Jamie Lee Curtis is feeling reflective as she looks back on the very beginning of her acting journey.
The Oscar-winning actress, 67, who recently appeared in Scarpetta alongside Nicole Kidman, Bobby Cannavale, and Simon Baker, posted a nostalgic Instagram throwback to her earliest days working on a film set as a teenager.
Born into Hollywood royalty, Jamie Lee is the daughter of legendary “scream queen” Janet Leigh and classic leading man Tony Curtis. Despite growing up surrounded by acting, she initially imagined a very different future for herself.
Approaching a major milestone
“Next year, I will have been an actress for 50 years,” she wrote on Instagram. “I was never going to be an actor. I thought I’d be a cop.”
She shared an image from one of her first roles — an unnamed waitress in a 1977 episode of Columbo. Earlier that same year, she had made her on-screen debut in Quincy, M.E., credited simply as “girl in dressing room.”
Recalling those early experiences, she explained that she had been telling stories on the Scarpetta set about working as a contract player at Universal and taking whatever opportunities came her way. Now, she noted, she’s a producer, collaborator, and co-star working alongside Nicole Kidman.
“There was no future tripping,” she wrote, explaining that she focused on one job at a time, stayed grateful for every opportunity, and relied on patience — “lots of patience.” Fans quickly filled the comments with praise, congratulating her on an extraordinary career and thanking her for decades of memorable performances.
A career that took off
Shortly after those small roles in 1977, Curtis broke through with her performance as Laurie Strode in John Carpenter’s 1978 horror film Halloween. The low-budget slasher became a surprise box office hit and later a genre-defining classic, cementing her status as a scream queen like her mother before her.
She continued appearing in horror films before earning critical acclaim for her supporting role in the 1983 comedy Trading Places, which won her a BAFTA.
Over the years, Curtis built an impressive filmography with titles such as A Fish Called Wanda (1988), My Girl (1991), True Lies (1994), Freaky Friday (2003), Knives Out (2019), The Last Showgirl (2024), and Freakier Friday (2025), solidifying her reputation as both a box office draw and a respected performer.
Her career reached another peak with 2022’s Everything Everywhere All at Once, which won Best Picture at the 95th Academy Awards. Curtis also earned her first Oscar, taking home Best Supporting Actress.
Up next, she will appear in The Only Living Pickpocket in New York and Sender, both of which debuted on the festival circuit earlier this year and are still awaiting wider release.
