Jamie Lee Curtis Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement

Iconic American actress Jamie Lee Curtis (photo: Andrew Eccles) has been awarded the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the 78^th Venice International Film Festival (September 1–11, 2021).

The decision was made by the board of the Biennale di Venezia, which embraced the proposal of the Festival's Director, Alberto Barbera.

The award ceremony of the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement will take place on Wednesday September 8^th in the Sala Grande of the Palazzo del Cinema (Lido di Venezia) before the out-of- competition screening of Halloween Kills, directed by David Gordon Green, starring Jamie Lee Curtis and presented by Universal Pictures, Miramax, Blumhouse Productions and Trancas International Films. Halloween Kills arrives in theaters October 15.

“I am incredibly humbled to be honored in this way by the Venice International Film Festival,” Jamie Lee Curtis said. “It seems impossible to me that I’ve been in this industry long enough to be receiving ‘Lifetime Achievement’ recognition, and to have it happen now, with Halloween Kills, is particularly meaningful to me. Halloween—and my partnership with Laurie Strode—launched and sustained my career, and to have these films evolve into a new franchise that is beloved by audiences around the world was, and remains, a gift. Italian Cinema has always honored and heralded the genre that gave me my career, so I couldn’t be more proud and happy to accept this award from the Venice International Film Festival on behalf of Laurie and all the courageous heroines of the world who stand tall in the face of seemingly insurmountable obstacles and refuse to yield.”

Regarding this award, Venice International Film Festival Director Alberto Barbera declared, “Jamie Lee Curtis belongs to that rarefied group of Hollywood actors who best reflect the qualities that are the very soul of the global film industry and its legacy. A direct descendant of America's film aristocracy – she is the daughter of two unforgettable stars, Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh – Jamie Lee Curtis is the natural embodiment of a star who knows how to play roles with versatility and amenability, all while infusing them with her peerless charisma and signature personality. All these qualities, combined with her work as an author of children's books and her commitment to her charitable work have cemented her status as an indelible and enduring global artist. To date, her extraordinary four-decade career, which began with her dazzling debut in John Carpenter’s 1978 horror classic, Halloween, encompasses more than forty feature films and reminds us that true talent, combined with intelligence, wit, endurance and sheer grit, are the hallmarks of this true and unforgettable star.

In addition to the legendary Halloween franchise, Curtis’ career spans almost every genre of film, including the memorable and beloved comedies Knives Out, A Fish Called Wanda, Trading Places and Freaky Friday, the intense action films True Lies and Blue Steel and the powerful and moving dramas The Tailor of Panama, My Girl and Forever Young. Her work reveals an artist who navigates tone and style with impeccable skill and definitive grace. We are thrilled to award Jamie Lee Curtis the 2021 Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement.”

In 2018, David Gordon Green’s Halloween, starring icon Jamie Lee Curtis, killed at the box office, earning more than $250 million worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing chapter in the four-decade franchise and setting a new record for the biggest opening weekend in history for a horror film starring a woman.

And the Halloween night when Michael Myers returned isn’t over yet. Minutes after Laurie Strode (Curtis), her daughter Karen (Judy Greer) and granddaughter Allyson (Andi Matichak) left masked monster Michael Myers caged and burning in Laurie’s basement, Laurie is rushed to the hospital with life-threatening injuries, believing she finally killed her lifelong tormentor. But when Michael manages to free himself from Laurie’s trap, his ritual bloodbath resumes. As Laurie fights her pain and prepares to defend herself against him, she inspires all of Haddonfield to rise up against their unstoppable monster. The Strode women join a group of other survivors of Michael’s first rampage who decide to take matters into their own hands, forming a vigilante mob that sets out to hunt Michael down, once and for all. Evil dies tonight.

Universal Pictures, Miramax, Blumhouse Productions and Trancas International Films present Halloween Kills, co-starring Will Patton as Officer Frank Hawkins, Thomas Mann (Kong: Skull Island) and Anthony Michael Hall (The Dark Knight).

