Jamie Lee Curtis is reflecting on the legacy of her late mother, iconic actress Janet Leigh — and she credits Lindsay Lohan for helping her shift her perspective.
While Curtis, 66, earned an Oscar for her eccentric role in Everything Everywhere All at Once, she previously believed her mother might not have approved — all because of how she looked in the film. But a conversation with her Freakier Friday co-star Lindsay Lohan made her reconsider.
“Lindsay said to me one day, ‘Well, how do you know what she would’ve thought?’ And I’m like, ‘Well, I know my mom… I think I know,’” Jamie recalled in an interview with PEOPLE. “But she’s right. My mom’s dead. And I don’t know — maybe she would’ve loved Everything Everywhere. I don’t think so, but maybe.”
Curtis, the daughter of Psycho star Janet Leigh and actor Tony Curtis, explained her hesitation came from how much her mother valued appearance in her generation.
“What you looked like was your currency,” she said. “[My mother] was a great beauty. I’ve never been a great beauty. I’ve been cute — not beautiful. My mother was legendarily beautiful, and I thought she’d have a problem with the way I looked in the movie.”
In the film, Curtis plays a frumpy IRS agent — a far cry from the glamorous roles her mother once took on. Her character wears drab clothing, glasses, and an unflattering wig — a deliberate choice to portray authenticity, not vanity.
Despite her doubts about Everything Everywhere, Curtis is confident her mother would have adored her upcoming role in Freakier Friday, the sequel to the 2003 hit she starred in with Lohan.
“She would have loved this. She loved True Lies. She always believed I was a comedian because I was an obnoxious teen,” Curtis said. “She always wanted me to be true to that. That’s hard when you don’t have confidence, but over the years — and with a little bit of analysis — I’ve found it.”
Thanks to Lohan’s thoughtful question, Curtis now sees that her mother’s pride might not have been tied to appearances after all — but to the bold, fearless storyteller she’s become.
“Maybe she would’ve appreciated the art of it,” she said. “Maybe she would’ve loved it.”
