Jamie Lee Curtis Hints at Retirement — But Let’s Be Honest, It’s Been 20 Years Since She Made a Good Movie

Jamie Lee Curtis Says She's "Prepping to Get Out" of Hollywood — and Frankly, It’s About Time

After decades in the spotlight, Jamie Lee Curtis is finally saying the quiet part out loud: she’s been inching toward retirement for years. In a recent interview with The Guardian, the 66-year-old actress admitted she's been "self-retiring for 30 years," and now she’s just about ready to walk out the door entirely.

But here's the thing—should we be surprised? It’s been over 20 years since Curtis headlined a widely praised blockbuster, and many fans argue that her best work was left behind in the early 2000s (Freaky Friday anyone?). Since then, her filmography has been... let’s just say, uneven at best.

Curtis says her decision to step back is deeply personal, stemming from how she saw her famous parents, Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh, pushed aside as they aged in an industry obsessed with youth.

“I watched them reach incredible success and then have it slowly erode to where it was gone,” she said. “And that’s very painful.”

Curtis’ recent return to the role of Tess Coleman in the upcoming Freaky Friday sequel alongside Lindsay Lohan may be a nostalgic nod, but even she admits playing a polished grandmother was more exhausting than transformative.

“I had to look pretty. I had to pay attention to lighting, clothes, hair, makeup, nails… That was harder than playing a mess of an alcoholic on The Bear,” she confessed.

Despite winning an Oscar for Everything Everywhere All at Once, Curtis has coasted through a mix of genre flicks and smaller roles for years. And while she speaks beautifully about the “gift of aging” and learning late in life, her actual cinematic output has many wondering if she's just now catching up to where audiences already were.

Did Jamie Lee Curtis Really Earn That Oscar — Or Was It Just Elite Hollywood Playing Favorites?

When Jamie Lee Curtis won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar at the 2023 Academy Awards for her role in Everything Everywhere All at Once, she looked shocked. But not nearly as shocked as the general moviegoing public—many of whom hadn’t seen the film, or even realized she was in it.

Despite the emotional acceptance speech—thanking the film's visionary directors The Daniels, her co-stars, her family, and the fans of genre films—the win felt more like a career participation trophy than a genuine reflection of the best performance that year.

Sure, Curtis has had a long Hollywood career. And yes, she’s beloved for classics like Halloween (1978) and True Lies (1994). But her role in Everything Everywhere? It was small, quirky, and for many fans, completely forgettable. Meanwhile, several other contenders gave powerhouse performances in far more visible films—yet the statue went to a familiar face, a legacy name, and a member of the Hollywood inner circle.

And let’s be honest: much of the general public still hasn’t watched Everything Everywhere All at Once. Despite critical acclaim and A24's marketing push, the film remained niche, experimental, and far from mainstream buzz—yet somehow swept the Oscars.

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Jamie Lee Curtis deserves respect for her Hollywood legacy—but let’s be real: the last time her name alone sold a movie was during the Bush administration. Hollywood's obsession with reinvention doesn’t always work, and maybe Curtis stepping away is less about timing and more about recognizing when the curtain has already started to fall. She’s bowing out gracefully—but not a moment too soon.

We will leave it on a good note and show a scene from one of our favorite movies here at Main Event News, True Lies (1994)