Janet Leigh | |
|---|---|
 Leigh in a publicity photo for the magazine Photoplay, 1954 | |
| Born | Jeanette Helen Morrison July 6, 1927 Merced, California, U.S. |
| Died | October 3, 2004 (aged 77) |
| Resting place | Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1947–2004 |
| Spouses | John Carlisle
(m. 1942; ann. 1942)Stanley Reames
(m. 1945; div. 1948)Robert Brandt (m. 1962) |
| Children | |
Jeanette Helen Morrison (July 6, 1927 – October 3, 2004), known professionally as Janet Leigh, was an American actress and author. Raised in Stockton, California, by working-class parents, Leigh was discovered at 18 by actress Norma Shearer, who helped her secure a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. With MGM, she appeared in films such as the dramas The Romance of Rosy Ridge (1947), the crime-drama Act of Violence (1948), the drama Little Women (1949), the comedy Angels in the Outfield (1951), the romance Scaramouche (1952), and the Western drama The Naked Spur (1953).
Leigh was married to actor Tony Curtis from 1951 to 1962. After leaving MGM in 1954, she starred in films such as Safari (1956) and Orson Welles' Touch of Evil (1958). She then achieved her biggest success playing Marion Crane in Alfred Hitchcock's horror film Psycho (1960), winning the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress and a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Her most enduring role, Leigh was established as one of the earliest scream queens and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame that same year.
After marrying Robert Brandt in 1962, Leigh starred in the political thriller film The Manchurian Candidate (1962), the musical film Bye Bye Birdie (1963), and the thriller film Harper (1966) before scaling back her career. She made her Broadway debut in a production of Murder Among Friends (1975), and appeared in the horror film Night of the Lepus (1972) and the thriller film Boardwalk (1979). She later starred with her daughter, Jamie Lee, in the horror films The Fog (1980) and Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998).
Leigh amassed several screen and stage credits in a career spanning five decades. In addition to her work as an actress, she wrote four books between 1984 and 2002, two of which were novels. She died at the age of 77 after a year-long battle with vasculitis.