From the returning filmmaking team responsible for the 2018 global phenomenon, Halloween Kills is written by Scott Teems (SundanceTV’s Rectify) and Danny McBride and David Gordon Green based on characters created by John Carpenter and Debra Hill. The film is directed by David Gordon Green and produced by Malek Akkad, Jason Blum and Bill Block. The executive producers are John Carpenter, Jamie Lee Curtis, Danny McBride, David Gordon Green and Ryan Freimann.

Jamie Lee Curtis has demonstrated her versatility as a film actress, starring in acclaimed films such as the blockbuster True Lies, for which she won a Golden Globe Award; Trading Places, for which she earned a BAFTA (British Film Academy Award) for Best Supporting Actress; A Fish Called Wanda, for which she received duel Best Actress nominations from BAFTA and the Golden Globes; and the Disney feature film Freaky Friday, for which she received a Golden Globe nomination. It was her portrayal of Laurie Strode in Halloween, which was her film debut and brought her to the attention of audiences worldwide.

40 years later, in 2018, Curtis reprised that signature role in David Gordon Green’s record-breaking horror feature, Halloween, produced by horror guru Jason Blum. Halloween’s opening weekend was the biggest debut ever, for any movie in any genre, to feature a female lead character over 55 years of age. The second film in the trilogy, Halloween Kills, will be released in October of this year. Most recently, Curtis appeared alongside an incredible cast including Daniel Craig, Chris Evans and Ana De Armas in the smash hit Knives Out, a murder mystery with a modern take on the classic detective genre as written and directed by Rian Johnson. She has recently wrapped production alongside Cate Blanchett and Kevin Hart on the feature film Borderlands, which is based on the popular videogame of the same name.

Additional film credits include: Spare Parts; You Again with Sigourney Weaver, Kristen Bell and Betty White; Beverly Hills Chihuahua; Christmas with the Kranks, opposite Tim Allen; The Tailor of Panama along with Pierce Brosnan and Geoffrey Rush; Fierce Creatures; Virus; Dominick And Eugene; Blue Steel; My Girl; My Girl II; Forever Young; Mother’s Boys; House Arrest and Love Letters.

In 2016, Curtis returned to her horror roots, starring in two seasons of the Ryan Murphy-created TV series Scream Queens, for which she received a Golden Globe nomination. She also co-starred opposite Richard Lewis in the acclaimed sitcom Anything But Love, which earned her both a Golden Globe and People’s Choice Award, as well as TNT’s adaptation of the Wendy Wasserstein play The Heidi Chronicles, which also earned her a Golden Globe nomination. In 1998, Curtis starred in the CBS television film Nicholas’ Gift for which she received an Emmy nomination. Other episodic work includes New Girl and NCIS.

Curtis is also a New York Times best-selling children's book author. Her 12th book, Me, MySelfie & I: A Cautionary Tale, was released in 2018. Her 11th book, This Is Me: A Story of Who We Are and Where We Came From, was released on September 20, 2016 and became an instant New York Times best-seller.

Her other titles include, When I Was Little: A Four-Year Old’s Memoir of Her Youth, Tell Me Again About the Night I Was Born, Today I Feel Silly and Other Moods That Make My Day, I’m Gonna Like Me, Where Do Balloons Go?, It’s Hard To Be Five, Is There Really a Human Race, Big Words for Little People, My Mommy Hung the Moon and My Brave Year of Firsts.

Curtis is an AIDS activist and has a deep and active connection to many children’s charities. In 2020 she launched the website www.myhandinyours.com, which offers items of comfort where 100 percent of proceeds from sales benefits Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.

In addition, Jamie produced and appears in “Letters From Camp,” a podcast from Audible that debuted in September 2020 and returned for a second season this June. In July iHeart Radio will debut the Good Friend podcast, which Jamie hosts and delves into the many phases of friendship through unscripted conversations with new and old friends.