Photo: Ron Galella, Ltd./WireImage
Talent is in the Curtis family genes.
Jamie Lee Curtisis the product of Hollywood royalty, born the youngest daughter to movie stars Janet Leigh and Tony Curtis in 1958.
AlthoughJanet(whose shower scene in Alfred Hitchcock’sPsychoin 1960 is iconic) died in2004andTony(critically acclaimed for films including 1958’sThe Defiant Ones) died in2010, their daughter often speaks about them and keeps their legacy alive.
Janet and Tony were married for 12 years, and though it ended in divorce, Jamie Lee has opened up about what she’s learned from their relationship and the comfort of being known she was"born from love and not resentment."
“I literally wouldn’t be here without them, just biologically wouldn’t be here without them, and I am a product of this town, these people,” Jamie Lee said that night. “I never would have been an actor, it was a total fluke I became an actor. And so, I don’t know, I just wanted to bring them here tonight.”
Here’s everything to know about Jamie Lee’s parents.
Janet was Tony’s first wife
Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh circa 1955.Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images
Tony wed Janet in 1951, marking the actor’s first marriage (Janet was previously involved in two brief marriages as a teenager). Tony and Janet were together for 12 years before their relationship ended in divorce.
In the years that followed, bothspoke about their time togetherand admitted to marriage being “difficult.” Jamie Lee has alsoopened up about their relationshipover the years.
“As the product of 13 divorces in my immediate family I haveoften struggled with the idea of love, what happens to it?” continued theKnives Outactress. “There are only a couple reminders to me that I was born from love and not resentment, competition, jealousy and rancor which are the cornerstones of any unpleasant divorce … I also forget that they were famous and loved worldwide.”
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In 1984, Tony tied the knot with Andrea Savio and divorced in 1992. In 1993, he married Lisa Deutsch, but they divorced one year later. In 1998, Tony wed his sixth and final wife, Jill Vandenberg (who was 45 years his junior). They were together until he died in 2010.
As for Janet, she remarried the same year she divorced from Tony, tying the knot with stockbroker Robert Brandt. They were together for 42 years until she died in 2004.
They had two kids, daughters Kelly and Jamie Lee
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During Tony and Janet’s marriage, they welcomed two children:Kellyand Jamie Lee.
Kelly is the eldest of the their daughters, born in 1956. Like her parents and sister, Kelly pursued a career as an actress; her first-ever appearance on the silver screen was inThe Vikings, a 1958 adventure film that starred both Tony and Janet alongside Kirk Douglas and Ernest Borgnine. Her other notable roles include 1987’sMagic Sticksand 1991’sThe Devil’s Daughter.
In February, Jamie Leementioned her sister and parents in her acceptance speechat the2023 SAG Awards.
Their work ethic as Hollywood actors inspires Jamie Lee
Jamie Lee Curtis, Christopher Guest, daughter Annie Guest and mother actress Janet Leigh.Ron Galella, Ltd./WireImage
Tony and Janet had storied careers both separately and together.
Throughout Tony’s life, the New York native (whose birth name is Bernard “Bernie” Schwartz) appeared in over 150 movies. As for how he did it? “I was a good-looking kid,” he jokinglyadmitted to PEOPLE in 2008. “That’s the only reason I got into the movies.”
While his first (uncredited) role was in 1949’sCriss Crossat age 23, he didn’t rise to fame until the late 1950s where he sawbigger roles and memorable movies.
Janet, who has credited former MGM star Norma Shearer for starting her career, landed her first movie role in 1947’sThe Romance of Rosy Ridge. But like her ex-husband, her fame didn’t rise until the late 1950s through the 1960s.
Alfred Eisenstaedt//Time Life Pictures/Getty
The northern California native (whose birth name is Jeanette Helen Morrison) is well known for roles in Orson Welles’s 1958 film noir classicTouch of Evilwith, Charlton Heston, and the 1962 political thrillerThe Manchurian Candidate.
They both received Academy Award nominations in Best Acting categories
Everett
Tony earned an Oscar nomination at the 31st Academy Awards for Best Actor in 1959 for his role as John “Joker” Jackson inThe Defiant Ones. Helost to David Niven, who won for his work inSeparate Tables.
Janet earned an Oscar nomination at the 33rd Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actress in 1961 for her role as Marion Crane inPsycho. Althoughshe lost to Shirley Jonesfor her work in Elmer Gantry, she didwin the categoryat theGolden Globe Awardsthat year.
Janet was very philanthropic, a trait Jamie Lee admires
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Outside of Jamie Lee’s work in front of the camera, she has spent much time involving herself in her other passions: writing, producing, directing and activism. Her passion for the latter was spawned from watching her mother use her platform to raise money for those less fortunate.
“My mother was incredibly philanthropic,“Jamie Lee told PEOPLE. “She [worked with] a group of Hollywood wives who started an organization called SHARE — Share Happily and Reap Endlessly. It was a very small group who understood their power.”
She continued, “They were married to big stars — of course, my mother was a star in her own right — and these women banded together and used their power. Over the years they’ve raised more than $50 million to support children’s charities.”
Jamie Lee says her mother’s roll-up-her sleeves attitude “had a huge impact on me. Philanthropy helped me find myself. At 30, I started really owning my voice, to try to help in certain areas.” Over the years, the actress has gone on to advocate for the Special Olympics, education, AIDS research and children.
In August 2020, she launched the websiteMy Hand in Yoursto benefit Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. Talented artists and jewelry designers create everything from jewelry to journals, of which Jamie Lee underwrites all the cost of production and 100 percent of sales benefit children in need of medical care.
source: people.com
