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Janet Leigh
Actor

Janet Leigh

6 Jul 1927Born
3 Oct 2004Died
77Age at death
91Credits

Biography

Janet Leigh (born Jeanette Helen Morrison; July 6, 1927 – October 3, 2004) was an American actress, singer, dancer, and author. Her career spanned over five decades. 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.

Leigh appeared in radio programs before her first formal foray into acting, making her film debut in the drama The Romance of Rosy Ridge (1947).

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With MGM, she appeared in many films which spanned a wide variety of genres, which include 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). She played dramatic roles during the late 1950s, in such films as Safari (1956) and Orson Welles's film noir Touch of Evil (1958). With RKO Radio pictures she co-starred in the romantic comedy Holiday Affair (1949) with Robert Mitchum.

Leigh achieved her biggest success starring as Marion Crane in Alfred Hitchcock's psychological thriller Psycho (1960). For her performance, Leigh won the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress and earned a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Intermittently, she continued to appear in films, including Bye Bye Birdie (1963), Harper (1966), Night of the Lepus (1972), and Boardwalk (1979). She made her Broadway debut in 1975 in a production of Murder Among Friends. She would also go on to appear in two horror films with her daughter, Jamie Lee Curtis: The Fog (1980) and Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998).

In addition to her work as an actress, Leigh also wrote four books between 1984 and 2002, two of which were novels. Leigh had two brief marriages as a teenager (one of which was annulled) before marrying actor Tony Curtis in 1951. The pair's highly publicized union ended in divorce in 1962, and after starring in The Manchurian Candidate that same year, Leigh remarried and scaled back her career. She died in October 2004 at age 77, following a year-long battle with vasculitis, an inflammation of the blood vessels.

Known for

Filmography

The 80 most recent of 91 credits.

  1. 2026100 Years of the Idiot: A Jerry Lewis CentenaryFilm
  2. 2019Emergency: Donald Trump’s "Touch of Evil"Film: (archive footage)
  3. 2018Hollywood: No Sex, Please!Film
  4. 2005Bad Girls from Valley HighFilm: Mrs. Witt
  5. 1999Family LawSeries: Mary Sawyer (1 episode)
  6. 1998Halloween H20: 20 Years LaterFilm: Norma
  7. 1997In My Sister's ShadowFilm: Kay Connor
  8. 1996E! True Hollywood StorySeries (3 episodes)
  9. 1995Secret LivesSeries (1 episode)
  10. 1994Touched by an AngelSeries: Vera King (1 episode)
  11. 1993The EggFilm: The egg (voice) (archive footage)
  12. 1986The Making Of Psycho IIIFilm: Marion Crane (archive footage)
  13. 1986Psycho IIIFilm: Marion Crane (archive footage) (uncredited)
  14. 1985The Twilight ZoneSeries: Barbara LeMay (1 episode)
  15. 1984Murder, She WroteSeries: Cornelia Montaigne Harper (1 episode)
  16. 1983Psycho IIFilm: Marion Crane (archive footage) (uncredited)
  17. 1982Matt HoustonSeries: Ramona (1 episode)
  18. 1980The FogFilm: Kathy Williams
  19. 1979BoardwalkFilm: Florence Cohen
  20. 1979Mirror, MirrorFilm: Millie Gorman
  21. 1979Tales of the UnexpectedSeries: Joan Stackpole (1 episode)
  22. 1979The Horror ShowFilm: (archive footage)
  23. 1977TelethonFilm: Elaine Cotten
  24. 1977The Love BoatSeries: Joan Philipps / Gail (2 episodes)
  25. 1977Murder at the World SeriesFilm: Karen Weese
  26. 1973Murdock's GangFilm: Laura Talbot
  27. 1972Night of the LepusFilm: Gerry Bennett
  28. 1972Ghost StorySeries: Carol (1 episode)
  29. 1972One Is a Lonely NumberFilm: Gert Meredith
  30. 1971The Deadly DreamFilm: Laurel Hanley
  31. 1971ColumboSeries: Grace Wheeler Willis (1 episode)
  32. 1970House on Greenapple RoadFilm: Marian Ord
  33. 1969Honeymoon with a StrangerFilm: Sandra Latham
  34. 1969The MonkFilm: Janice Barnes
  35. 1969Hello Down ThereFilm: Vivian Miller
  36. 1967Grand SlamFilm: Mary Ann
  37. 1967The Spy in the Green HatFilm: Miss Diketon
  38. 1966An American DreamFilm: Cherry McMahon
  39. 1966Three on a CouchFilm: Dr Elizabeth Acord
  40. 1966HarperFilm: Susan Harper
  41. 1966Kid RodeloFilm: Nora
  42. 1964The Man from U.N.C.L.E.Series: Miss Diketon (2 episodes)
  43. 1963Wives and LoversFilm: Bertie Austin
  44. 1963Bye Bye BirdieFilm: Rosie DeLeon
  45. 1962The Manchurian CandidateFilm: Eugenie Rose Chaney
  46. 1960PepeFilm: Janet Leigh
  47. 1960PsychoFilm: Marion Crane
  48. 1960Who Was That Lady?Film: Ann Wilson
  49. 1958The Perfect FurloughFilm: Vicki Loren
  50. 1958The VikingsFilm: Morgana
  51. 1958Touch of EvilFilm: Susan 'Susie' Vargas
  52. 1957Jet PilotFilm: Lt. Anna Marladovna Shannon / Olga Orlief
  53. 1956SafariFilm: Linda Latham
  54. 1956NightmareFilm: Janet
  55. 1955My Sister EileenFilm: Eileen Sherwood
  56. 1955Pete Kelly's BluesFilm: Ivy Conrad
  57. 1954Rogue CopFilm: Karen Stephanson
  58. 1954The Black Shield of FalworthFilm: Lady Anne of Mackworth
  59. 1954Living It UpFilm: Wally Cook
  60. 1954Miss Glucksman Visits HollywoodFilm
  61. 1954Prince ValiantFilm: Princess Aleta
  62. 1953Walking My Baby Back HomeFilm: Chris Hall
  63. 1953HoudiniFilm: Bess Houdini
  64. 1953Confidentially ConnieFilm: Connie Bedloe
  65. 1953The Naked SpurFilm: Lina Patch
  66. 1952Fearless FaganFilm: Abby Ames
  67. 1952ScaramoucheFilm: Aline de Gavrillac de Bourbon
  68. 1952Just This OnceFilm: Lucy Duncan
  69. 1952An Eye for an EyeFilm
  70. 1952Come Back Little ShiksaFilm
  71. 1951It's a Big CountryFilm: Rosa Szabo Xenophon
  72. 1951Two Tickets to BroadwayFilm: Nancy Peterson
  73. 1951Angels in the OutfieldFilm: Jennifer Paige
  74. 1951Schlitz Playhouse of StarsSeries (1 episode)
  75. 1951The Re-InforcerFilm: Mary Muck
  76. 1951Strictly DishonorableFilm: Isabelle Perry
  77. 1951Fairfax AvenueFilm
  78. 1951A Spot In The ShadeFilm
  79. 1951NightmareFilm
  80. 1951Watch On The LimeFilm

Biography and credits from TMDB. This website uses TMDB and the TMDB APIs but is not endorsed, certified, or otherwise approved by TMDB.