Kelly Curtis

Kelly Lee Curtis was born on June 17, 1956, in Santa Monica, California, the eldest child of actors Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh.^[2] She was the older sister of actress Jamie Lee Curtis. Her paternal grandparents were Hungarian-Jewish immigrants,^[3] and two of her maternal great-grandparents were Danish.^[4] The rest of her mother's ancestry was German and Scots-Irish. She had four half-siblings from her father's later marriages: Alexandra Curtis, Allegra Curtis, Nicholas Curtis (who died of a drug overdose), and Benjamin Curtis.^[5]

Curtis made her first appearance on film as a young girl in the United Artists action-adventure The Vikings (1958), which starred her parents. Her parents divorced in 1962, and her mother later married Robert Brandt.^[6]

In 1978, she graduated from Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York, with a degree in business, and worked briefly as a stockbroker.^[1]

Curtis studied acting at the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute.^[7] An article in the Los Angeles Times of July 28, 1982, about the play Say Goodnight, Gracie reads, in part, "Kelly Curtis is Ginny, sadly resigned to not being smart but smartly settled for honest responses. Here, writing and performance transcend one-note designation. Seated quietly, Curtis delivers a touching monologue that would have been the heart of another and better play, rather than a disarming moment of inspired simplicity."^[7]

She played Shirley in the comedy Magic Sticks (1987) and starred in the leading role of Miriam Kreisl in the horror film The Devil's Daughter (1991).^[8]

She was a regular cast member as Lieutenant Carolyn Plummer during the first season of the crime-action television series The Sentinel (1996). Her guest appearances on TV included roles inThe Renegades (1983), Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993), and Judging Amy (1999). She also worked as a production assistant on several films with her sister, Freaky Friday (2003), Christmas with the Kranks (2004), and You Again (2010).^[8]

Curtis married Scott Morfee (born 1954) on September 14, 1989.^[9] The couple were then working together on his play with music, Shout and Twist, which she was not only appearing in, but producing.^[1] She died at her home in Bellevue, Idaho, on May 30, 2026, at the age of 69. Her death was announced by her sister, Jamie Lee, on social media.^[10]

Film

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Kelly Curtis film credits

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1958	The Vikings	Young Girl	Uncredited
1983	Trading Places	Muffy
1987	Magic Sticks	Shirley
1987	Checkpoint	Joyce
1991	The Devil's Daughter	Miriam Kreisl	Starring role
1992	Ex-Cop	Officer
1998	Mixed Blessings	Annie Weaver
1998	June		Short film
Sources: [11][12]

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Television

More information Year, Title ...

Kelly Curtis Television credits

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1983	The Renegades	Cynthia Holtson	Episode: "Target: Marciano"
1986	The Equalizer	Vicki	Episode: "No Conscience"
1988	The Equalizer	Paula Whitaker	Episode: "No Place Like Home"
1989	Kojak: Ariana	Whitley	TV movie
1990	Thanksgiving Day	Barbara Schloss	TV movie
1991	Hunter	Amy Rivers	Episode: "The Reporter"
1991	False Arrest	Mary Durand	TV movie
1992	Silk Stalkings	Sara Lawton	Episode: "Curtain Call"
1993	Star Trek: Deep Space Nine	Miss Sarda	Episode: "Captive Pursuit"
1994	Search and Rescue	Susan	TV movie
1996	The Sentinel	Lt. Carolyn Plummer	7 episodes
1999	LateLine	Shelly	Episode: "Karp's Night Out"
1999	Judging Amy	Leslie Wirth	Episode: "Last Tango in Hartford"
Sources: [11][13]

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• Freaky Friday (2003), production assistant^[11]
• Christmas with the Kranks (2004), assistant^[11]
• You Again (2010), assistant^[11]