
Show More Movies Show Fewer Movies
Wikipedia: Jamie Lee Curtis
Top
Home > Library > Miscellaneous > Wikipedia
Jamie Lee Curtis

Jamie Lee Curtis at the 1989 Emmy Awards
Born November 22, 1958 (1958-11-22) (age 51)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation Actress
Author
Blogger
Years active 1975–present
Spouse(s) 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 many 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 covers many genres. Her 1998 book, Today I Feel Silly, and Other Moods That Make My Day, made the best-seller list in The New York Times. She is married to actor Christopher Guest (Lord Haden-Guest) and, as the wife of a lord, is titled Lady Haden-Guest, but she chooses not to use the title when in the United States. She is currently the spokeswoman for Activia. She is also a blogger for The Huffington Post online newspaper.[1]

Contents

Early life

Curtis was born in Los Angeles, California, the child of actors Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh. Her paternal grandparents were Hungarian Jewish immigrants.[2] Curtis's parents divorced in 1962 and her mother then 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 both Westlake School in Los Angeles and Beverly Hills High School, but graduated from Choate Rosemary Hall. Returning to California in 1976, Jamie attended the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California. Jamie considered majoring in social work, but left after a semester in order to pursue a career in acting.

Career

Film

Curtis's film debut was the 1978 horror Halloween, playing the role of Laurie Strode, the only central teenage character in the film who is not killed. The film was a major success and was considered the highest grossing independent film of its time, earning status as a classic horror film. Curtis was subsequently cast in several horror films, garnering her the title of a "scream queen".

Her next film following Halloween was the horror film, The Fog, which was directed 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 active "slasher film" genre. That year, Curtis also starred in Terror Train, which opened in October and met with a negative reaction 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 leave her horror queen image behind. 1988's A Fish Called Wanda achieved near cult status – while showcasing her as a first rate comic actress. She won a Golden Globe for her work in 1994's True Lies. Her recent successful film roles include Disney's Freaky Friday (2003), opposite Lindsay Lohan. The movie was filmed at Palisades High School in Pacific Palisades, California, near where Curtis and Guest make their home with their children. She was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy in this movie.

In October 2006, Curtis told Access Hollywood that she has closed the book on her acting career to focus on family. However, she returned to acting after she was cast in June 2007 in Disney's live-action-animated film, Beverly Hills Chihuahua, co-starring opposite Piper Perabo as one of two live-action characters in the film.[7]

Television

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

Children's books

Working with illustrator Laura Cornell, Curtis has written a number of critically-acclaimed children's books,[8] all published by HarperCollins Children's Books.

  • 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 9 weeks.
  • 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 9780061127595, 2008.
  • My Friend Jay, 2009, edition of one, presented to Jay Leno

Inventions

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.[9] Curtis has refused to allow her invention to be marketed until companies start selling biodegradable diapers.[10]

Personal life

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 has two adopted children. In addition, Curtis is actor Jake Gyllenhaal's godmother.[11]

On her website, Curtis tells her young readers that she "moonlights as an actor, photographer, and closet organizer."[8] 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; the 2005 honoree was 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.[12][13]

Curtis appears on the cover of the May/June 2008 issue of AARP Magazine, sporting gray hair and in water up to her chest.[14]

Curtis was an alcoholic who was also once addicted to pain killers that she started using after a routine cosmetic surgical procedure. She got sober in 1999[15] and maintains that recovery is the greatest achievement of her life.[16]

During California's 2008 General Election, Curtis appeared in the "YES on Prop 3" TV ads.[17]

Filmography

Year Film Role Other notes
1978 Halloween Laurie Strode
1980 The Fog Elizabeth Solley
Prom Night Kim Hammond
Terror Train Alana Maxwell
1981 Roadgames Pamela 'Hitch' Rushworth
Halloween II Laurie Strode
1982 Halloween III: Season of the Witch Phone Operator voice only, uncredited
1983 Trading Places Ophelia BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role
1984 Love Letters Anna Winter
Terror in the Aisles archival footage
The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension Sandra Banzai featured in DVD extended version
Grandview, U.S.A. Michelle 'Mike' Cody
1985 Perfect Jessie
Amazing Grace and Chuck Lynn Taylor
1987 A Man in Love
1988 Dominick and Eugene Jennifer Reston
A Fish Called Wanda Wanda Gershwitz Nominated - BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role
Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers Laurie Strode photo only, uncredited
1990 Blue Steel Megan Turner
1991 Queens Logic Grace
My Girl Shelly DeVoto
1992 Forever Young Claire Cooper
1994 My Girl 2 Shelly DeVoto Sultenfuss
1994 Mother's Boys Judith 'Jude' Madigan
1994 True Lies Helen Tasker Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
Nominated - Screen Actors Guild Award - Best Supporting Actress
1996 House Arrest Janet Beindorf
1997 Fierce Creatures Willa Weston
1998 Halloween H20: 20 Years Later Laurie Strode/Keri Tate
Nicholas' Gift Maggie Green
1999 Virus Kelly Foster
2000 Drowning Mona Rona Mace
2001 The Tailor of Panama Louisa Pendel
2002 Halloween: Resurrection Laurie Strode
2003 Freaky Friday Tess Coleman Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
2004 Christmas with the Kranks Nora Krank
2005 The Kid & I Herself
2008 Beverly Hills Chihuahua Aunt Viv
2010 You Again Gail

