Leigh, Janet (1927–2004)

American actress. Born Jeanette Helen Morrison, July 6, 1927, in Merced, CA; died Oct 3, 2004, in Beverly Hills, CA; attended College of the Pacific; m. John Carlyle, 1942 (annulled); m. Stanley Reames, 1946 (div. 1948); m. Tony Curtis (actor), 1951 (div. 1962); m. Robert Brandt (stockbroker), 1962; children: (3rd m.) Kelly Lee Curtis; Jamie Lee Curtis (actress).

With no acting experience, co-starred with Van Johnson in debut film The Romance of Rosy Ridge (1947); remained in ingenue roles throughout early career; ranked as one of Hollywood's top stars (1950s), reached top of her form opposite Charlton Heston in Orson Welles' Touch of Evil (1968); had a plum supporting role in Manchurian Candidate (1962); appeared with daughter Jamie in The Fog (1980); other films include Words and Music (1948), Little Women (1949), The Forsyte Saga (1949), Strictly Dishonorable (1951), Angels in the Outfield (1951), Houdini (1953), Walking My Baby Back Home (1953), Prince Valiant (1954), The Black Shield of Falworth (1954), My Sister Eileen (1955), The Vikings (1958), Bye Bye Birdie (1963), Wives and Lovers (1963), Harper (1966) and One Is a Lonely Number; made stage debut with Jack Cassidy on Broadway in Murder Among Friends (1975); wrote There Really Was a Hollywood (1984), as well as Psycho: Behind the Scenes of the Classic Thriller (1995) and the novel House of Destiny. Nominated for Academy Award for Psycho.

See also Women in World History.