Online Encyclopedia
Janet Leigh
Janet Leigh (July 6, 1927 - October 3, 2004) was an American actress born in Merced, California.
Born Jeanette Helen Morrison, by the age of 20 she had been discovered by retired actress Norma Shearer whose late husband Irving Thalberg had been a senior executive at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Although Shearer had retired, she maintained her interest and influence in Hollywood, and when MGM was looking for a young, naive, country-girl type, Shearer recommended Morrison after seeing a photograph of her.
Leigh's best-known role was as the lead in Alfred Hitchcock's 1960 film Psycho. Her performance earned her an Oscar nomination and she received a Golden Globe.
Leigh starred in more than sixty films, including a number of successes such as:
- Little Women (1949)
- Angels in the Outfield (1951)
- Scaramouche (1952)
- Houdini (1953)
- The Black Shield of Falworth (1954)
- Touch of Evil (1958)
- Psycho (1960)
- The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
- Bye Bye Birdie (1963)
More recently, she appeared in Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998).
Leigh's third husband was American actor Tony Curtis, to whom she was married for eleven years (1951-1962). Her children from this marriage included actress Jamie Lee Curtis and Kelly Curtis. In 1962, Leigh married her fourth husband, Robert Brandt; the two remained married until her death.
Leigh served on the board of directors of the Motion Picture and Television Foundation , a medical-services provider for actors.
She died at her Beverly Hills home from vasculitis at age 77. Her family was at her side.