References

  1. ^ "Jamie Lee Curtis Blog". Huffington Post. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jamie-lee-curtis. Retrieved 2009-10-17. 
  2. ^ "Jamie Lee Curtis Interview: Starring as Herself: Embracing Reality". Reader's Digest. http://www.rd.com/content/jamie-lee-curtis-interview/1/. Retrieved 2009-10-17. 
  3. ^ "TCM:Tony Curtis Bio". Turner Classic Movies. http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/participant.jsp?spid=848347. Retrieved 2009-10-17. 
  4. ^ "http://www.boxofficemojo.com/". Box Office Mojo gross tally. http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=fog.htm. Retrieved March 9 2006. 
  5. ^ "http://www.the-numbers.com". The Numbers Jamie Lee Curtis grosses. http://www.the-numbers.com/people/JLCUR.html. Retrieved March 9 2006. 
  6. ^ "http://rogerebert.suntimes.com". Roger Ebert review of "Terror Train". http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19801009/REVIEWS/10090301/1023. Retrieved March 9 2006. 
  7. ^ Siegel, Tatiana (2007-06-29). "Curtis heads for Disney's 'Border'". The Hollywood Reporter. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/film/news/e3ib2e03aed98ee114009c465a2852c6784. Retrieved 2007-06-29. 
  8. ^ a b "Jamie Lee Curtis Books". Jamie Lee Curtis Books. http://www.jamieleecurtisbooks.com/books.html. 
  9. ^ Curtis; Jamie L. (Los Angeles, CA) (1987-02-20). "United States Patent: 4,753,647". United States Patent and Trademark Office. http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=4753647.PN.. Retrieved 2008-04-01. "A disposable infant garment which takes the form of a diaper including, on its outer side, a sealed, but openable, moisture-proof pocket which contains one or more clean-up wipers." 
  10. ^ Johnny Acton (2005). The Ideas Companion: Crafty Copyrights, Tricky Trademarks and Peerless Patents (A Think Book). Robson Books. ISBN 1861058357. 
  11. ^ "Interview: Jake Gyllenhaal, crown prince of Tinseltown". The Guardian (UK). http://film.guardian.co.uk/interview/interviewpages/0,6737,1604325,00.html. 
  12. ^ "Jamie Lee Curtis Online". http://www.jamieleecurtisonline.com/news_archive2008.html. 
  13. ^ "Children Affected by Aids". http://www.caaf4kids.org/. 
  14. ^ "Jamie Lee Curtis Goes Topless on Cover of AARP Magazine". http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,340615,00.html. Retrieved 2009-10-17. 
  15. ^ "Jamie Lee Curtis Interview". Reader's Digest. http://www.rd.com/jamie-lee-curtis-interview/article26801.html. Retrieved 2009-10-17. 
  16. ^ "King of Pain". http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jamie-lee-curtis/king-of-pain_b_240998.html. 
  17. ^ "Imagine with Us: Yes on Prop 3, Children's Hospital Bond (website)". http://www.imaginewithus.org/. .

External links

Search Wikinews Wikinews has related news: Jamie Lee Curtis quits acting
v • d • e
Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy

Bernadette Peters (1981) · Julie Andrews (1982) · Julie Walters (1983) · Kathleen Turner (1984) · Kathleen Turner (1985) · Sissy Spacek (1986) · Cher (1987) · Melanie Griffith (1988) · Jessica Tandy (1989) · Julia Roberts (1990) · Bette Midler (1991) · Miranda Richardson (1992) · Angela Bassett (1993) · Jamie Lee Curtis (1994) · Nicole Kidman (1995) · Madonna (1996) · Helen Hunt (1997) · Gwyneth Paltrow (1998) · Janet McTeer (1999) · Renée Zellweger (2000)

Complete List · (1950–1960) · (1961–1980) · (1981–2000) · (2001–present)
v • d • e
Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy

Carol Burnett/Julie Sommars (1969) · Mary Tyler Moore (1970) · Carol Burnett (1971) · Jean Stapleton (1972) · Cher/Jean Stapleton (1973) · Valerie Harper (1974) · Cloris Leachman (1975) · Carol Burnett (1976) · Carol Burnett (1977) · Linda Lavin (1978) · Linda Lavin (1979) · Katherine Helmond (1980) · Eileen Brennan (1981) · Debbie Allen (1982) · Joanna Cassidy (1983) · Shelley Long (1984) · Estelle Getty/Cybill Shepherd (1985) · Cybill Shepherd (1986) · Tracey Ullman (1987) · Candice Bergen (1988) · Jamie Lee Curtis (1989)

Complete List · (1969-1989) · (1990-present)

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

 
 

 

Copyrights:

AllPosters.com  Posters. Copyright © 1998-2003 AllPosters.com, Inc. All rights reserved. 
Answers Corporation AnswerNote. © 1999-2009 by Answers Corporation. All rights reserved.  Read more
Who2 Biography. Copyright © 1998-2008 by Who2, LLC. All rights reserved. See the Jamie Lee Curtis biography from Who2.  Read more
Quotes By. Copyright © 2008 QuotationsBook.com. All rights reserved.  Read more
Actor. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Jamie Lee Curtis".  Read more