Janet Leigh
Born
July 6, 1927
Died
October 3, 2004 (77 years old)
Known For
Acting
Place of Birth
Merced, California, USA
Janet Leigh (born Jeanette Helen Morrison; July 6, 1927 – October 3, 2004) was an American actress, singer, dancer, and author. Her career spanned over five decades. Raised in Stockton, California, by working-class parents, Leigh was discovered at 18 by actress Norma Shearer, who helped her secure a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
Leigh appeared in radio programs before her first formal foray into acting, making her film debut in the drama The Romance of Rosy Ridge (1947). With MGM, she appeared in many films which spanned a wide variety of genres, which include the crime-drama Act of Violence (1948), the drama Little Women (1949), the comedy Angels in the Outfield (1951), the romance Scaramouche (1952) and the western drama The Naked Spur (1953). She played dramatic roles during the late 1950s, in such films as Safari (1956) and Orson Welles's film noir Touch of Evil (1958). With RKO Radio pictures she co-starred in the romantic comedy Holiday Affair (1949) with Robert Mitchum.
Leigh achieved her biggest success starring as Marion Crane in Alfred Hitchcock's psychological thriller Psycho (1960). For her performance, Leigh won the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress and earned a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Intermittently, she continued to appear in films, including Bye Bye Birdie (1963), Harper (1966), Night of the Lepus (1972), and Boardwalk (1979). She made her Broadway debut in 1975 in a production of Murder Among Friends. She would also go on to appear in two horror films with her daughter, Jamie Lee Curtis: The Fog (1980) and Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998).
In addition to her work as an actress, Leigh also wrote four books between 1984 and 2002, two of which were novels. Leigh had two brief marriages as a teenager (one of which was annulled) before marrying actor Tony Curtis in 1951. The pair's highly publicized union ended in divorce in 1962, and after starring in The Manchurian Candidate that same year, Leigh remarried and scaled back her career. She died in October 2004 at age 77, following a year-long battle with vasculitis, an inflammation of the blood vessels.
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Rat Pack
Self (archive footage)
2022
I Am Alfred Hitchcock
Self
2021
Emergency: Donald Trump’s "Touch of Evil"
(archive footage)
2019
Psycho Tom
Marion Crane
2017
78/52
Self (archive footage)
2017
And the Oscar Goes To...
Self (archive footage)
2014
Honest Trailers
Marion Crane (archive footage) · (1 episode)
2012
The Psycho Legacy
Self (archive footage)
2010
The Making of 'Psycho'
Self
2005
Bad Girls from Valley High
Mrs. Witt
2005
Tales from the Mist: Inside 'The Fog'
Self
2002
Mary Pickford: A Life on Film
Self
2000
The American Nightmare
Self
2000
Howard Hughes: His Women and His Movies
Self
2000
Cubby Broccoli: The Man Behind Bond
Herself
2000
Rat Pack: A Conference of Cool
Self
1999
Hitchcock: Shadow of a Genius
Self
1999
Saturday Night Live: 25th Anniversary Special
Self (uncredited)
1999
Family Law
Mary Sawyer · (1 episode)
1999
Anthony Perkins: A Life in the Shadows
Self
1999
Halloween H20: 20 Years Later
Norma Watson
1998
In My Sister's Shadow
Kay Connor
1997
Scene by Scene
Self · (1 episode)
1997
E! True Hollywood Story
(3 episodes)
1996
Jerry Lewis: The Last American Clown
Interviewee
1996
Inside the Dream Factory
Self
1995
Charlton Heston: For All Seasons
Self
1995
Touched by an Angel
Vera King · (1 episode)
1994
The Story of Lassie
Self
1994
Hitchcock: Alfred the Great
Himself
1994
Intimate Portrait
Self (archive footage) · (1 episode)
1993
Intimate Portrait
Self · (1 episode)
1993
24 Hour Psycho
Marion Crane (archive footage)
1993
The Egg
The egg (voice) (archive footage)
1993
Happy 100th Birthday, Hollywood
Self
1987
The Fantasy Film Worlds of George Pal
Self
1986
The Twilight Zone
(1 episode)
1985
Night of 100 Stars II
Self
1985
Murder, She Wrote
Cornelia Montaigne Harper · (1 episode)
1984
Psycho II
Marion Crane (archival footage) (uncredited)
1983
Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
1983
Matt Houston
(1 episode)
1982
Night of 100 Stars
Self
1982
The Fog
Kathy Williams
1980
Fear on Film: Inside 'The Fog'
Self
1980
Boardwalk
Florence Cohen
1979
Mirror, Mirror
Millie Gorman
1979
Tales of the Unexpected
Joan Stackpole · (1 episode)
1979
The Horror Show
(archive footage)
1979
Telethon
Elaine Cotten
1977
The Love Boat
Joan Philipps / Gail · (2 episodes)
1977
Murder at the World Series
Karen Weese
1977
The American Film Institute Salute to ...
