Who Was Jamie Lee Curtis' Sister? What To Know About Her Oldest Sibling

"Halloween" star Jamie Lee Curtis has had a tough time of it. Her family was a lot closer to the late and great Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele, than most people realize, making his tragic passing in December 2025 a devastating way to ring in 2026. And a few months later, Curtis shared the heartbreaking news on her Instagram that her eldest sister, Kelly Lee, had died on May 30, 2026.

The eldest child of their parents, Tony Kurtis and Janet Leigh, Kelly was also an actress, making her debut in "The Vikings" in 1958 at just 2 years old. She accumulated 20 acting credits throughout the '80s and '90s, with her last role being in a 1999 episode of "Judging Amy." However, that doesn't mean she stopped working in film entirely, pivoting to more behind-the-scenes roles in the decades following.

She was actually Jamie Lee's assistant in the 2003 movie "Freaky Friday," assisting her sister several other times until making her directorial debut with the 2018 film "Marby Jets Are Go." Her final work came in 2019 as the director and producer of the documentary "Curling in Stanley," part of the Liberty Films production companies founded by her and her husband, John Marsh. She died "at peace" after a week of hospice care at 69 years old, weeks before her 70th birthday. Jamie Lee took to Instagram to share more personal anecdotes about her sister's passions in life.

Kelly and Jamie Lee were Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh's only children together, and although the sisters shared a strong bond growing up, the circumstances of their upbringing caused a brief rift between them. Jamie Lee has made comments over the years about her messy relationship with Tony, pointing out how parents' divorce deprived the children of ever really getting to know their father.

In a tribute post to Kelly, she shared, "My sister and I were close as children but also had that sibling competition for divorced parent's attention and love and we were wildly different and lived apart for many years, but she came back to be with me at my wedding and never really left again." This reconciliation in the '80s gave way to an especially cherished sibling trip to Hungary, allowing the women to reconnect with their Jewish heritage and their father's roots. This was a massive part of Kelly's life, as the "Knives Out" actress shared, "In the 90's my sister joined my father and a group of Hungarian Jews to help raise money for the restoration of this gorgeous synagogue after the war."

Aside from her activism, Jamie Lee regarded her as "my first friend and lifelong confidant." The actor wrote, "She was jaw droppingly beautiful, and a talented actress. She played a mean game of hearts, collected turtles, loved her family, nature, music, thrifting, travel, Facebook, and Pokémon Go." There may be a lot you don't know about Jamie Lee, but the love she held for her sister is certainly not a secret.