Jamie Lee Curtis owes her rise to stardom to the Halloween movie franchise, which propelled her career with its first movie in 1978. Curtis is the youngest daughter of actors Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh. Although her mother’s famed performances in horror movies possibly influenced her casting in Halloween, the Knives Out actress did not have a privileged entry into films.
She starred alongside some of the biggest names in the industry, and with her extensive experience, she tried to help her co-stars in a significant way. She starred alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger in the industry’s first $100 million production, True Lies. She later teamed up with teen sensation Lindsay Lohan in Freaky Friday.
She has also served as a mentor to some of her younger co-stars in recent years. Besides that, she is also an actual godmother to a Hollywood star. Here are all the stars who have been influenced by the Trading Places actress.
1. Arnold Schwarzenegger
Jamie Lee Curtis and Arnold Schwarzenegger in True Lies | Credits: 20th Century Fox
Jamie Lee Curtis was cast opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger in the action comedy film True Lies. The movie was a blockbuster at the box office, raking in over $378 million worldwide. Schwarzenegger played a spy leading a double life, while Curtis played his wife, Helen Tasker, who was experiencing a midlife crisis and yearned for adventure in her life.
Curtis essentially had the major role in the movie, and Schwarzenegger admired her acting in the movie. During the strip scene in the movie, the actor shared with Howard Stern that he actually dropped the tape recorder in the scene after seeing Curtis.
Curtis shared during a recent reunion with Schwarzenegger at an event that she owed her career to her. She shared, “Let me just say this because I’m here with all y’all, because of this man, I have the career I have” (via PEOPLE). She even went on to share the anecdote where she recalled how the Predator star was okay with James Cameron putting her name ahead of him in the credits. She shared:
And in the contract it says Arnold Schwarzenegger in True Lies starring Jamie Lee Curtis, and Jim said to me on the phone, ‘I asked Arnold if I could put you above the title because it’s a movie about a marriage, and I think it would be appropriate,’ and Arnold, a figure who clearly did not have to say yes, said yes.
The Fierce Creatures actress won a Golden Globe for her performance in the film. Though Curtis’s salary for the movie is unknown, the big-budget movie in 1984 could have earned her somewhere near $5 million.
2. Lindsay Lohan
Jamie Lee Curtis got close with her Freaky Friday co-star Lindsay Lohan when they filmed the movie in the 2000s. In the iconic Disney movie, Curtis and Lohan appeared as this mother-daughter duo, who get body-swapped and cause chaos in the movie. They reunited recently for a sequel, Freakier Friday.
Off-camera, Curtis and Lohan appeared to maintain a great friendship over the years. Curtis recently spoke about her relationship with Lohan, sharing that she told Lohan to be real with her. She shared with PEOPLE:
Lindsay was 15. I think it’s important, particularly with someone who is young in the movie business, if you connect with them, you have to let them know it’s real. There’s R-E-E-L life, and then there’s R-E-A-L life. I wanted her to understand that there was a bridge and that I was real, and that she always could be real with me. And she was.
Lohan shared that Curtis was with her during her difficult times. She shared, “She was privately really there for me.” She further added that they remain connected over the years, which was not a common thing for her. She shared with PEOPLE:
I know I can trust her. And I can’t say that about a lot of people. We connected, and we really stayed connected. And that is special and rare for me.
When the Mean Girls star welcomed her son Laui in 2023, Curtis joked that she had become a “movie grandmother”. She wrote on Instagram, “My movie daughter just made me a movie grandmother. Blessings to Lindsay and Bader for the birth of Luai!”
When Curtis won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for Everything Everywhere All at Once, Lohan congratulated her on her Instagram story with a lot of emojis and a GIF of “Congrats” (PEOPLE).
3. Andi Matichak
Andi Matichak with Jamie Lee Curtis and Judy Greer in a still from Halloween Kills | Credits: Universal Pictures
Andi Matichak played Jamie Lee Curtis’s granddaughter Allyson Nelson in the Halloween movie series. She appeared in the movies Halloween (2018), Halloween Kills, and Halloween Ends. She told TheWrap that her co-star started mentoring him before they started filming the 2021 movie.
She shared that she got a message from Curtis before she joined the movie, welcoming her to the Halloween family. Curtis also took her to dinner and explained the full history of the franchise. She shared:
She has been an incredible mentor to me this entire process. Before I even got down to set, she sent me a message to welcome me to the family and introduce herself, saying, ‘we’re so excited to have you here.’
The second I got down to set, she took me dinner and gave me a full history lesson of ‘Halloween,’ like start to finish, which was the best thing in the world and then from there, she really took me under her wing.
While Curtis was like a mentor to her on the set, she also revealed that she was excited to work alongside another actress on the set. She shared that she was really excited to meet Judy Greer, who played her mother in the movie.
4. Stephanie Hsu
Stephanie Hsu in a still from Everything Everywhere All at Once | Credits: A24
Jamie Lee Curtis’s young co-star, Stephanie Hsu, from Everything Everywhere All at Once, shared that Curtis was like a mentor to her. During her recent appearance on TODAY with Jenna & Friends, when the hosts told her that she came with “great advice” every time, Hsu agreed, “A hundred percent.”
She further shared that Curtis was the reason why the entire cast was able to go through the awards run. She shared that Curtis would motivate everyone, saying that it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. She told them, “Go! Stand in the light.” It is clear from Hsu’s words that it wasn’t just her who benefited from Curtis’s advice.
5. Jake Gyllenhaal
Jake Gyllenhaal in a still from Road House | Credits: Amazon MGM Studios
Jake Gyllenhaal is the godson of Jamie Lee Curtis, who is a friend of his family. Gyllenhaal’s filmmaker parents, Stephen Gyllenhaal and Naomi Foner, were good friends with Curtis. She isn’t the only celebrity godparent Gyllenhaal had, as actor Paul Newman was his godfather. He also had other godparents.
Gyllenhaal and Curtis appeared together in his father’s movie, Homegrown. During an interview with E! News last year, the actor spoke about his close relationship with his godmother, Curtis. He shared:
She gives me strength and gives me love at times [that] I’ve definitely needed it, and I hope I can be the same for her.
He also shared that “it would be an honor” to act alongside the Halloween actress. She previously told PEOPLE that Gyllenhaal and his girlfriend Jeanne Cadieu lived in the house next door to her during the COVID-19 lockdown.
What do you think of Jamie Lee Curtis’s role as a Hollywood godmother? Let us know in the comments below!
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