Jamie Lee Curtis’ 30-Year Strategy to Leave Hollywood Due to Ageism
Jamie Lee Curtis has been considering her exit from Hollywood for years.
“I watched my parents lose everything that had brought them fame, success, and their livelihood when the industry turned its back on them at a certain age,” the 66-year-old actress shared with The Guardian in an interview released on Saturday, July 26.
“I saw them achieve immense success only to have it gradually fade away until there was nothing left. That was incredibly painful,” she continued.
Reflecting on her parents’ struggles in an industry known for its age bias, Curtis confessed that she has been quietly “self-retiring for three decades.”
“I’ve been preparing to step away, so I can avoid the same fate as my family,” she explained. “I wish to leave the celebration before the invitations stop coming.”
Curtis, who began her successful Hollywood journey at just 19 with the classic slasher film Halloween, has frequently spoken out about society’s apparent disdain for aging women.
“The term ‘anti-aging’ should be eliminated,” she stated while attending the 2022 Radically Reframing Aging Summit hosted by Maria Shriver. “I embrace aging. I want to grow older with wisdom, grace, dignity, energy, and vibrancy.”
She added, “I don’t want to shy away from the reality of aging.”
During the same Summit, Curtis shared her journey towards body acceptance, recalling how she once resorted to cosmetic surgery at age 25 after receiving unflattering remarks about her “baggy” eyes.
“I’m not ignoring what I look like; of course, I see my reflection,” she said. As reported by Today.com. “I strive to live in a state of acceptance. It’s harder to accept when I look in the mirror. I’m more judgmental. But when I avoid looking, I worry less.”
In March of the same year, while promoting her award-winning film Everything Everywhere All at Once, which garnered her first Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Deirdre Beaubeirdre, Curtis also discussed the pervasive ageism in society.
“We live in a world with a billion-dollar industry dedicated to hiding our realities — from concealers to body shapers, fillers, procedures, and more,” she expressed on Instagram at the time. “I want to see a world without concealment. I’ve been sucking in my stomach since I was 11, conscious of boys and bodies, while squeezing into tight jeans. I specifically decided to relinquish control of every muscle I once clenched to hide my true self. That decision has made me feel more liberated than ever, both creatively and physically.”
