Please Rewind Talent Wall

Jamie Lee Curtis

Jamie Lee Curtis has built a career on directness. Whether playing fear, frustration, or comedy, she brings an alert, grounded quality to the screen—the sense that her character is always thinking, even when events spin wildly beyond her control. Born in Santa Monica on November 22, 1958, Curtis began acting after briefly studying law at the University of the Pacific. Following early television appearances, she made her film debut as Laurie Strode in John Carpenter’s Halloween (1978). Laurie’s resourcefulness and vulnerability gave the film its human centre, while the role established Curtis as a major presence in horror. She subsequently appeared in films including The Fog, Prom Night and Terror Train before demonstrating a broader range with the comedy Trading Places, which earned her a BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. Curtis continued moving between genres rather than staying within the boundaries of the scream-queen reputation. A Fish Called Wanda showcased her comic instincts, while True Lies brought her a Golden Globe Award. Later roles in Freaky Friday, Knives Out and Everything Everywhere All at Once drew on her willingness to be sharp, physical and thoroughly unguarded. Her supporting performance in Everything Everywhere All at Once earned her an Academy Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award. On television, her guest role as Donna Berzatto in The Bear earned a Primetime Emmy Award. Still, Laurie Strode remains the defining thread running through Curtis’s screen career. Please Rewind’s films trace that relationship from Halloween (1978) through Halloween: Resurrection (2002), Halloween (2018), Halloween Kills (2021) and Halloween Ends (2022). Across those appearances, Laurie changes from a watchful teenager into a survivor carrying decades of fear and anger. Halloween Ends marked Curtis’s final performance in the role, closing an actor-character partnership that had stretched across more than four decades.