Jamie Lee Curtis, 67, Gets Candid About Aging in Hollywood: ‘It’s a Cruel, Cruel Industry’
The Oscar winner is embracing aging, producing her own projects and living life on her own terms
At 67, Jamie Lee Curtis admits she knows what she wants out of life, and in a recent conversation with AARP for their Movies for Grownups initiative, the actress made it clear what the next chapter holds for her. “I turned 60 and realized I was going to die sooner than later. Sooner than later means sooner than later,” she shared. “And that understanding meant I have no effing time to waste. No time to waste on toxic people, on relationships that don’t serve me.”
The last few years of Jamie Lee Curtis’ career have proven that she’s defying the rules in Hollywood, showing that women over 50 deserve a seat at the table. In 2022, she starred in Everything Everywhere All at Once, which earned her an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. After that, she took on the role of Donna Berzatto in the hit FX drama The Bear, for which she took home an Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series.
In 2025, she reprised her role of Tess Coleman in the Freaky Friday (2003) sequel, Freakier Friday. Today, she could be seen in the all-new Prime Video series Scarpetta, where she not only shines alongside Nicole Kidman, but also produced and played an integral part in getting the show made. In her AARP interview, Curtis reflected on living life on her own terms and cultivating a career she loves. Here, a few of her most intriguing insights.
Jamie Lee Curtis on ‘Scarpetta’
Hitting Prime Video March 11th, Scarpetta stars Nicole Kidman as Dr. Kay Scarpetta, a medical examiner set on revealing the identity of a serial killer who finds herself going back to a case that made her career 28 years prior. Jamie Lee Curits brings to life Dr. Scarpetta’s eccentric sister in this series based on the novels by Patricia Cornwell.
“I’m a producer now. I get to be a boss. And all of a sudden I thought, Well, let’s buy these books. And we bought all of them. We made this huge deal with Patricia.” The actress continued, “If not now, when? If not me, who? I have ideas. I don’t have to treat this like we’re doing brain surgery. Art can be fun, art can be frustrating, art can be very scary. And art can also transform and lift you. When you have a vision for something, that’s all that’s important.”
Jamie Lee Curtis on embracing aging and finding freedom
Not only has Curtis experienced the ups and downs of Hollywood first-hand having been acting since her youth, but as the daughter of two famous stars, Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh, she’s seen all the ways it can be harsh.
“I’ve been self-retiring since I was 30, saying, ‘I’ll get out of this,’ because the industry I’m in is a cruel, cruel industry, particularly with aging. There’s a dismissal of people. I watched it very much with my parents [Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh]. So I have just decided to embrace that.”
For Curtis, that means loving the person she sees looking back at her. “Accepting my crepey skin and showing it anyway, that’s freedom. I understand what I look like. I look in the mirror. I get it. And there’s no need for me to alter it.”
Jamie Lee Curtis isn’t done yet
The actress explained that over the last few months, she’s unfortunately experienced some loss and death in her personal life, which has inspired her to keep going. “If anything, it makes you get up the next morning with more passion, more need to do what you’re here to do, say what you need to say, love who you need to love, fight the fight you need to fight. Mortality is simply an activator for me. I have some s—t to do before I go, and I’m going to try to do it.”
Jamie Lee Curtis is living proof that our most powerful years can be ahead of us—if we’re brave enough to claim them. By letting go of what doesn’t serve us, embracing who we truly are and pursuing our passions with urgency and joy, we can create lives that feel authentic, meaningful and deeply fulfilling.
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