Kelly Curtis, the actress sister of Jamie Lee Curtis, has died. She was 69.
On Saturday, Jamie Lee announced that her older sister died that morning at her home in Idaho, sharing a heartfelt statement about the late The Sentinel actress, the oldest of Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh’s two daughters.
“A warm aloha to my older sister, Kelly Lee Curtis,” wrote Jamie Lee on Facebook. “She passed away this morning. In her home. In nature. At peace.
“She was my first friend and lifelong confidant. She was jaw droppingly beautiful, and a talented actress. She played a mean game of hearts, collected turtles, loved her family, nature, music, thrifting, travel, Facebook, and Pokémon Go. She was proud of her Danish roots and Hungarian Jewish ancestry and was a devoted American patriot.”
Curtis continued, “She will be remembered for her loving generosity, fierce opinions, endless curiosity, unique style, and her powdered, almond, crescent cookies at Christmas, hence her name, Auntie Cookie. Kelly always signed off any message or fare thee well with a Hungarian blessing… Isten Veled, God is with you. Isten Veled to my sister of the sun and the moon, my Tai. I’ll see you on down the line.”
Born June 17, 1956 in Santa Monica, Kelly made her onscreen debut as a child in 1958’s The Vikings, a Richard Fleischer-helmed swashbuckler that starred her parents. She went on to study acting at the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute.
Kelly also starred alongside sister Jamie Lee in Trading Places (1983), before starring in films like Magic Sticks (1987), The Devil’s Daughter (1991) and Mixed Blessings (1998).
On TV, Kelly starred in Season 1 of the UPN series The Sentinel (1996-’99) as Lt. Carolyn Plummer, also appearing in episodes of The Equalizer, Kojak, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Judging Amy and more.
In addition to acting, Kelly graduated with a business degree from Skidmore College in 1978, before briefly working as a stockbroker.
Kelly is survived by playwright husband Scott Morfee.
