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Jamie Lee Curtis has announced the death of her sister, the actor Kelly Curtis, at the age of 69, describing her as “talented” and “jaw droppingly beautiful”.
Jamie Lee said her sister had died “in her home, in nature, at peace” on Saturday, having had roles in films including Trading Places (1983), in which the pair both appeared, Magic Sticks (1987) and The Devil’s Daughter (1991). No cause of death was given.
Kelly Curtis was the eldest child of the Hollywood stars Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh, best known for her appearance in Psycho. She made her first appearance on the screen as an infant in the 1958 film The Vikings, which starred her parents.
In a post on Instagram, Jamie Lee wrote: “She was my first friend and lifelong confidant. 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. She was proud of her Danish roots and Hungarian Jewish ancestry and was a devoted American patriot.
“She will be remembered for her loving generosity, fierce opinions, endless curiosity, unique style, and her powdered, almond, crescent cookies at Christmas, hence her name, Auntie Cookie.”
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She said Kelly used to sign off her messages with the Hungarian phrase “Isten Veled”, meaning “God is with you”.
She added: “Isten Veled to my sister of the sun and the moon, my Tai. I’ll see you on down the line.”
In a second post, Jamie Lee reflected on their relationship as children and how they became close as adults after Jamie Lee’s wedding to Christopher Guest in 1984.
“My sister and I were close as children but also had that sibling competition for divorced parents’ 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,” she wrote.
“She worked for me at one point when she was in between jobs as my as-sister-aunt and became an integral part of my family structure. I miss her today but am buoyed by the knowledge that she is at peace.”
Along with her film roles, Kelly appeared in episodes of TV programmes including The Equaliser, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and The Sentinel. She directed the 2018 documentary Marby Jets Are Go, about an Australian high school track team, and was her sister’s assistant on the films Freaky Friday (2003), Christmas With the Kranks (2004) and You Again (2010).
Leigh and Tony Curtis divorced in 1962. The Curtis sisters have four half-siblings from their father’s five subsequent marriages: Alexandra, Allegra, Ben and Nicholas, the latter dying in 1994 of a heroin overdose aged 23.
– Press Association contributed to this report
