Jamie Lee Curtis rose to fame with iconic roles in “Halloween” and “Freaky Friday.” Her decades-long career finally hit a high with an Oscar win in 2023 for Best Supporting Actress in “Everything, Everywhere, All at Once,” but her life was also marked by personal tragedy.
As the daughter of established actors Janet Leigh and Tony Curtis, she reflected on her privileged upbringing in a 2019 interview with The New Yorker, admitting her childhood was pretty smooth without any typical hardships. However, Curtis has still faced setbacks, ranging from family struggles to health issues and the loss of loved ones, proving her resilience throughout her life.
1. She survived her parents’ messy divorce
Before Jamie Lee Curtis was born, her parents were on the brink of going their separate ways due to their growing fame. Her father, Tony Curtis, eventually left her mother, Janet Leigh, for a 17-year-old actor, Christine Kaufmann. Tony would go on to have multiple divorces, while Janet was deeply humiliated, though she later remarried. Having witnessed this divorce firsthand, Curtis struggled with her own understanding of love.
2. Complicated relationship with her father
While Jamie Lee’s mother stayed with her second husband, Robert Brandt, Tony married five more times and wasn’t very present during her childhood. In an interview, Jamie once said that her father went from being a stranger to an enemy and then a friend, and the only true “daddy” in her life was her stepfather, who raised her. Curtis also shared with Variety in 2019 that she once did drugs with her father. Let’s just say Tony’s relationships with her and her siblings were not the best.
3. Unwanted plastic surgery
It’s no secret that in Hollywood, women need to look a certain way to get more roles, and Jamie Lee Curtis has experienced this firsthand. She shared with Variety that she had cosmetic surgery in 1992 due to criticism about her naturally puffy eyes. A cameraman refused to film her because of it, leading her to undergo surgery out of shame. By 2021, Curtis had changed her perspective. On the show Lorraine, she explained that her experience with plastic surgery, including Botox and liposuction, made her feel worse. Now, she advocates for embracing natural beauty and rejects the idea of “anti-aging,” saying she wants to look her age rather than trying to appear younger.
4. She thought she had breast cancer
Jamie Lee Curtis faced a frightening experience in the late ’90s while awaiting breast cancer exam results. Although her results were negative, the experience left a lasting impact. She became motivated to help those affected by breast cancer, noting that wherever she goes, she encounters people who have either battled breast cancer themselves or have lost loved ones to it. Nobody’s safe from that horrible disease.
5. Jamie Lee Curtis overcame alcohol and Vicodin addiction
In February 2024, Jamie Lee Curtis celebrated 25 years of sobriety, sharing her milestone on Instagram: “25 years clean and sober. One day at a time. 9,125 of them.” Curtis battled addiction to painkillers and alcohol, which started after being prescribed Vicodin for a cosmetic procedure in 1992. Despite not needing the medication, her misuse spiraled into a decade of addiction, which she kept secret from her loved ones. After a friend caught her taking pills, she sought help. Curtis later expressed pride in breaking the cycle of addiction in her family, calling it her greatest achievement.
6. The death of her parents
Jamie Lee Curtis has honored her parents’ legacies throughout her life. Her mother, Janet Leigh, was a film icon who starred alongside Jamie in two horror films: The Fog (1980) and Halloween H20 (1998). Leigh died of vasculitis at age 77.
Jamie’s father, Tony Curtis, died in 2010 at age 85 from a heart attack. Jamie has paid tribute to him over the years, celebrating his acting legacy and personal influence. On the ninth anniversary of his death, she shared a loving Instagram post quoting his 1957 film The Smell of Sweet Success. Jamie believes that both her parents would have supported the ongoing fight for actor rights and would be proud of her achievements.
7. Jamie Lee Curtis and #MeToo
In October 2017, during the rise of the #MeToo movement, Jamie Lee Curtis wrote an article for HuffPost, addressing sexual harassment and criticizing Donna Karan’s suggestion that Weinstein’s victims were “asking for it.” Curtis shared her own experiences, writing, “I, too, have been subjected to sexual harassment. Did I ask for it? No. I simply asked for a job.” In 2021, Curtis discussed the movement with Melanie Griffith for Interview magazine. Curtis was certain her mom wouldn’t have spoken out about harassment like Tippi Hedren did regarding Alfred Hitchcock.
8. The death of Richard Lewis
In the late ’80s, Jamie Lee Curtis starred alongside comedian Richard Lewis in the sitcom Anything But Love. Although they never worked together again, they became close friends with common interests and struggles. Both were fighting their own demons, and Lewis supported Curtis during her journey to sobriety. After Lewis died from a heart attack at age 76, Curtis shared a heartfelt tribute on Instagram, expressing her gratitude for his role in her recovery, saying he was the reason she was sober.
