Jamie Lee Curtis, the iconic actress known for her roles in “Halloween” and “True Lies”, recently opened up about the painful and formative experiences of her early career that led to a battle with plastic surgery, addiction, and ultimately, a deepened sense of self-acceptance. As a 66-year-old veteran of Hollywood, Curtis now offers a candid and honest reflection on her past choices, including a pivotal moment in 1985 that forever changed her relationship with both herself and the entertainment industry.
At the age of 25, Curtis starred in the film “Perfect”, a romantic drama that paired her with John Travolta. But it was an offhand comment from the film’s cinematographer that sent her down a path she now deeply regrets. In a revealing interview on “60 Minutes”, Curtis recalled the painful moment: “He was like, ‘Yeah I’m not shooting her today. Her eyes are baggy.'” The comment, made by Gordon Willis, left Curtis mortified and, in a move she would later regret, prompted her to undergo plastic surgery to fix what she believed was a flaw.
The comment about her “baggy” eyes seemed trivial, but for a young actress trying to break into the industry, it felt like a blow to her self-worth. It was not just a critique of her appearance but a moment that reinforced the pressure women in Hollywood face to maintain an unrealistic standard of beauty. For Curtis, this was the catalyst for a choice she would come to regret deeply.
“I regretted it immediately,” she admitted, reflecting on the decision to go under the knife. “And I’ve kind of, sort of regretted it since.” The surgery, which was meant to remove the “puffiness” around her eyes, not only failed to deliver the results she expected but also marked the beginning of a more troubling chapter in her life: addiction.
“I became very enamored with the warm bath of an opiate,” Curtis revealed, explaining that shortly after the surgery, she turned to Vicodin, which would become a crutch for her in the years that followed. Although she was able to keep her addiction under control, she later admitted that it was a dependency that quietly and insidiously took hold of her life.
Despite her battles with addiction, which lasted for years, Curtis has now celebrated 26 years of sobriety. Her reflection on her past is not filled with bitterness but with a sense of gratitude for the lessons learned along the way. “It was a cycle,” she explained, “but I’m here, and I’m grateful for the sobriety I have now.” Her journey toward self-acceptance has also brought her to a place of peace with her appearance, including the iconic scene in “Perfect” where she donned a leotard and performed an aerobics routine. Curtis jokes about her leotard moment, saying, “Of course, I look really good in a leotard. Believe me, I’ve seen enough pictures of me in that leotard where even I go like, ‘Really? Come on.'”
In recent years, Curtis has become an outspoken critic of the societal obsession with plastic surgery, fillers, and filtered photos. In interviews, she has spoken candidly about the dangers of these trends, particularly for younger generations who are bombarded by unrealistic standards of beauty, especially on social media. “The current trend of fillers and procedures, and this obsession with filtering, and the things that we do to adjust our appearance on Zoom are wiping out generations of beauty,” she stated in 2021. “Once you mess with your face, you can’t get it back.”
Curtis also criticized social media for exacerbating the problem, warning that constant comparisons to others can have long-term negative effects on mental health. “It’s like giving a chainsaw to a toddler,” she said. “We just don’t know the longitudinal effect, mentally, spiritually, and physically, on a generation of young people who are in agony because of social media, because of the comparisons to others.”
Instead of focusing on external appearance, Curtis advocates for self-love and acceptance, regardless of age. “I’m trying to own it,” she said in a 2024 interview. “Isn’t that what life is supposed to be? We grow up, we learn, we do all these things. Now we have to own it. We have to own who we are, be who we are, and be in full acceptance of who we are and what we’re not.” For Curtis, aging is something to be embraced, not feared.
She also emphasized the importance of not being a “people pleaser,” something she has learned during her recovery journey. “I’m sober for a long time—almost 25 years,” she shared. “And the best thing I learned last year in recovery was people aren’t pleased when you stop people-pleasing … It was as if the greatest sage arrived on me.”
In her later years, Curtis has embraced a philosophy of speaking her truth and living authentically. “I say what I mean, I mean what I say, and I try not to say it mean,” she explained, reflecting on the wisdom she’s gained from her experiences.
Curtis’s journey serves as a powerful reminder that beauty, in all its forms, is not something to be perfected or altered but embraced. Her story is one of resilience, learning, and, above all, self-acceptance. As she continues to defy the pressures of Hollywood, she is a shining example of how embracing our imperfections can lead to true beauty — one that radiates from the inside out.
