Jamie Lee Curtis

Jamie Lee Curtis Headshot

Actress

Birth Date: November 22, 1958

Age: 65 years old

Birth Place: Los Angeles, California

Spouses: Christopher Guest

Partners: Adam Ant

Parents: Janet Leigh, Tony Curtis

Actress and author Jamie Lee Curtis's screen career arced from early success as a heroine in peril in horror films like "Halloween" (1979) to critical praise and awards for brassy turns in comedies like "Trading Places" (1983) and "A Fish Called Wanda" (1988) and later, a fearless embrace of middle-aged and senior women with brio to spare in "Freaky Friday" (2003) and "Halloween" (2019). Born November 22, 1958 in Santa Monica, California, she was the daughter of two popular postwar Hollywood actors-Oscar nominee Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh-who divorced when she was four years of age. Though raised in a show business family, she initially showed little interest in following in her parents' footsteps, and focused on life at Westlake School and Beverly Hills High School, before graduating from Choate Rosemary Hall. She found those experiences emotionally draining due to her low self-confidence, and made it through a single semester at the University of the Pacific before dropping out to try her hand at acting. She made her television debut as a military nurse on the short-lived "Operation Petticoat" (ABC, 1977-79), a sitcom based on the 1960 comedy that starred her father, before segueing to guest roles on other series, including "The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries" (ABC, 1977-79). She was not the first choice to play the teenaged heroine of "Halloween" (1979), a low-budget horror film by USC grad John Carpenter, but her connection to Leigh, who had famously starred in Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho" (1960), helped to win her role; the film became a runaway success at the box office and launched not only an enduring film franchise but also the slasher film boom of the 1980s. For Curtis, it led to a string of starring roles in other horror films, including "Halloween II" (1981) and lesser efforts like "Terror Train" (1980), which minted her, for a time, as a scream queen. But Curtis broke free from the label on the strength of critically praised performances in the TV movie "Death of a Centerfold: The Dorothy Stratten Story" (NBC, 1981) and a brassy, BAFTA-winning turn as an escort in John Landis' "Trading Places" (1983). These successes led to Curtis moving up to leads in A-list features, though several of these early efforts - "Perfect" (1985), with Curtis as an aerobics instructor - did little more than showcase her dedication to her roles. She finally earned a project worthy of her talents with 1988's "A Fish Called Wanda" (1988), which cast her as a con artist who fell for her mark, a hapless barrister played by John Cleese, who also wrote the script. She continued to work in films but found greater success as the star of "Anything But Love" (ABC, 1989-1992), a wry office comedy with Curtis and Richard Lewis as co-workers who attempted to keep their romance under wraps. For her performance, Curtis earned a Golden Globe and People's Choice Award, and followed it with another Golden Globe nomination, this time for her starring role in a TNT adaptation of Wendy Wasserstein's play "The Heidi Chronicles" (1995) and a second Golden Globes win for playing undercover agent Arnold Schwarzenegger's mousy wife in James Cameron's Oscar-nominated "True Lies" (1994). After a string of minor box office successes - including a return to the "Halloween" franchise for "Halloween H20: 20 Years Later" (1998) and "Halloween: Resurrection" (2002) - and recovery from an addiction to painkillers and alcohol, Curtis scored another hit with a remake of "Freaky Friday" (2003), for which she and screen daughter Lindsay Lohan switched personalities. Subsequent efforts, however, failed to generate audience interest, and by 2006, she told interviewers that she had put her screen career on the backburner to concentrate on her family with comic actor-director Christopher Guest of "This is Spinal Tap" (1984) fame. Curtis had also established a popular second career as a children's author, beginning in 1993 with When I Was Little: A Four-Year-Old's Memoir of Her Youth (1993). It was soon followed by Tell Me Again About the Night I Was Born (1996), which was inspired by the birth of her adopted daughter, Annie, and then earned a New York Times bestseller with Today I Feel Silly, and Other Moods That Make My Day (1998). Her literary career and a string of commercial appearances for a probiotic yogurt kept Curtis busy for much of the 2000s until 2012, when she signed on for a recurring role on "NCIS" (CBS, 2003- ). A stint on Ryan Murphy's self-referential horror series "Scream Queens" (FOX, 2015-16) preceded another return to her roots with "Halloween" (2019), which found Curtis's heroine, Laurie Strode, now a grandmother and survivalist with an arsenal waiting for franchise villain Michael Myers' inevitable return. A huge success due largely to Curtis's intensely physical performance, "Halloween" signaled the launch of an all-new franchise with Curtis at its head for two more films announced for 2020 and 2021. While serving as star and executive producer on these projects, Curtis also joined the ensemble cast of Rian Johnson's "Knives Out" (2019), with Daniel Craig as an acerbic detective rooting out a killer from the ranks of a squabbling family that included Chris Evans, Toni Collette, and Michael Shannon.

