Jamie Lee Curtis isn’t here to play by Hollywood’s rules anymore—and honestly, she never really was.
At 66, the legendary actress is more vocal, more powerful, and more unapologetic than ever. Sitting alone in a dimly lit room, wearing no makeup, black-rimmed glasses, and a simple black top, Curtis greets me via video call with her signature dry wit. “I’m always early,” she says flatly, joking that her daughter calls her “aggressively early.”
But behind the humor lies a deep and determined woman, one who’s had enough of the pressure to look young, fit into industry molds, and pretend to be someone she’s not.
“I Was Told My Eyes Were Baggy at 25. That Changed Everything.”
Curtis has long been open about her decision to get cosmetic surgery after a film crew member told her she had “baggy eyes” at just 25. It’s a moment she regrets—and one that sparked her journey toward rejecting Hollywood’s obsession with youth.
Now, she wears her gray hair with pride and refuses to let anyone dictate how she should age. “Generations of women have disfigured themselves,” she says, blasting what she calls the “cosmeceutical industrial complex.” Her wax lips prop in a recent photoshoot? A bold statement against the filtered, fake beauty culture.
She doesn’t mince words: “It’s a disfigurement of generations… aided and abetted by AI.”
From Ignored to Oscar-Winner: A Hollywood Outsider Becomes the Boss
Despite being the daughter of two screen legends—Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh—Jamie was never treated like Hollywood royalty. She starred in blockbuster hits like Halloween, True Lies, and Knives Out, but the industry often left her out of “serious” conversations. No Oscars, no invites to fancy Women in Film panels.
That changed in 2023, when she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in Everything Everywhere All At Once. Suddenly, Curtis was no longer just “the scream queen” or the quirky comic relief—she was a respected performer with range.
And she’s not slowing down. Curtis is now a powerhouse producer with a slate of upcoming projects: Freakier Friday, a Scarpetta series with Nicole Kidman, survival drama The Lost Bus, and several TV shows in the pipeline.
“At 66, I get to be a boss,” she laughs.
How Freakier Friday Proved Her Point—Again
The sequel to Disney’s Freaky Friday (2003) is what brought Curtis back into full grandma-mode on screen—complete with a wild body-swap plot, a hilarious board game explanation scene, and the return of Lindsay Lohan, now playing a mom herself.
Curtis, ever the hustler, made it happen. While promoting Halloween, she noticed fans in every city begging for a sequel. So she did what most wouldn’t dare: she called Disney CEO Bob Iger directly.
“I said, ‘You’ve got to make this movie. The market is there.’”
And when Disney planned to release it only on streaming, she rang them again. “One word: Barbie,” she told them. “That audience will watch Freakier Friday too.”
“Pretty” Isn’t Her Problem Anymore
Playing a glammed-up grandma on screen wasn’t easy. “I had to look pretty, worry about lighting, makeup, nails,” she recalls. But Curtis has long avoided Hollywood beauty standards. “I watched my parents’ careers crumble when they aged,” she says. “I’ve been prepping to get out for 30 years.”
Unlike many stars, Curtis isn’t chasing the spotlight—she’s simply making the most of it now that she’s finally in control.
What She Really Thinks About Plastic Surgery—and Lindsay Lohan
Curtis’s views on cosmetic procedures are crystal clear—and fierce. But when asked if her younger peers feel judged around her, she shuts that down. “No. Because I don’t care. It’s not my job to give my opinion.”
She says she’s never told anyone what to do with their body, not even Lohan, who she remains close to. “She’s a mommy now. She doesn’t need my maternal care.”
Still, Curtis stands by her strong words: “Once you start, you can’t stop. It’s a never-ending cycle.”
Sobriety, Control, and the Real Toll of Addiction
Curtis got sober at 40 after years of secretly struggling with addiction. She calls herself a “controlled addict”—one who never lost her job, family, or status, but who nearly lost her sense of self.
“The only thing I had lost was my self-esteem,” she says.
Today, she’s the face of an LA addiction recovery campaign with the tagline: “My bravest thing? Getting sober.”
The Bear Unleashed a Side of Her the World Had Never Seen
Curtis’s jaw-dropping performance as Donna Berzatto in The Bear was a game-changer. Playing a disheveled, alcoholic mother took no emotional toll—in fact, it was a relief.
“For me, it was an unleashing of 50 years of being a performer who was never considered to have any range,” she says. “The toll was holding it all back for so long.”
A Hollywood Legend With Nothing Left to Prove
From her upcoming thriller The Lost Bus, inspired by California’s deadly wildfires, to persuading author Patricia Cornwell to hand over the rights to Scarpetta, Curtis is finally making the stories she wants—with the freedom she’s always craved.
“Freedom,” she repeats often, is what matters most. Freedom from vanity. Freedom from industry standards. Freedom for her family—especially her trans daughter Ruby.
“If anyone tries to tell people they can’t be who they are, I’ll fight that,” she says. “Any government, religion, or institution—freedom is the only thing that matters.”
Final Word?
Jamie Lee Curtis is no longer asking for space—she’s claiming it. On her own terms. With her own voice. And without a filter.