by Sara R. Bradley

Created on: July 25, 2008

Jamie Lee Curtis entered this world on November 22, 1958. She is the child of Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh. She attended Westlake School in Los Angeles and also Beverly Hills High, although she actually graduated from Choate Rosemary Hall. When Curtis went to college at University of the Pacific, she considered majoring in social work. However, she left shortly after beginning college in order to pursue her acting career.

Curtis has had roles in more than 32 movies. In the beginning, there were horror films. Many of the horror films that she starred in were B movies, however, the 1978 film Halloween was and still is considered a classic. The Fog was her next movie and was also strong in the box office. Following The Fog, she filmed Prom Night and later on Terror Train. Both of which received quite negative reviews. She later starred in all three of the Halloween sequels. Because of the many horror films that Curtis has starred in, she became known as "scream queen".

In 1988, Curtis starred in A Fish Called Wanda. Overnight, she was seen as a comedic actress. In 1994, her performance in True Lies netted her a Golden Globe. In 2003, Curtis starred in Freaky Friday. Her performance in this movie got her nominated for yet another Golden Globe. Curtis will be co-starring opposite Piper Perabo in Beverly Hills Chihuahua as Aunt Viv. This movie is set for release in October of this year.

Aside from comedies and horror films, Curtis has shown her talent in drama as well. Curtis received an Emmy nomination for her performance in Nicholas' Gift, a CBS made for television movie.

Curtis has also made other appearances on TV. She was in episodes for Columbo, The Drew Carey Show, Anything But Love and others.

Curtis is married to Christopher Guest and has been since 1984. When Curtis and Guest married, Curtis became Lady Haden-Guest. Christopher Guest is a baron. Curtis and Guest have two adopted children, Anne and Thomas. Curtis is also the godmother to Jake Gyllenhaal.
Curtis supports many philanthropic groups. Involved in the Children Affected by AIDS foundation, she was the host for the October 2007 Dream Halloween event.

Besides her talent for acting, Curtis has many other talents worth mentioning. First of all, she is a successful writer of children's books. Where Do Balloons' Go? An Uplifting Mystery (2000) and When I was little: a Four-Year Olds Memoir of Her Youth (1993) are among her titles. Secondly, and this was very interesting, a US Patent was filed in 1987 by Curtis for a new diaper design. In this diaper design, there is a waterproof pouch in which wipes are stored. This enables the changing to be done with one hand. Curtis has not yet allowed the invention to be marketed. She is holding out until the diaper companies begin making environmentally friendly diapers.

All in all, Jamie Lee Curtis has turned out to be a well-rounded actress. It would be fabulous to see her in more of the drama roles and maybe another action film.

References:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1014775/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamie_Lee_Curtis

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