Credits

Dinner Party Diaries with Jose Andres

Self
Special
2024

Borderlands

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Tannis
Movie
2024

Haunted MansionStream

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Madame Leota
Movie
2023
37%

Halloween in Hollywood

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2022

Jamie Lee Curtis : un cri de liberté à Hollywood

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2022

Reno 911! Defunded

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Lt. Donna Fritzgibbons
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2022

Hot Corn

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2022

Here Comes the Sun

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2022

Halloween EndsStream

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Laurie
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2022
40%

Halloween EndsStream

Executive Producer
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2022
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Everything Everywhere All at OnceStream

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Deirdre Beaubeirdra
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2022
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Sve U Isto Vrijeme

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2022

Joe Bob's Halloween Hoedown

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2021

Halloween KillsStream

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Laurie Strode
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2021
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Halloween KillsStream

Executive Producer
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2021
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How We Sleep at Night: The Sara Cunningham Story

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Sara Cunningham
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2021

How We Sleep at Night: The Sara Cunningham Story

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2021

The Drew Barrymore ShowStream

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Talk
2020

Martha Knows BestStream

Self
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2020

GMA3: What You Need to Know

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2020

Best Summer Ever

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2020

The Sleepless

Executive Producer
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2020

Halloween: Jamie Lee Curtis & David Gordon Green in Conversation With David Fear

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2019

The Kelly Clarkson ShowStream

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2019

Today With Hoda & Jenna

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2019

Knives OutStream

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Linda Drysdale
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2019
97%

Halloween Interview Special

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2018

Eli Roth's History of HorrorStream

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2018

Scream Queens: terreur à l'hôpital

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Dean Cathy Munsch
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2018

HalloweenStream

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Laurie Strode
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2018
79%

HalloweenStream

Executive Producer
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2018
79%

An Acceptable Loss

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Rachel
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2018

Box Office

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2017

78/52

Self
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2017

Harry

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2016

Scream Queens: Cast and Creators at PaleyFest

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2016

Scream QueensStream

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Dean Cathy Munsch
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2015
77%

Scream QueensStream

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2015
77%

Ryan Murphy: Behind the Screams

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2015

Scream Queens: Extras

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2015

The Late Late Show With James CordenStream

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2015

Spare Parts

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Principal
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2015

Variety Studio: Actors on Actors

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2014

Good Morning Britain

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2014

Home & Family

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2012

Entertainment Studios.TV

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2012

CBS This Morning

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2012

The Chew

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2011

New GirlStream

Guest Star
Joan Day
Series
2011
95%

Dish Nation

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2011

Driven To Stardom: The Making Of Tony Curtis

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2011

One Born Every Minute

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2011

The Little Engine That Could

Voice
Bev
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2011

From Up on Poppy Hill

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Hana Matsuzaki
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2011

The Inside Story: Halloween

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2010

The Talk

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2010

Access Hollywood Live

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2010

The Nate Berkus Show

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2010

Lorraine

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2010

Mark at the Movies

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2010

Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution

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2010

You Again

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Gail
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2010

Dreams Come True: A Celebration of Disney Animation

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2009

In the House With Peter Bart & Peter Guber

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2009

ES.TV

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2009

The Project

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2009

The Bonnie Hunt Show

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2008

The Doctors

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2008

Beverly Hills Chihuahua

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Aunt Viv
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2008

The Graham Norton ShowStream

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2007

The Better Show

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2007

Rachael Ray ShowStream

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2006

etalk

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2006

Best Friends: The Power of Sisterhood

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2006

The 7th Annual A Home for the Holidays

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2005

Made in Hollywood

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2005

Entertainment Tonight Canada

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2005

ET Canada

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2005

The Writer's Hot List

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2004

The Insider

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2004

Tavis Smiley

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2004

Christmas with the KranksStream

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Nora Krank
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2004
5%