Self · (1 episode)
1973
Murdock's Gang
Laura Talbot
1973
Night of the Lepus
Gerry Bennett
1972
Ghost Story
Carol · (1 episode)
1972
One Is a Lonely Number
Gert Meredith
1972
Hollywood: The Dream Factory
Self (archive footage)
1972
The Deadly Dream
Laurel Hanley
1971
Columbo
Grace Wheeler Willis · (1 episode)
1971
House on Greenapple Road
Marian Ord
1970
Honeymoon with a Stranger
Sandra Latham
1969
The Monk
Janice Barnes
1969
Hello Down There
Vivian Miller
1969
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
Self · (3 episodes)
1968
Grand Slam
Mary Ann
1967
The Spy in the Green Hat
Miss Diketon
1967
An American Dream
Cherry McMahon
1966
Three on a Couch
Dr Elizabeth Acord
1966
Harper
Susan Harper
1966
Kid Rodelo
Nora
1966
Bob Hope Christmas Show
Self
1965
The Hollywood Palace
Self - Host · (1 episode)
1964
Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre
(2 episodes)
1963
Wives and Lovers
Bertie Austin
1963
Bye Bye Birdie
Rosie DeLeon
1963
The Manchurian Candidate
Eugenie Rose Chaney
1962
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Self · (2 episodes)
1962
Pepe
Janet Leigh
1960
Psycho
Marion Crane
1960
Who Was That Lady?
Ann Wilson
1960
People, Hopes, Medals
Self
1960
The Perfect Furlough
Lt. Vicki Loren
1958
The Vikings
Morgana
1958
Touch of Evil
Susan 'Susie' Vargas
1958
Jet Pilot
Lt. Anna Marladovna Shannon / Olga Orlief
1957
Safari
Linda Latham
1956
The Rosemary Clooney Show
Self · (1 episode)
1956
Nightmare
Janet
1956
My Sister Eileen
Eileen Sherwood
1955
Pete Kelly's Blues
Ivy Conrad
1955
A Star Is Born World Premiere
Self
1954
Rogue Cop
Karen Stephanson
1954
The Black Shield of Falworth
Lady Anne of Mackworth
1954
Living It Up
Wally Cook
1954
Miss Glucksman Visits Hollywood
1954
Prince Valiant
Princess Aleta
1954
Walking My Baby Back Home
Chris Hall
1953
Houdini
Bess Houdini
1953
The Oscars
Self · (3 episodes)
1953
Confidentially Connie
Connie Bedloe
1953
The Naked Spur
Lina Patch
1953
This Is Your Life
Self · (1 episode)
1952
Fearless Fagan
Abby Ames
1952
Scaramouche
Aline de Gavrillac de Bourbon
1952
Just This Once
Lucy Duncan
1952
An Eye for an Eye
1952
Come Back Little Shiksa
1952
It's a Big Country
Rosa Szabo Xenophon
1951
Two Tickets to Broadway
Nancy Peterson
1951
Angels in the Outfield
Jennifer Paige
1951
Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
(1 episode)
1951
Strictly Dishonorable
Isabelle Perry
1951
Fairfax Avenue
1951
The Colgate Comedy Hour
Self · (3 episodes)
1950
What's My Line?
Self - Mystery Guest · (3 episodes)
1950
What's My Line?
Self - Panelist · (1 episode)
1950
Holiday Affair
Connie Ennis
1949
That Forsyte Woman
June Forsyte
1949
The Red Danube
Olga Alexandrova aka Maria Buhlen
1949
The Doctor and the Girl
Evelyn 'Taffy' Heldon
1949
Little Women
Meg
1949
Act of Violence
Edith Enley
1949
How to Smuggle a Hernia Across the Border
1949
Words and Music
Dorothy Feiner
1948
Hills of Home
Margit Mitchell
1948
The Ed Sullivan Show
Self · (1 episode)
1948
If Winter Comes
Effie Bright
1947
The Romance of Rosy Ridge
Lissy Anne MacBean
1947
Golden Globe Awards
Self · (1 episode)
1944