50 facts about actress and author Jamie Lee Curtis

50 facts about "scream queen" Jamie Lee Curtis.

1. Jamie Lee Curtis is an American actress and author.

2. She made her film debut in 1978 by starring as Laurie Strode in John Carpenter's Halloween. A big hit, the film established her as a notable actress in horror, and she subsequently starred in Halloween II, The Fog, Prom Night, Terror Train, and Roadgames.

3. She gained the status of "scream queen" to mainstream audiences.

4. Curtis has since compiled a body of work that spans many genres, including the cult comedy films Trading Places, for which she won a BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role, A Fish Called Wanda, and True Lies.

5. For True Lies she won a Golden Globe for Best Actress in Musical or Comedy.

6. Curtis' other notable films include Blue Steel and Freaky Friday.

7. For Freaky Friday she received her third Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress - Musical or Comedy.

8. For her role in the television series Anything But Love, Curtis received the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Television Series Musical or Comedy. Curtis received her first Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress - Miniseries or a Movie for her performance in the television film, Nicholas' Gift.

9. Curtis is the daughter of the actress Janet Leigh and actor Tony Curtis.

10. She is married to actor, screenwriter, and director Christopher Guest, 5th Baron Haden-Guest.

11. Her 1998 book Today I Feel Silly, and Other Moods That Make My Day made the best-seller list in The New York Times.

12. She also appeared in advertisements.

13. She is a blogger for The Huffington Post.

14. Curtis was born in Santa Monica, California.

15. Her paternal grandparents were Hungarian Jewish immigrants.

16. Two of her maternal great-grandparents were Danish.

17. Curtis's parents divorced in 1962, after which her mother married Robert Brandt.

18. Curtis has an older sister, Kelly Curtis, who is also an actress.

19. She also has several half-siblings (all from her father's remarriages), Alexandra, Allegra, Benjamin, and Nicholas Curtis.

20. Returning to California in 1976, she attended the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California. She considered majoring in social work, but quit after one semester to pursue an acting career.

21. Her role in 1983's Trading Places helped Curtis shed her horror queen image, and garnered her a BAFTA award as best supporting actress.

22. 1988's A Fish Called Wanda achieved near cult status - while showcasing her as a comedic actress; she was nominated for a BAFTA as best leading actress.

23. Her film roles also include Disney's Freaky Friday, opposite Lindsay Lohan, filmed at Palisades High School in Pacific Palisades, California, near where Curtis and Guest live with their children.

24. She was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for Freaky Friday.

25. In October 2006, Curtis told Access Hollywood that she had closed the book on her acting career to focus on her family.

26. She returned to acting after being cast in June 2007 in Disney's live-action-animated film, Beverly Hills Chihuahua, co-starring opposite Piper Perabo as one of three live-action haracters in the film.

27. She also starred in the 2010 comedy film You Again, opposite Kristen Bell and Sigourney Weaver.

28. Curtis made her television debut in an episode of Columbo, but her first starring TV role was opposite Richard Lewis in the situation comedy Anything But Love, which ran for four seasons from 1989 through 1992.

29. Her performance as Hannah Miller received both a Golden Globe and People's Choice Award.

30. She appeared as nurse Lt. Duran in the short-lived television series, Operation Petticoat; based on the big-screen version which starred her real-life father.

31. Working with illustrator Laura Cornell, Curtis has written a number of children's books.

32. All of her children's books were published by HarperCollins Children's Books.

33. In 1987, Curtis filed a US patent application that subsequently issued as Patent No. 4,753,647.

33.This is a modification of a diaper with a moisture proof pocket containing wipes that can be taken out and used with one hand.

34. Curtis refused to allow her invention to be marketed until companies started selling biodegradable diapers, although the full statutory term of this patent expired February 20, 2007, and is now in the public domain.

35. Curtis is a staunch supporter of children's hospitals and their advocacy efforts.

36. Currently, she plays a leadership role for Children's Hospital Los Angeles and supported the 2011 opening of a new inpatient facility for the organization.

37. During California's 2008 general election, Curtis appeared in the "YES on Prop 3" TV advertisements.

38. Curtis was guest of honor at the 11th annual gala and fundraiser in 2003 for Women in Recovery, a Venice, California-based non-profit organization offering a live-in, twelve-step program of rehabilitation for women in need. Past honorees of this organization include Sir Anthony Hopkins and Angela Lansbury.

39. Curtis is also involved in the work of the Children Affected by AIDS Foundation, serving as the annual host for the organization's "Dream Halloween" event in Los Angeles, launched every year in October.

40. Curtis married actor Christopher Guest on December 18, 1984, becoming the Lady Haden-Guest when her husband inherited the Barony of Haden-Guest in 1996, upon the death of his father.

41. She originally fell in love when she saw a picture of him from the movie This Is Spinal Tap in Rolling Stone saying to her friend Debra Hill "Oh, I'm going to marry that guy", actually marrying him five months later.

42. The couple has two adopted children, Annie and Thomas.

43. Curtis is actor Jake Gyllenhaal's godmother.

44. She is close friends with actress Sigourney Weaver.

45. In a 2015 interview, she admitted that she has never watched Weaver's film, Alien, in its entirety because she was too scared.

46. On her website, Curtis tells her young readers that she "moonlights as an actor, photographer, and closet organizer."

47. She takes time to support various philanthropic groups.

48. Curtis appeared on the cover of the May/June 2008 issue of AARP Magazine, with gray hair and in water up to her chest.

49. Curtis is a recovering alcoholic, and was once addicted to pain killers that she began using after a routine cosmetic surgical procedure. She became sober in 1999 and maintains that recovery is the greatest achievement of her life.

50. She is a fan of World of Warcraft, and has attended ComicCon and BlizzCon incognito.