Birthday: Nov 22, 1958

Birthplace: Los Angeles, California

Biography: Curtis made her TV debut in an episode of Columbo and her film debut in the 1978 horror film Halloween, playing the role of Laurie Strode, the only teenage character in the film who is not killed. The film was a major success and was considered the highest grossing independent film of its time. Curtis was subsequently cast in several horror films, which led to her association with the horror genre, garnering her the title of a "scream queen".

Her first follow-up to Halloween was the ... ... (read more...) horror film, The Fog, which was directed by "Halloween" director John Carpenter. The film opened in February 1980 to mixed reviews but strong box office,[1] further cementing Curtis as a horror film starlet. Her next film, Prom Night, was a low-budget Canadian slasher film and was released in July 1980. The film, for which she earned a Genie Award nomination for Best Performance by a Foreign Actress, was considered similar in style to Halloween, and received negative reviews which marked it as a disposable entry in the then active "slasher film" genre. That year, Curtis also starred in Terror Train, which opened in October and received a negative reaction akin to Prom Night. Both films performed only moderately at the box office.[2] Curtis had a similar function in both films - playing the main character whose friends are murdered, and who is practically the only protagonist to survive. Film critic Roger Ebert, who had given negative reviews to all three of Curtis' 1980 films, said that Curtis "is to the current horror film glut what Christopher Lee was to the last one-or Boris Karloff was in the 1930s."[3]. Curtis later appeared in Halloween II, Halloween H20: 20 Years Later and Halloween: Resurrection.

Her role in 1983's Trading Places established her as more than just a horror queen and 1988's A Fish Called Wanda achieved near cult status -- while showcasing her as a first rate comic actress. She won a Golden Globe for her work in 1994's True Lies.

er recent successful film roles include Disney's Freaky Friday (2003), opposite Lindsay Lohan. The movie was filmed at Palisades High School in Pacific Palisades, CA, near where Curtis and Guest make their home with their children. She was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy in this movie.

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

In television, Curtis co-starred opposite Richard Lewis in the situation comedy Anything But Love. Her role as Hannah Miller received both a Golden Globe and People's Choice Award. She also earned a Golden Globe nomination for her work in TNT's adaptation of the Wendy Wasserstein play The Heidi Chronicles. More recently, Curtis starred in the CBS television movie Nicholas' Gift, for which she received an Emmy nomination. Curtis also appeared in the science fiction series, 'Buck Rogers in the 25th century'.