Jamie Lee Curtis (born November 22, 1958) is an American actress, producer, and children's author. Known for her performances in the horror and slasher genres, she is regarded as a scream queen, in addition to roles in comedies. She has received multiple accolades, including an Academy Award, a BAFTA, two Golden Globes, and two Screen Actors Guild Awards, as well as nominations for an Emmy and a Grammy.
She came to prominence with the ABC sitcom Operation Petticoat (1977–1978). She made her feature film debut playing Laurie Strode in John Carpenter's slasher film Halloween (1978), which established her as a scream queen and led to a string of parts in horror films such as The Fog, Prom Night, Terror Train (all 1980), and Roadgames (1981). She reprised the role of Laurie in the Halloween franchise, until 2022.
Her film work spans many genres outside of horror, including the comedies Trading Places (1983), for which she won a BAFTA for Best Supporting Actress, and A Fish Called Wanda (1988), for which she received a nomination for the BAFTA for Best Actress. Her role as a workout instructor in the film Perfect (1985) earned her a reputation as a sex symbol. She won a Golden Globe Award for her portrayal of Helen Tasker in James Cameron's True Lies (1994). Her other notable film credits include Freaky Friday (2003) and Knives Out (2019). Her performance in Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022) won her the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1998. As of 2021, her films have grossed over $2.3 billion at the box office.
She received a Golden Globe and a People's Choice Award for her portrayal of Hannah Miller on ABC's Anything But Love (1989–1992), and earned a Primetime Emmy nomination for the television film Nicholas' Gift (1998). She also starred as Cathy Munsch on the Fox series Scream Queens (2015–16), for which she received her seventh Golden Globe nomination.
She has written numerous children's books, including Today I Feel Silly, and Other Moods That Make My Day (1998), which made The New York Times's best-seller list.
She is a daughter of actors Janet Leigh and Tony Curtis. She is married to British-American filmmaker Christopher Guest, with whom she has two adopted children. Her marriage to Guest, who holds the British title of 5th Baron Haden-Guest, makes her a baroness who is entitled to use the name "The Right Honourable The Lady Haden-Guest", though she opts not to use it.
Ella McCay
2025
Freakier Friday
Tess Coleman
2025
The Last Showgirl
Annette
2024
Disney Legends Awards Ceremony
Self
2024
Dinner Party Diaries with José Andrés
Self
2024
Haunted Mansion
Madame Leota
2023
Jamie Lee Curtis: Hollywood Call of Freedom
Self - Actress (archive footage)
2022
Halloween Ends
Laurie
2022
Halloween in Hollywood
Self
2022
Halloween Kills
Laurie Strode
2021
Knives Out
Linda Drysdale
2019
An Acceptable Loss
Rachel Burke
2019
Halloween
Laurie Strode
2018
78/52
Self
2017
Spare Parts
Principal
2015
Veronica Mars
Gayle Buckley
2014
The Night She Came Home!!
Self
2013
The Little Engine That Could
Beverly (voice)
2011
You Again
Gail
2010
Beverly Hills Chihuahua
Aunt Viv
2008
Christmas with the Kranks
Nora Krank
2004
John Carpenter: The Man and His Movies
Self
2004
Freaky Friday
Tess Coleman
2003
Halloween: Resurrection
Laurie Strode
2002
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer & the Island of Misfit Toys
Queen Camilla (voice)
2001
The Tailor of Panama
Louisa Pendel
2001
The American Nightmare
Self
2000
Drowning Mona
Rona Mace
2000
Virus
Kelly Foster
1999
Halloween H20: 20 Years Later
Laurie Strode / Keri Tate
1998
Homegrown
Sierra Kahan
1998
The Haunted History of Halloween
Self
1997
Fierce Creatures
Willa Weston
1997
House Arrest
Janet Beindorf
1996
Escape from L.A.
Female Narrator (uncredited)
1996
The Heidi Chronicles
Heidi Holland
1995
True Lies
Helen Tasker
1994
My Girl 2
Shelly Sultenfuss
1994
Mother's Boys
Judith 'Jude' Madigan
1993
Forever Young
Claire Cooper
1992
My Girl
Shelly DeVoto
1991
Queens Logic
Grace
1991
Blue Steel
Officer Megan Turner
1990
A Fish Called Wanda
Wanda Gershwitz
1988
Dominick and Eugene
Jennifer Reston
1988
Amazing Grace and Chuck
Lynn Taylor
1987
A Man in Love
Susan Elliott
1987
Perfect
Jessie Wilson
1985
Grandview, U.S.A.
