Jamie Lee Curtis is an American actress who rose to fame during the 1980s as the decade’s reigning scream queen. She was born on November 22, 1958, in Santa Monica, California, to Hollywood legends, Janet Leigh and Tony Curtis. In 1962, Curtis’ parents divorced and her mother married Rober Brandt whom Curtis regarded as a father figure in her life. Growing up, Curtis went to elite schools and received the best education, even momentarily taking up law before dropping out to pursue acting full-time.
As she made her way through Hollywood, Curtis didn’t shy away from acknowledging the privilege she had thanks to her parents. Nevertheless, the aspiring actress soon proved that her acting chops lived up to her surname. In the 1980s, Curtis was the undisputed scream queen who ruled the silver screen with John Carpenter’s “Halloween” franchise. She would reprise the role at least seven times and received critical and commercial successes.
In 1983, Curtis reinvented herself and took on more dramatic roles by portraying a prostitute in John Landis’ “Trading Places.” The role won her a BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. A couple of years later, Curtis would cement her status as a sex symbol after starring side by side with John Travolta in the romantic drama film, “Perfect.” Over the following decades, Curtis would take on more memorable roles in films like “True Lies” (1994), “Freaky Friday” (2003), and “Everything Everywhere All At Once” (2022). The last film ultimately landed Curtis her first Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
Being born into the celebrity world, Curtis is familiar with gossip and scandals. The actress’ own family went through more than ten divorces which served as tabloid fodder during their times. Curtis’ relationships and sexuality have also been put into question. To put the rumors to rest, this feature will finally answer the question: is Jamie Lee Curtis gay? Read on below to find out.
VOTE: What is Jamie Lee Curtis’ Sexuality?
Jamie Lee Curtis and Christopher Guest
In 1984, Curtis was hanging out with a friend and going through a magazine when she saw her future husband Christopher Guest on the page. In a bold statement, she told her friend: “I’m going to marry that guy.” It turned out that her friend knew Guest and that he was an actor, so she gave Curtis his agent’s number. While Guest never called her back, the actress didn’t give up hope.
Sometime later, Curtis ran into Guest at a restaurant where she introduced herself. Although their interaction was minimal, the actor would later admit that he knew Curtis was “the one.” In true Hollywood fashion, Curtis and Guest’s relationship was a whirlwind romance. Four months later, as Curtis had proclaimed, the couple tied the knot.
On December 13, 1986, Curtis and Guest adopted their first child, Annie. They would later adopt their second child, Thomas, in 1996.
The couple are still together and very much in love. In fact, they just celebrated almost 40 years of marriage, a milestone which is incredibly rare in Hollywood. When asked about her secret to a happy partnership, Curtis urged people to marry their opposites.
My husband and I are opposites. We have been for 33 years, and we always will be. He’s an intellectual, and I was from the movie star/alcoholic/drug addict side, where education was not the most important thing. We don’t listen to the same radio station, we don’t read the same paper, we don’t go to bed at the same time.”
Jamie Lee Curtis to Good Housekeeping, 2018
The Actress Gets Candid With Love
In 2022, Curtis got candid with her ideas of love through an Instagram post. She shared an old photograph of her parents, Janet Leigh and Tony Curtis who got married in 1951. Unfortunately, like most Hollywood unions, the couple eventually divorced when Curtis was only four years old. Her father would later remarry five times while her mother would marry her fourth husband.
The split was barely amicable and the “Halloween” actress would later admit that her father wasn’t present in her life and even cut her and her siblings out of his will. Nevertheless, Curtis stated in her Instagram post that it was photos like that one which reminded her that she was born out of love and not resentment. In other interviews, the actress also shared that she felt fortunate to experience a long marriage and shared the mantra that keeps her secure.
Don’t leave. There’s a recovery phrase that says, ‘Stay on the bus… the scenery will change.’ You think you’re having a bad week, but stay on the bus, because one of these days you’ll look out the window and it’ll be beautiful. I think it can apply to almost anything where you feel unhappy in that moment. I’m not a wild romantic. I’m a realist. I respect him. And I just don’t leave.”
Jamie Lee Curtis to Good Housekeeping, 2018
Jamie Lee Curtis And Her Views On Sexuality
In 2020, one of Curtis’ children came out as transgender and chose the name Ruby Guest. The actress opened up in an interview with Morning Joe about how she felt towards this significant change in their family’s lives.
This life is about love. Being a parent is about love, and I love Ruby. Love her. And I, people have said, ‘You’re so great to accept her love.’ What are you talking about? This is my daughter — this human being has come to me and said, ‘This is who I am.’ And my job is to say, ‘Welcome home.’ I will fight and defend her right to exist to anyone who claims that she doesn’t. And there are those people.”
Jamie Lee Curtis on Morning Joe, 2023
Curtis admitted that she still had a lot to learn when it came to the social issues that the current generation is facing. That being said, the actress is extremely vocal about her support for the LGBTQ community.
I’m trying to learn the most important thing is that I don’t know everything. And I, I wake up every day sober, saying, I don’t know everything. I don’t know a lot. There are a lot of things I don’t know about. And there’s a lot of this that I need to learn. And I have gone to teachers, I’ve gone to people and said, ‘Please educate me, help me learn what the issue is, why that’s so important and what the other opinion is, so that I can hear both sides.’ Because if I only hear one side of an argument or an idea, then I have no ability to think and the whole idea here is we can think we have minds to think. And as you said, you’re like, how do you walk through this? Nobody said there’s no handbook. There are people who will be helpful guides… So I’m learning. I’m trying. I’m, I’m human. But at the bottom line is, I’m a mom.”
Jamie Lee Curtis on Morning Joe, 2023
Is Jamie Lee Curtis Gay?
No, Jamie Lee Curtis is not gay. She has been married to her husband Christopher Guest for more than three decades. They have two children together with their younger daughter, Ruby, coming out as transgender in 2020.
Featured Image: “Jamie Lee Curtis”, by Gage Skidmore, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 DEED