Jamie Lee Curtis’ Sister Kelly Lee Curtis Dies at 69 as Actress Shares Tribute
Jamie Lee Curtis’ Sister Kelly Lee Curtis Dies at 69 as Actress Shares Tribute
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Jamie Lee Curtis Mourns Sister Kelly Lee Curtis After Her Death at 69
Kelly Lee Curtis, actress and elder sister of Jamie Lee Curtis, has died at 69. The news was shared by Jamie on social media, where she posted an old black-and-white image of Kelly and remembered her as one of the most important people in her life.
“A warm aloha to my older sister, Kelly Lee Curtis,” Jamie wrote. She said Kelly died peacefully at home, close to nature. Her cause of death has not been made public.
Kelly came from one of Hollywood’s best-known acting families. Her parents were Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh, while her younger sister Jamie later became a major screen star in her own right. Kelly’s earliest film credit came when she was still a child, appearing in The Vikings, the 1958 adventure movie that also featured her parents and Kirk Douglas.
Her route into entertainment was not immediate. After earning a business degree from Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York, in 1972, Kelly worked in finance as a stockbroker. She later moved toward performance, studying at the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute and taking to the stage in Say Goodnight, Gracie in 1982.
In film, Kelly was seen with Jamie in John Landis’ comedy Trading Places, starring Eddie Murphy and Dan Aykroyd. Her credits also covered Magic Sticks, The Devil’s Daughter, The Sentinel, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Judging Amy, The Equalizer, Hunter and Silk Stalkings.
Kelly also supported Jamie behind the scenes, assisting her on Freaky Friday, Christmas with the Kranks and You Again. Away from acting, she directed the 2018 documentary Marby Jets Are Go, centered on an Australian school track team.
Jamie’s tribute described Kelly as gifted, generous, curious and deeply individual, with passions ranging from music and travel to thrifting, Facebook and Pokémon Go. She also noted Kelly’s pride in her Danish roots and Hungarian Jewish ancestry.
Kelly honored that heritage through the Emanuel Foundation, working with Tony Curtis to help restore Budapest’s Dohány Street Synagogue. The foundation was named for her grandfather, Emanuel Schwartz.
Chris Connelly, Arielle Kebbel, Kevin Kwan and Ariana DeBose were among those who reacted with condolences. Kelly leaves a legacy tied to Hollywood history, family loyalty, cultural memory and a career that moved between acting, documentary work and life behind the camera.
Persons8 in the news
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MURPHY Edward
American actor
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LEE CURTIS Jamie
American actress
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KWAN Kevin
Novelist and writer
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DOUGLAS Kirk
American actor and filmmaker
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CURTIS Kelly
American actress
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DEBOSE Ariana
American actress and singer
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AYKROYD Daniel
Actor
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KEBBEL Arielle
American actress and model
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