Michelle 'Mike' Cody
1984
Trading Places
Ophelia
1983
Love Letters
Anna Winter
1983
Death of a Centerfold: The Dorothy Stratten Story
Dorothy Stratten
1981
Halloween II
Laurie Strode
1981
Roadgames
Pamela 'Hitch' Rushworth
1981
Terror Train
Alana Maxwell
1980
Prom Night
Kimberly Hammond
1980
The Fog
Elizabeth Solley
1980
Spychosis
Jamie
Almost Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Everything Everywhere All at Once
Self
2022
The Horrors of Hamilton High: The Making of Prom Night
Self (archive footage)
2014
Blood Is Thicker Than Water: The Making of Halloween H20
Self
2013
Tony Curtis: Driven to Stardom
Self
2012
8
Sandy Stier
2012
Video Games Live: Level 2
Self
2010
Dirt! The Movie
Self
2009
Halloween: 25 Years of Terror
Self
2006
The Kid & I
Jamie Lee Curtis
2005
Halloween: A Cut Above the Rest
Self / Laurie Strode
2003
Marlene Dietrich: Her Own Song
Narrator (voice)
2002
Halloween: Unmasked
Self
1999
Nicholas’ Gift
Maggie Green
1998
As Summers Die
Whitsey Loftin
1986
Annie Oakley
Annie Oakley
1985
Hollywood Trailblazer: The Debra Hill Story
Activia Kiss It Better Edit
Star Trek: Section 31
Control
2025
Borderlands
Tannis
2024
Everything Everywhere All at Once
Deirdre Beaubeirdre
2022
Turning the Tables with Robin Roberts
Self · (1 episode)
2021
Senior Entourage
Jamie
2021
In Search of the Sanderson Sisters: A Hocus Pocus Hulaween Takeover
Jamie Lee Curtis
2020
My Time with Terror with Jamie Lee Curtis
herself
2013
Driving Lessons
Laurie Strode (archive footage)
2012
The Nightmare Isn't Over! The Making of Halloween II
Laurie Strode (archive footage)
2012
Beauty CULTure
Self
2012
Celebrity Nude Revue: Easy 80's Volume 1
Self (archive footage)
2011
Halloween: The Inside Story
Self
2010
Not Quite Hollywood
Self
2008
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
Self · (1 episode)
2003
Mike's Super Short Show
(1 episode)
2003
Revealed with Jules Asner
(1 episode)
2001
Daddy and Them
Elaine Bowen
2001
The Early Show
Self · (1 episode)
1999
Saturday Night Live: 25th Anniversary Special
Self (uncredited)
1999
The View
Self · (9 episodes)
1997
The View
Self - Guest · (3 episodes)
1997
E! True Hollywood Story
(3 episodes)
1996
The Drew Carey Show
Sioux · (1 episode)
1995
The Frank Skinner Show
Self · (1 episode)
1995
Sesame Street | All-Star 25th Birthday: Stars and Street Forever!
Self (archive footage)
1994
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Self - Guest · (1 episode)
1993
The Return of Spinal Tap
Jamie Lee Curtis
1992
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
Self · (7 episodes)
1992
Anything But Love
Hannah Miller · (56 episodes)
1989
Halloween III: Season of the Witch
Curfew Announcer / Telephone Operator (voice) (uncredited)
1982
Callahan
Rachel Bartlett
1982
Escape from New York
Narrator / Prison Recording Voice (uncredited)
1981
Fear on Film: Inside 'The Fog'
Self
1980
The Honey Wars
(voice)
Stop the Insanity: Finding Susan Powter
Self
Sender
The Sticky
Bo · (2 episodes)
2024
Arnold
Self · (2 episodes)
2023
The Bear
Donna Berzatto · (6 episodes)
2022
Reno 911! Defunded
Lieutenant Donna Fritzgibbons · (1 episode)
2022
The Movies That Made Us
Self (Archival Footage) · (1 episode)
2019
The Kelly Clarkson Show
Self · (4 episodes)
2019
Today with Hoda & Jenna
Self · (1 episode)
2019
The Masked Singer
Special Message (video) · (1 episode)
2019
Eli Roth's History of Horror
Self · (3 episodes)
2018
Scream Queens
Dean Cathy Munsch · (23 episodes)
2015
The Late Late Show with James Corden
Self - Guest · (2 episodes)
2015
Variety Studio: Actors on Actors
Self · (2 episodes)
2014
Honest Trailers
Self (archive footage) · (1 episode)
2012
New Girl
Joan Day · (6 episodes)
2011
Archer
Peregrine Bruchstein (voice) · (2 episodes)
2009
The Bonnie Hunt Show
Self · (1 episode)
2008
The Graham Norton Show
Self · (2 episodes)
2007
El hormiguero
Self - Guest · (1 episode)
2006
The Megan Mullally Show
Self - Guest · (1 episode)
2006
The Reichen Show
Self - Guest · (1 episode)
2005
NCIS
Samantha Ryan · (5 episodes)
2003
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Self · (1 episode)
2003
Pigs Next Door
Clara (voice) · (13 episodes)
2000
Leute heute
Self · (2 episodes)
1997
The Rosie O'Donnell Show
Self - Guest · (1 episode)
1996
The Good, The Bad, and the Beautiful
Self
1996
Cindy Sherman: Nobody's Here But Me
Narrator (voice)
1994
Intimate Portrait
Self · (2 episodes)
1993
MTV Movie & TV Awards
Self · (1 episode)
1992
John Cleese's First Farewell Performance
Self
1988
Tall Tales & Legends
Annie Oakley · (1 episode)
1985
Money on the Side
Michelle Jamison
1982
Wogan
Self · (1 episode)
1982
Coming Soon
Herself
1982
She's in the Army Now
Pvt. Rita Jennings
1981
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century
Jen Burton · (1 episode)
1979
Halloween
Laurie
1978
The Love Boat
Linda · (1 episode)
1977
Operation Petticoat
Lt. Barbara Duran · (23 episodes)
1977
The Hardy Boys / Nancy Drew Mysteries
(1 episode)
1977
Quincy, M.E.
Girl in Dressing Room · (1 episode)
1976
Charlie's Angels
Linda Frye · (1 episode)
1976
Saturday Night Live
Self - Host · (2 episodes)
1975
Columbo
Waitress · (1 episode)
1971
The Oscars
Self · (4 episodes)
1953
Today
Self · (1 episode)
1952
Scarpetta
Dorothy · (2 episodes)
The Oscars
Self - Presenter · (1 episode)
1953
Golden Globe Awards
Self - Presenter · (3 episodes)
1944
Golden Globe Awards
Self - Nominee · (3 episodes)
1944
Golden Globe Awards
Self - Winner · (1 episode)
1944
Golden Globe Awards
Self - Nominee/Presenter · (2 episodes)
1944