Jamie Lee Curtis

Born: 22 November 1958
Where: Los Angeles, California

Daughter of film stars Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh, Jamie made her film debut in John Carpenter's landmark horror thriller, Halloween.

She went on to star in a succession of similarly themed films like The Fog, Prom Night and Terror Train.

Three years later, Curtis reprised the role of babysitter Laurie Strode in Halloween II.

Her only previous acting experience had been a few bits on TV's Columbo and Fantasy Island, and a supporting role as one of five nurses aboard a Navy submarine sitcom Operation Petticoat.

Curtis gradually moved on from her "scream queen" origins to a romantic turn in Love Letters, and then landed a breakthrough feature comedy role in John Landis' Trading Places.

In the latter she revealed her impressive attributes which resulted in her being nicknamed 'The Body'.

She also admits that Aykroyd is among her favourite co-stars appearing with him in Trading Places, My Girl, and My Girl 2.

Curtis kept busy in offbeat and interesting if little-seen fare like Amazing Grace and Chuck and as Ray Liotta's love interest in Dominick and Eugene, before comedy turned her career around again with her seductive con in A Fish Called Wanda.

In a vivid change-of-pace, Curtis proved a credible action heroine in Kathryn Bigelow's cop flick Blue Steel.

Curtis has appeared in TV-movies from time to time, but movies continued to be her passion.

Approaching her mid-thirties, Curtis tried her hand at the young mother and supportive girlfriend roles in My Girl and Forever Young.

James Cameron's True Lies, in which she co-starred with Arnold Schwarzenegge, gave Curtis that chance to be both simultaneously funny and sexy, proving a hit with audiences.

In 1996, Curtis took a year off from performing to spend time with her adopted daughter. Back on the big screen Curtis appeared in two more comedies, House Arrest and Fierce Creatures, but neither was hugely successful.

In 1998, she reprised her best-know role as the terrorized Laurie Strode in Halloween H2O, only to relive the same role four years later in Halloween: Resurrection.

Back to comedy Curtis starred as the mother in family film, Freaky Friday, and played Tim Allen's wife in the Christmas comedy Christmas With The Kranks.