Jamie Lee Curtis Was Moved To Tears After Receiving First Oscar Nomination At 64 Years Old

Jan 25, 2023 by apost team

Jamie Lee Curtis' dynamic acting career transcends over four decades. Although she is the offspring of two talented Hollywood movie stars, Janet Leigh and Tony Curtis, she did not initially want to be an actress. 

According to Biography.com, Curtis was attending the University of the Pacific when she decided to try her hand at acting. Curtis auditioned for the role of the brilliant teenage detective Nancy Drew. After not receiving the part and only finishing one semester of college, Curtis dropped out of school and began to focus on her acting career. 

Curtis' breakthrough role came in 1978 when the then 19-year-old Curtis starred as Laurie Strode in John Carpenter's horror movie classic "Halloween." Although the award-winning actress is heavily associated with horror films, her dynamic acting abilities have helped her create a diverse portfolio of hit movies across several genres. 

According to Movie Web, Curtis' most memorable movies include "Knives Out," "A Fish Called Wanda," "My Girl" and "Freaky Friday."

With her extensive acting credentials, many would be surprised to know that Curtis has never been nominated for an Academy Award, which many consider one of the highest honors that can be given to an actress like her. 

However, when the nominations for the 95th Annual Academy Awards were announced on Jan. 24, 2023, Curtis was taken aback after finally scoring her first Oscar nomination at the age of 64. 

To share her emotions with her fans worldwide, Curtis took to Instagram and penned a heartfelt letter as she took in the huge announcement. Read on to learn more about Curtis’ reaction to hearing the news and why she was nominated in the first place. 

In 2022, Curtis solidified her mark in the industry as she became part of one of the biggest films of the year – “Everything Everywhere All At Once” – in which she starred alongside Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan and Stephanie Hsu. 

In the film, Curtis was one of the supporting characters that stood in the way of the main protagonist — Yeoh’s character, Evelyn Wong. She is considered by many as a driving force of the story; Curtis portrayed several versions of her character, a loving wife, a distressed IRS auditor-turned-villain, and even an alien version of herself. Because of this, many have lauded Curtis for the breadth and range that she displayed throughout the movie. 

Along with the hundreds of nominations that the film has received, Curtis was also highly nominated for her acting prowess in the film. She has been nominated a total of 22 times by various award-giving bodies in the United States and in the United Kingdom. 

Most notably, Curtis was nominated for Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture at the 2022 Golden Globes, which was her eighth nomination as an individual in total. However, she lost the Golden Globe to Angela Bassett. But despite this, the iconic actress was still all smiles and all cheers when her co-star Yeoh was called to be the Best Actress of the night. 

When Yeoh’s name was announced, Curtis, who was right beside her, was candidly captured on camera wildly celebrating Yeoh’s win – which others have seen to be a great example of women supporting women. Their incredible moment went viral on social media, with hundreds of memes being circulated online. 

It would seem like Curtis will be cheering for Yeoh again, as they both got their first Oscar nominations at the age of 64 and 60, respectively. 

apost.com

Curtis, along with the main cast of “Everything Everywhere All At Once,” was nominated for the main categories at the 95th Annual Academy Awards. 

Yeoh earned her first nomination at the age of 60 and became the second actress of Asian descent to have been nominated as Best Actress. Meanwhile, Quan, after his long hiatus in acting, was nominated for Best Supporting Actor. 

Meanwhile, Hsu, who played the main villain in the film, and Curtis both got nominated for Best Supporting Actress — an announcement that the latter was shocked about. 

“THIS IS WHAT SURPRISE LOOKS LIKE!” she wrote on Instagram, along with photos of her reacting to the news. “The first is the moment of hearing my name, and then the thrill of my friend, Stephanie's name, and the rest of the nominations and then the best thing of all, a loving embrace for my husband.”

Curtis was filled with joy and excitement because of the news. She followed up her post with a nostalgic photo of her parents, Janet and Tony, at the 1960 Oscars, captioned with an emotional realization. 

“It was never even in my wildest dream box. I have always felt very much like an outsider looking in and yet always so grateful for any and all opportunities I have had. Being a part of this beautiful movie, which just received so many acknowledgments for our talented, motley crew of artists, is the highlight of my professional life,” she said. “I am stunned and humbled and excited for our little movie that could and did and based on today's nominations, continues to do and do and do.”

Aside from an Academy Award nomination, Curtis was also nominated at the British Academy Film Awards for Best Supporting Actress too. 

Congratulations, Jamie Lee Curtis! Are you a fan of hers? What can you say about her emotional reaction and realization? Let us know, and pass this on to your family, friends and other loved ones!