Jamie Lee Curtis has announced that her older sister Kelly Lee Curtis has died. She was 69.
“A warm aloha to my older sister, Kelly Lee Curtis. She passed away this morning. In her home. In nature. At peace,” Jamie, 67, wrote via Instagram on Saturday, May 30, alongside a stunning black and white photo of her late sibling getting her hair done while smoking a cigarette.
“She was my first friend and lifelong confidant,” Jamie continued. “She was jaw droppingly beautiful, and a talented actress. She played a mean game of hearts, collected turtles, loved her family, nature, music, thrifting, travel, Facebook, and Pokémon Go. She was proud of her Danish roots and Hungarian Jewish ancestry and was a devoted American patriot.”
She added, “She will be remembered for her loving generosity, fierce opinions, endless curiosity, unique style, and her powdered, almond, crescent cookies at Christmas, hence her name, Auntie Cookie. Kelly always signed off any messages or fare thee well with a Hungarian blessing… Isten Veled, God is with you. Isten Veled to my sister of the sun and the moon, my Tai. I’ll see you on down the line.”
Kelly was the daughter of Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh who, like her famous sister, followed in her parents’ acting footsteps. Born in Santa Monica on June 17, 1956, she made her acting debut when she first appeared in the 1958 adventure film The Vikings, which starred her mother and father. She went on to star alongside her sister in 1983’s Trading Places, as well as the 1987 German comedy movie Magic Sticks and the 1991 Italian horror film The Devil’s Daughter.
She also made appearances on episodes of The Equalizer, Hunter, Silk Stalkings, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Judging Amy and more.
Kelly also excelled behind the camera, directing the 2018 documentary Marby Jets Are Go, which followed an Australian high school track team. She later assisted her sister Jamie on her blockbuster 2008 hit Freaky Friday, as well as Christmas With the Kranks and You Again.
Like her sister, Kelly also fielded accusations of favoritism and nepotism as a result of her famous parents’ acting prowess.
“I guarantee you, the fact that my mother was in Psycho was a determining factor that maybe that will get them a little extra publicity,” Jamie told CBS News in January of being called a so-called “Nepo Baby.”
“Now, did it get me to that final two?” she continued. “No, my auditions got me to the final two.”
A cause of death was not publicly revealed at the time of publication. Kelly is survived by her sister Jamie, her husband and fellow filmmaker John Marsh, her brother-in-law, actor Christopher Guest, and her half-siblings Alexandra, Allegra, Ben and Nicholas.
