Jamie Lee Curtis Retired Four Times — Here’s Why She Can’t Stay Away
Jamie Lee Curtis has retired four times—and still can’t quit. In a candid Today sit-down with Willie Geist, the Oscar and Emmy winner explains why she keeps coming back to the set.
Jamie Lee Curtis keeps threatening to hang it up, then strolls back in and nabs more trophies. She talked to Willie Geist on NBC's Today about how she has handled retirement — or, more honestly, how she keeps flirting with it without actually leaving.
'I have probably claimed retirement four times'
Curtis says she has said the R-word out loud more than once. She told Geist she has publicly declared retirement multiple times — four, to be exact — because she would rather leave by choice than wait for the calls to stop.
'I have probably claimed retirement four times... specifically because I want to get out before you no longer ask me to be in.'
Why she is thinking about the exit ramp
This part is very her: Curtis has always watched the industry with a clear eye. She grew up seeing how her parents, Janet Leigh and Tony Curtis, were slowly pushed to the sidelines as they got older. That stuck with her. She has said she has been 'prepping to get out' for years so she does not wind up in that same sad twilight — missing the work that gave her energy in the first place.
At 67, she is picking projects deliberately. No grand farewell tour on the calendar. Just a simple rule: keep doing the roles that feel worth doing, and walk away when they do not.
Meanwhile, she keeps winning things
Geist pointed out the obvious twist: every time Curtis thinks about bowing out, something big happens. She won an Academy Award in 2023, then added an Emmy in 2024. Not exactly the profile of someone being shown the door.
How this moment feels to her
She sounds genuinely content with where she is right now — even while she is mentally circling that exit.
'Perfect. There is nothing about it that is not just feeling perfect. I am so happy it is happening now, at my age. I am trying to make sure that I check my boxes off before I go. But I am having a really good time. It is awesome!'
Bottom line
Jamie Lee Curtis wants the power to say when it is over — not have the industry decide for her. For now, the work still feels good, the roles are on her terms, and the hardware keeps showing up. When she does finally call it, it will be because she chose to, not because she ran out of options.