Wonder Woman of the Week: Jamie Lee Curtis

Fans of horror movies, join us in celebrating one of the original scream queens, Jamie Lee Curtis, for her success this week with Halloween.

Jamie Lee Curtis has been a Hollywood talent for decades now, but we just have to celebrate her this week. After the sequel to Halloween and all of its success, it seemed like the perfect time to talk about Curtis and her legacy in the horror genre.

It’s been 40 years since the original movie came out, and fans of horror have a lot to be excited about. While remakes and sequels made years after the fact can sometimes be a disaster, this hasn’t been the case with Halloween.

Curtis was only 19 years old when the first film was made and the breakout role helped shoot her to stardom. She spoke to People about what it was like filming that first movie, and, wow, things really were different for Curtis back then. She was only paid $8,000 for the film, which wasn’t expected to be a pop culture phenomenon by any means. Oh, and her wardrobe? She was in charge of that herself and given a measly $200 to make it happen.

Curtis says, “All the sudden, I was going to JC Penney and buying Laurie’s wardrobe with $200.” While the movie budget was less than $400,000, the film ended up making $47 million.

In the interview, Curtis also revealed that she doesn’t even like scary movies, which we have to say is kind of hilarious and also adorable.

“I don’t understand why people like these movies. I don’t like being scared! I’m the girl who watches movies under a blanket, and I cover my face.”

We are also here to celebrate alongside Curtis as Halloween made over $78 million in the Curtis States, making it the biggest horror movie opening weekend for any horror movie with a lead female character. Also, it’s the second biggest opening weekend for a horror movie ever.

Curtis shared her excitement over these facts on her Instagram.

In her interview with People, where she is featured on the cover, Curtis also talked about the character of Laurie Strode and how the new film addresses topics of trauma and loss.

"She’s the same girl 40 years later, she’s just been through a heck of a lot, like we all have. You peel the onion of any person in this room, you will find trauma, you will find issues of sadness and loss and grief and great joy and happiness and drunkenness and misbehavior, but it’s human interaction."

We also want to honor and applaud Curtis for opening up about her struggles with opioid addiction. We know that these topics are sensitive and hard to talk about for many people, and using her platform to bring attention to issues of addiction is important.

In the magazine interview, she speaks about struggling with addiction in the ’80s and ’90s and also discusses how addiction impacted her family when her brother, Nicholas, died after a heroin overdose in 1994.

Curtis talks about her experience going to recover meetings and how she does her best to help others who are dealing with similar struggles. She calls getting sober her “single greatest accomplishment.”

For her honesty, talent, and bravery, Jamie Lee Curtis is our Wonder Woman of the Week, and we send our congratulations to her on the success of Halloween!