Jamie Lee Curtis, the actor known for her roles in True Lies, Trading Places and Everything Everywhere All at Once, celebrates the role that shot her into Hollywood stardom way back in the late 1970s. Curtis gave life to what remains one of her most iconic roles, that of Laurie Strode in John Carpenter’s slasher classic, Halloween. A role she has reprised as recently as 2022. In honor of spooky season, the actor took to Instagram to celebrate the spooky season and her legacy as the ultimate “final girl.”
In Halloween, Curtis plays babysitter Laurie Strode, a shy and introverted teenager living in Haddonfield, Illinois. On the night of Halloween, while Laurie is taking care of kids Tommy and Lindsey, and while her friends are misbehaving, the slasher killer Michael Myers comes home. 15 years ago, a then six-year-old Michael savagely stabbed his sister to death, and never spoke a word again. He escapes from the mental institution he’s been held in for years and comes back to Haddonfield, where he preys on Laurie and her friends.
Today, Curtis looks back 46 years and celebrates the legacy of the film that gave her a career in horror, and spawned one of the most successful franchises of all time. In her post on social media, she explains her love for the original 1978 slasher film and being the ultimate “final girl.” Per Curtis’ post:
“HAPPY HALLOWEEN to everyone. 46 years ago, I walked down a tree lined street singing a song of longing and innocent love and by the end of that night I became the first FINAL GIRL! Throughout these years, I’ve had the opportunity to meet millions and millions of people whose lives were affected by that film and the subsequent films. That shared experience in a movie theater has bonded us all and so, on this Halloween night, I thank you for my creative life and my renewed belief that coming together as a group of people, with a common purpose, fighting for our lives together, brings out the best in us. Mr. Myers excluded of course.”
The Journey of Laurie Strode From 1978 to 2022
After the release of Halloween, Curtis achieved scream queen status very fast. Halloween II was the inevitable follow-up that capitalized on Halloween’s success, making some major (and highly controversial) changes to Carpenter’s original vision of Michael Myers and Laurie Strode. Curtis followed with other roles in lesser horror franchises and big Hollywood films, yet she always found a way to come back to the world of Michael Myers. Halloween H20: 20 Years Later was her acclaimed return to the franchise in 1998, but then Halloween: Resurrection happened, and this questionable sequel brought things to an end for Curtis’ Laurie. Until 2018’s Halloween happened, sparking another trilogy that ended with the deeply divisive Halloween Ends in 2022.
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Today, Curtis is a veteran horror icon in the prime of her career. In 2023, she unexpectedly won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the fantasy action film Everything Everywhere All at Once. At the same time, Curtis was landing her first TV role in FX’s The Bear, a performance that could easily be described as one of her very best.
- Release Date
- October 27, 1978