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What happened to Jamie Lee Curtis' parents? Actress reveals she watched parents' success slowly “erode” due to Hollywood ageism

Jamie Lee Curtis revealed how getting older affected her parents' careers in Hollywood.
posted by Shreya Ghosh
Monday 7/28/2025 at 7:46AM EDT
  • Jamie Lee Curtis (Image by Getty)
    Jamie Lee Curtis (Image by Getty)

    Jamie Lee Curtis, 66, was born to two of Hollywood's most renowned and talented creative artists. She is the daughter of Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh. Growing up in Hollywood, she witnessed her parents' prominence in the industry and how their popularity faded away over time.

    On October 3, 2004, Janet Leigh passed away at the age of 77, after suffering from vasculitis. Jamie lost her father, Tony, on September 29, 2010, at the age of 85, to cardiac arrest.

    In recent interviews, the actress spoke candidly about her parents, their stardom, and how their age caused their stardom to erode over the years. 

    Jamie Lee Curtis opened up about her parents experiencing highs and lows in Hollywood

    In the 1950s and 60s, Tony Curtis rose to fame with famous projects such as The Defiant Ones (1958), Some Like It Hot (1959), and Spartacus (1960), among others. In his golden era, he was a pop culture icon known for his versatility and looks. 

    Janet Leigh starred in several hit movies and established her name as a prominent actress in the industry. From Little Women (1949) to Touch of Evil (1958), she also appeared in Psycho (1960).

    Tony and Janet undoubtedly were one of Hollywood’s most glamorous and high-profile couples in the 1950s. Their fame made their daughter, Jamie, a Hollywood royal by birth. In an exclusive interview with The Guardian, published on July 26, 2025, the Everything Everywhere All at Once actress looked back on witnessing the cruel truth of ageism crushing her parents' careers and opportunities in Hollywood. Recalling those heartbreaking memories, she revealed during the lengthy conversation,

    "I witnessed my parents lose the very thing that gave them their fame and their life and their livelihood, when the industry rejected them at a certain age. I watched them reach incredible success and then have it slowly erode to where it was gone. And that’s very painful."

    Confessing that she has been planning to take a step back from the industry to avoid the same fate as Tony and Janet, she further revealed,

    "I have been self-retiring for 30 years. I have been prepping to get out, so that I don’t have to suffer the same as my family did. I want to leave the party before I’m no longer invited."

    While she decided to take the significant step in her acting career, knowing what would pan out as the best for her, she is also enjoying substantial fame with the release of Freakier Friday, upcoming on August 8, 2025. It is the sequel to the 2003 release Freaky Friday starring Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan. As someone who saw how great looks can open doors and ageism create obstacles in the film industry, she realized the brutal truth early in her life.

    Curtis has always remained vocal about expressing her views on beauty and how many enhance their looks with the help of plastic surgery. As The Wrap reported her interview with The Guardian, she can be seen calling these medical procedures a "genocide" of her generation. Elaborating further on her remark and the idea to don red, bold wax lips to mark her words against plastic surgery, she explained,

    "I’ve used that word for a long time and I use it specifically because it’s a strong word. I believe that we have wiped out a generation or two of natural human [appearance]. The concept that you can alter the way you look through chemicals, surgical procedures, fillers – there’s a disfigurement of generations of predominantly women who are altering their appearances. And it is aided and abetted by AI, because now the filter face is what people want. I’m not filtered right now. The minute I lay a filter on and you see the before and after, it’s hard not to go: 'Oh, well that looks better.' But what’s better? Better is fake. And there are too many examples – I will not name them – but very recently we have had a big onslaught through media, many of those people."

    Jamie Lee Curtis joined People for the cover shoot for her upcoming release, Freakier Friday. During the exclusive chit-chat with the outlet, she gave an unexpected response when asked about finding resemblances to her mother in her. She replied,

    "I tried to do everything not to be my mother. And, of course, I'm very much like my mother in many, many, ways. My admiration for her has swelled as my disappointments have lessened. I know that my mother was so proud of me and and what I've achieved, that she respected my husband's work and was thrilled to be a grandma."

    Admitting that Janet "would've been incredibly upset" and "would have loathed" seeing her looks for Everything Everywhere All at Once, she reflected on enjoying the freedom to be herself today, which her mother's generation "would never have allowed."

    In 2023, Curtis won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress at the 95th Oscars for her role as Deirdre Beaubeirdre in Everything Everywhere All at Once. This was her first Oscar victory after working for decades in the industry. More than her appearance, her role as an IRS inspector stole the show with her quirky intensity and emotional depth. While accepting the award, she dedicated her win to her late parents, among other notable mentions.

    When Lindsay chimed in between the People conversation, adding, "Don't say that though. Because you never know," Jamie simply responded, claiming that she knows the reality as she saw her mom's generation obsessed over looks and physical beauty. Setting the record straight with what she believes and feels certain about, she also conveyed,

    "I do know because her generation was so much about your body and what you look like. And the beauty. The beauty is just who she was. That's what her life was. My mother was literally jaw dropping. But I think that would've been very hard for her to see me with my tummy sticking out. Or in [the film] Last Showgirl, for her to see me in that dressing room at 66 years old. That really would've upset her. I know her very well. I have accepted myself in a much bigger way than I think she felt she was allowed to, through her generation."

    About Jamie Lee Curtis' parents

    Well-celebrated stars of their generation, Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh got married in 1951, according to a People report. Their marriage and 11-year-long association were highly publicised and presented glamourously. Together, they had two daughters, Kelly Curtis in 1956 and Jamie Lee Curtis in 1958. After over a decade of building a family, they parted ways and got divorced in 1962.

    Jamie Lee Curtis often speaks about her parents and sister and dedicates heartfelt tributes to them. As the outlet reported, the Halloween star admired them while accepting her prestigious award at the 2023 SAG Awards. Remembering her family, she expressed,

    "I'm wearing the wedding ring that my father gave my mother. They hated each other, by the way, by the end of it. But my sister Kelly and I were born from love. My father was from Hungary and my mother was from Denmark, and they had nothing and they became these monstrous stars in this industry."

    As People confirmed, Tony and Janet remarried soon after. After their separation, the Sweet Smell of Success actor reportedly was linked to Marilyn Monroe and Natalie Wood. In 1963, he tied the knot to German actress Christine Kaufmann and welcomed two daughters with his second wife. In 1968, the estranged couple got divorced, with Curtis getting married to Leslie Allen the same year. However, he got divorced for the third time in 1982. He got married for the fourth time to Andrea Savio, and his fifth marriage was with Lisa Deutsch. Unfortunately, none of his relationships lasted long until his last wedding to Jill Vandenberg. The duo was married till 2010, as the actor passed away that year.

    On the other hand, Janet married Robert Brandt after her divorce from Tony. They were married for over four decades.

    TOPICS: Jamie Lee Curtis


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