Jamie Lee Curtis (born November 22, 1958) is an American actress. 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.
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.
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).
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.
