Kelly Curtis

Kelly Lee Curtis was born on June 17, 1956 — Father's Day — in Santa Monica, California, the eldest daughter of Hollywood icons Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh. She grew up surrounded by the magic and weight of a legendary family name, yet spent her life quietly carving her own path: as an actress, a filmmaker, a preservationist, a devoted sister, and a warm spirit known to those she loved simply as "Auntie Cookie." Her first appearance on screen came before she could even speak a line. At the age of two, Kelly appeared alongside both her parents in the epic adventure film "The Vikings" (1958), an uncredited cameo that felt more like prophecy than performance. After her parents divorced in 1962, Kelly came of age with intellectual curiosity intact — graduating from Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York, in 1978 with a degree in business, before following her heart to the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute in New York City. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Kelly built a steady acting career across both film and television. She appeared alongside her sister Jamie Lee Curtis in "Trading Places" (1983), took the lead role in "Magic Sticks" (1987), and starred as Miriam Kreisl in "The Devil's Daughter" (1991). Television audiences knew her from recurring roles in "The Sentinel," "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine," "The Equalizer," and "Judging Amy," among others. She worked behind the camera too — serving as production assistant on several of her sister's films, including "Freaky Friday" (2003) and "Christmas with the Kranks" (2004). In her later years, Kelly found her truest calling in the high desert valleys of Bellevue, Idaho, where she settled with her husband, filmmaker John Marsh. Together they founded Liberty Films, producing documentaries that celebrated local artists, musicians, and the sweeping natural beauty of the Wood River Valley. She also renovated a historic Victorian home in Bellevue and donated it to the community as a preservation site — a gesture as generous as the woman herself. Kelly was a member of the Wood River Jewish Community and proudly carried her Hungarian Jewish and Danish heritage, always signing off with her father's Hungarian blessing: "Isten Veled" — God is with you. She will be remembered for her fierce opinions, her loving generosity, her endless curiosity, and for the powdered almond crescent cookies that gave her the name she treasured most. She passed away peacefully at her home in Bellevue, Idaho, on May 30, 2026. She was 69 years old.