Curtis on the DVD cover of Blue Steel, 1990 Jamie Lee Curtis (born November 22, 1958) is a Golden Globe-winning American film actress and a successful author of books for children. Although she was initially known as a "scream queen", because of her starring roles in many horror films early in her career, Curtis has since compiled a body of work that covers every genre. Through marriage, she is Baroness Haden-Guest in the British peerage, so is entitled to be called Lady Haden-Guest, although she does not use this title. Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 2.1 Film 2.2 Television 2.3 Children's Books 3 Private life 4 Selected filmography 5 References 5.1 Footnotes 5.2 Web sites Early life Curtis was born in Los Angeles, California, the child of well-known actors Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh. Her paternal grandparents were Jewish immigrants from Hungary. Her parents divorced in 1962 and her mother remarried to a Robert Brandt. She has an older sister, Kelly Curtis, who is also an actress, and several half-siblings (all from her father's remarriage), Alexandra, Allegra, Ben, and Nicholas Curtis, who died in 1994 of a drug overdose. Curtis attended both Westlake School for Girls in Los Angeles and Beverly Hills High School, but graduated from Choate Rosemary Hall. She returned to California in 1976. She attended the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California, where she considered majoring in social work, but left after a semester in order to pursue an acting career. Universal Studios put her under contract, and she starred in the television series, Operation Petticoat. Career Film Curtis made her film debut in the 1978 horror film, Halloween, playing the role of Laurie Strode, the only teenage character in the film who is not killed. The film was a major success and was considered the highest grossing independent film of its time. Curtis was subsequently cast in several horror films, which led to her association with the horror genre, garnering her the title of a "scream queen". Her first follow-up to Halloween was the horror film, The Fog, which was directed by "Halloween" director John Carpenter. The film opened in February 1980 to mixed reviews but strong box office,[1] further cementing Curtis as a horror film starlet. Her next film, Prom Night, was a low-budget Canadian slasher film and was released in July 1980. The film was considered similar in style to Halloween, and received negative reviews which marked it as a disposable entry in the then active "slasher film" genre. That year, Curtis also starred in Terror Train, which opened in October and received a negative reaction akin to Prom Night. Both films performed only moderately at the box office.[2] Curtis had a similar function in both films - playing the main character whose friends are murdered, and who is practically the only protagonist to survive. Film critic Roger Ebert, who had given negative reviews to all three of Curtis' 1980 films, said that Curtis "is to the current horror film glut what Christopher Lee was to the last one-or Boris Karloff was in the 1930s."[3]. Curtis later appeared in Halloween II, Halloween H20: 20 Years Later and Halloween: Resurrection. Her role in 1983's Trading Places established her as more than just a horror queen and 1988's A Fish Called Wanda achieved near cult status -- while showcasing her as a first rate comic actress. She won a Golden Globe for her work in 1994's True Lies. Her recent successful film roles for Curtis have included Disney's Freaky Friday (2003), opposite Lindsay Lohan. The movie was filmed at Palisades High School in Pacific Palisades, CA, near where Curtis and Guest make their home with their children. She was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy in this movie. Television In television, Curtis co-starred opposite Richard Lewis in the situation comedy Anything But Love. Her role as Hannah Miller received both a Golden Globe and People's Choice Award. She also earned a Golden Globe nomination for her work in TNT's adaptation of the Wendy Wasserstein play The Heidi Chronicles. More recently, Curtis starred in the CBS television movie Nicholas' Gift, for which she received an Emmy nomination. Children's Books Working with illustrator, Laura Cornell, Curtis has written a number of critically-acclaimed children's books. These include: When I was Little: A Four-Year Old's Memoir Of Her Youth, published September 1993. Tell Me Again About The Night I was Born, published August 1996. Today I Feel Silly, and Other Moods That Make My Day, published September 1998, which was listed on the New York Times best-seller list for nine weeks. Where Do Balloons Go?: An Uplifting Mystery, published August 2000. I'm Gonna Like Me: Letting Off a Little Self-Esteem, published September 2002. It's Hard to Be Five: Learning How to Work My Control Panel, published September 2004. Is There Really A Human Race?, published September 2006. Private life Curtis married actor Christopher Guest on December 18, 1984, becoming Lady Haden-Guest when her husband inherited the Barony of Haden-Guest in 1996, upon the death of his father. The couple have two adopted children, Anne Haden Guest (born 1986) and Thomas Haden Guest (born 1996). Curtis is also actor Jake Gyllenhaal's godmother. Today, Curtis also takes time to support various philanthropic groups. She was Guest of Honor at the 11th annual Gala and Fundraiser in 2003 for Women in Recovery, Inc., a Venice, CA-based non-profit organization offering a live-in, twelve-step program of rehabilitation for women in need. Past Honorees of this organization have included Sir Anthony Hopkins; the 2005 honoree was Angela Lansbury. Selected filmography Year Title Role Other notes 2004 Christmas with the Kranks Nora Krank 2003 Freaky Friday Tess Coleman 2002 Halloween: Resurrection Laurie Strode 2001 The Tailor of Panama Louisa Pendel 2000 Drowning Mona Rona Mace 1999 Virus Kelly Foster 1998 Halloween H20: 20 Years Later Laurie Strode/Keri Tate 1997 Fierce Creatures Willa Weston 1996 House Arrest Janet Beindorf 1994 True Lies Helen Tasker 1994 Mother's Boys Judith 'Jude' Madigan 1994 My Girl 2 Shelly DeVoto Sultenfuss 1992 Forever Young Claire Cooper 1991 My Girl Shelly DeVoto 1991 Queens Logic Grace 1990 Blue Steel Megan Turner 1988 A Fish Called Wanda Wanda Gershwitz 1988 Dominick and Eugene Jennifer Reston 1985 Amazing Grace and Chuck Lynn Taylor 1985 Perfect Jessie 1984 Grandview, U.S.A. Michelle 'Mike' Cody 1984 Love Letters Anna Winter 1983 Trading Places Ophelia 1981 Halloween II Laurie Strode 1981 Roadgames Pamela 'Hitch' Rushworth 1980 Terror Train Alana Maxwell 1980 Prom Night Kim Hammond 1980 The Fog Elizabeth Solley 1978 Halloween Laurie Strode References Footnotes ^ http://www.boxofficemojo.com/. Box Office Mojo gross tally. Retrieved on March 9, 2006. ^ http://www.the-numbers.com. The Numbers Jamie Lee Curtis grosses. Retrieved on March 9, 2006. ^ http://rogerebert.suntimes.com. Roger Ebert review of "Terror Train". Retrieved on March 9, 2006. Web sites Wikinews has news related to: Many SAG Awards presenters announced Jamie Lee Curtis at the Internet Movie Database Search Term: "Jamie_Lee_Curtis" Categories: 1958 births | Adoptive parents | American film actors | American television actors | B-movie actors | British baronesses | Halloween actors | Jewish American actors | Living people | People from Los Angeles | Children of famous people | Writers