Why Jamie Lee Curtis thought her career was over after ‘Freaky Friday’

Jamie Lee Curtis thought that 2003’s “Freaky Friday” would be a nice coda to her career, which she believed was winding down at the time because she was in her 40s, had gray hair and was a “little chubby.”

Little did she know that exactly twenty years later, she would win an Oscar in 2023 for her role in “Everything Everywhere All at Once.”

Curtis, now 67, said things began to change in her career when she took the reins.

“You know, until recently, I was not in charge of creating my own work,” she exclusively told Page Six at the “Scarpetta” premiere on Tuesday. “I was always at the mercy of someone else hiring me.”

However, reprising her role as Laurie Strode in 2018’s successful horror sequel film “Halloween” changed everything.

“[It] gave me enough of a platform to create a business where I could be my own boss,” she explained.

The “True Lies” star added that having grown up in the business made her gimlet-eyed about Hollywood’s machinations.

“I’m a practical person,” she shared. “I’ve known the industry for a very long time. My parents were in an industry where they were more famous than I will ever, ever be, and the industry rejected them at a certain point.”

Her dad was screen idol Tony Curtis, who starred in over 100 movies, including 1959’s “Some Like it Hot” and 1960’s “Spartacus,” while her mother was Janet Leigh, who most famously was stabbed to death in the 1960 film “Psycho.”

Curtis described herself as a “pragmatist” who understands that she works in an “ageist” and “misogynistic business in many ways.”

Nevertheless, she has managed to build an impressive post-“Freaky Friday” resume that not only includes an Oscar but also a “Freaky Friday” sequel, a recurring role in “The Bear,” and now, a starring role in “Scarpetta” opposite Nicole Kidman.

The Amazon Prime series is based on Patricia Cornwell’s books and stars Bobby Cannavale, Simon Baker and Ariana DeBose.

After the screening, the cast headed to Cafe Zaffri at The Twenty Two New York.