Academy Award winning actress Jamie Lee Curtis is well known for her reprising role in the “Halloween” franchise and comedic films. But early in her career, Curtis hit some bumps on the road to fame.
At the 2023 SAG Awards, Curtis shared how she went from being fired from a television series to starring in what would become one of the most defining moments of her career.
Halloween Scream Queen
“I was fired from that television show a year later,” she shared. “But the good news is if I hadn’t been fired from ‘Operation Petticoat’ I never would have had the opportunity to audition for a little tiny no budget horror movie called ‘Halloween,’ which changed my life.”
Directed by John Carpenter, “Halloween” was the highest-grossing independent film of its time, earning a reported $47 million in the United States and $23 million worldwide.
For Curtis, who was cast in the lead role as Laurie Strode, this was an opportunity to pay homage to her mother, actress Janet Leigh, who was a horror film icon in her own right who had starred in “Psycho.” Curtis also starred in the television show “Operation Petticoat,” which was based on a film that starred her father Tony Curtis.
But Curtis’ success as an actress did not end in 1978. The actress became synonymous with the film and its subsequent seven-film franchise. Soon, Curtis became known as a “scream queen,” starring in horror films such as “The Fog,” “Prom Night,” “Terror Train,” and “Roadgames.” In 2018, Curtis starred in the reboot of “Halloween,” reprising her role as Laurie Strode. Like the 1978 original, the reboot was a success. In its debut weekend, the film earned $76 million, making it the most successful film in its franchise. Before leaving the box office, the film earned $255 million. In addition, the “Halloween” reboot was considered the highest-earning film with a lead actress over 55.
Today, Curtis has a combined net worth of $60 million with her husband, screenwriter and director, Christopher Guest. In addition to starring in several of the “Halloween” franchise movies, Curtis has starred in other comedic films such as “Trading Places,” “A Fish Called Wanda,” “My Girl,” and “Freaky Friday.” After winning a Golden Globe for “True Lies” in 1994, Curtis snagged an Academy Award in 2023 for her role in “Everything Everywhere All at Once.”
