Jamie Lee Curtis is an American actress, producer and author, best known for her roles Halloween (1978), An armchair for two (1983) with Eddy Murphy or Freaky Friday: in my mother’s shoes (2003) with Lindsay Lohan. More recently she has retreatedAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actress in the movie Everything everywhere all at once. She is also known thanks to the status of her two parents. She is none other than the daughter of Tony Curtis, iconic Hollywood actor, and Janet Leight, famous film figure. Psycho d’Alfred Hitchcock.
Growing up with two famous parents wasn’t always easy for Jamie Lee Curtis. She often complained about the label of “daughter of” which stuck to his skin. “Being someone’s daughter for a long time wasn’t easy. Celebrity kids are under a lot of pressure. The fact that I started working at a young age made things a lot easier, as it allowed me to gain self-confidence and build a career. I could watch a film without wondering if it was going to be said that I got the role thanks to my parents. It wasn’t them on the screen, it was me, and it felt good“she declared in 1981 to journalists from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.
Tony Curtis was an absent father to his six children
Jamie Lee Curtis has not always had a good relationship with her parents, particularly with her father Tony Curtis, although she admires his career.. “Many people know my father, love and respect him, and they are right, because he was a wonderful man and an exceptional actor, it’s impressive”she explained in 1981 in an interview. Yet, Jamie Lee Curtis grows up far from his father. After his birth in 1958, his parents quickly divorced. She grew up mainly with her mother, Janet Leight. and later explains that the movie actor was not an involved father and that there was no real emotional bond between them. Guest on the show The Talk in 2010, she added: “He wasn’t a father. He wasn’t interested in being a father.”.
On the private side, Tony Curtis is also the father of five other children and therefore has a total of four daughters and two sons. He first welcomed Kelly Curtis, sister of Jamie Lee Curtis, born of the same mother in 1956, and now deceased. From a second marriage with Christine Kaufmann, Alexandra (1964) and Allegra (1966) were born. Then, Nicholas Curtis (1970), also deceased, and Benjamin Curtis (1973) were born from his love with Leslie Allen. The Hollywood actor was married 6 times in total. His last wife was Jill Vanderberg Curtis, 45 years his junior, with whom he remained until his death in 2010. And it was his death, and more precisely his. heritage which best testifies to the distant relationships he maintained with his children
Jamie Lee Curtis and his siblings were disinherited by their father Tony Curtis
Upon his death in 2010, Tony Curtis chose to disinherit your children. In a very clear title appearing in his will, he explained: “I acknowledge the existence of my children Kelly, Jamie Lee Curtis, Alexandra, Allegra and Benjamin and intentionally and consciously chose not to include them in my final wishes and will“. A choice which particularly surprised Jamie Lee Curtis, as she explained during an appearance on the show Inside the actor studio in 2002. “The day I read it, I had trouble swallowing”she explained admitting that the discovery of the notarial deed had been an immediate physical shockbut that having built her own fortune thanks to her roles since she was 19, she respected the choices of a man who, in any case, had never lied to her about his detachment from family life. A story which is reminiscent of those of other personalities such as Johnny Hallyday.
