Kelly Lee Curtis, actress and sister of Jamie Lee Curtis, dies at 69

'She was my first friend and lifelong confidant,' says younger sibling Jamie

Published May 30, 2026  •  Last updated 5 minutes ago  •  2 minute read

Actress Kelly Curtis (left) and her sister, actress Jamie Lee Curtis, attend the funeral for their father, Tony Curtis, at Palm Mortuary and Cemetery on Oct. 4, 2010, in Henderson, Nev. Photo by Ethan Miller /Getty Images

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Actress Kelly Lee Curtis, the daughter of Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh, died Saturday morning, her younger sister Jamie Lee Curtis announced in a social media post.

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She was 69.

Jamie wrote on Instagram that her sister died “in her home. In nature. At peace,” sharing a black-and-white photo of Kelly in the post.

“She was my first friend and lifelong confidant. She was jaw droppingly beautiful, and a talented actress,” Jamie wrote.

“She played a mean game of hearts, collected turtles, loved her family, nature, music, thrifting, travel, Facebook, and Pokemon Go,” Jamie added.

The Freaky Friday star said her sister was “proud of her Danish roots and Hungarian Jewish ancestry” and a “devoted American patriot.”

Jamie recalled her sister’s “loving generosity, fierce opinions, endless curiosity, unique style, and her powdered, almond, crescent cookies at Christmas, hence her name, Auntie Cookie.

“Kelly always signed off any message or fare thee well with a Hungarian blessing … Isten Veled, meaning God is with you.

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“Isten Veled to my sister of the sun and the moon, my Tai. I’ll see you on down the line,” Jamie wrote at the end the post.

Acting and directing credits

Born in Santa Monica, Calif., Kelly was the eldest child of the late actors Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh.

She made her acting debut in 1958 with an uncredited role in her parents’ movie, The Vikings.

Kelly later had a small role alongside her sister Jamie in the 1983 comedy Trading Places, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

She had a couple of TV roles in the late-1980s and 1990s, including appearing in The Sentinel, The Equalizer, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and a Mary Tyler Moore TV movie titled Thanksgiving Day.

Kelly was also a documentary filmmaker, directing The Night She Came Home!! in 2013, Marby Jets Are Go in 2018, and Curling in Stanley in 2019, according to her IMDb page

She died in Bellevue, Idaho, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

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