NCISStream

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Dr. Samantha Ryan
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2003

Jimmy Kimmel Live!Stream

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2003

Freaky FridayStream

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Dr. Tess Coleman
Movie
2003
88%

The Late Late Show

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2002

Halloween: ResurrectionStream

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Laurie Strode
Movie
2002
10%

The Tailor of PanamaStream

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Louisa Pendel
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2001
75%

Daddy and Them

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Elaine Bowen
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2001

Entertainment Studios.com

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2000

Drowning MonaStream

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Rona Mace
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2000
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Every Woman

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1999

Independent LensStream

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1999

The Daily Show With Jon StewartStream

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1999

VirusStream

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Kit Foster
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1999
12%

Kickin' It: With Byron Allen

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1998

Nicholas' Gift

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Maggie Green
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1998

HomegrownStream

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Sierra Kazan
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1998
44%

Halloween H20: 20 Years LaterStream

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Laurie Strode/Keri Tate
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1998
54%

The View

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1997

Fierce Creatures

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Willa Weston
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1997

Access Hollywood

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1996

House ArrestStream

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Janet Beindorf
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1996
10%

The Drew Carey ShowStream

Guest Star
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1995

The Heidi Chronicles

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Heidi Holland
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1995

Entertainers: With Byron Allen

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1994

Obsession

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1994

Un Regreso Inesperado

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1994

Mother's Boys

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Judith "Jude" Madigan
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1994

True LiesStream

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Helen Tasker
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1994
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My Girl 2

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Shelly Sultenfuss
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1993

The Tonight Show With Jay Leno

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1992

Forever Young

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Claire Cooper
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1992

Queens Logic

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Grace
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1991

My GirlStream

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Shelly DeVoto
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1991
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42nd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards Presentation

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1990

Blue Steel

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Megan Turner
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1990

Anything But Love

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Hannah Miller
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1989

Anything But Love

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1989

A Fish Called WandaStream

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Wanda Gershwitz
Movie
1988
96%

Dominick and Eugene

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Jennifer Reston
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1988
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Un Poisson nommé Wanda

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1988

A Man in Love

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Susan Elliott
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1987

Grace et Chuck

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1987

Amazing Grace and Chuck

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Lynn Taylor
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1987

The Oprah Winfrey ShowStream

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1986

As Summers Die

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Whitsey Loftin
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1986

Perfect

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Jessie
Movie
1985

The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th DimensionStream

Actor
Sandra Banzai - Buckaroo's Mother (scenes deleted)
Movie
1984
66%

Grandview, U.S.A.Stream

Actor
Michelle `'Mike'` Cody
Movie
1984

Trading PlacesStream

Actor
Ophelia
Movie
1983
88%

Love Letters

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Anna Winter
Movie
1983

Money on the Side

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Michelle Jamison
Movie
1982

Entertainment Tonight

Guest
News
1981

L'histoire de Dorothy Stratten

Actor
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1981

Juegos de Carretera

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1981

Road Games

Actor
Pamela "Hitch" Rushworth
Movie
1981

Halloween IIStream

Actor
Laurie Strode
Movie
1981
33%

She's in the Army Now

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Pvt. Rita Jennings
Movie
1981

Death of a Centerfold: The Dorothy Stratten Story

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Dorothy Stratten
Movie
1981

Le Monstre du train

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1980

Punto de Muerte

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1980

Express to Terror

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1980

Terror TrainStream

Actor
Alana Maxwell
Movie
1980
44%

The Fog

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Elizabeth Solley
Movie
1980

Prom NightStream

Actor
Kim
Movie
1980
48%

Circus of the Stars

Self
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1979

CBS News Sunday Morning

Guest
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1979

HalloweenStream

Actor
Laurie Strode
Movie
1978
96%

Operation Petticoat

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1977

The Hardy Boys / Nancy Drew MysteriesStream

Guest Star
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1977

Colombo: Prova d'intelligenza

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Waitress
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1977

Operation Petticoat

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Lt. Barbara Duran
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1977

Life in the Pink

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Lt. Barbara Duran
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1977

Charlie's AngelsStream

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1976

Good Morning America

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1975

Saturday Night LiveStream

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1975

Great PerformancesStream

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Franchise
1972

ColumboStream

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Waitress
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1971

Today

Guest
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1952

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