'Tis the season for pumpkins, ghosts, vampires, witches, and perhaps rewatching the Halloween movie series, including the newest addition: Halloween Kills, set for release on October 15. Fans of the series will undoubtedly recognize its main protagonist, Laurie Strode, played by the one and only Jamie Lee Curtis.
Curtis has had quite the decade, appearing in box office hits such as Knives Out and Halloween, and guest starring on hit TV shows New Girl and Scream Queens. The screen legend has been acting since 1977, but has rarely ever made headlines for her personal life - Curtis has been married to actor, writer and director Christopher Guest for 37 years. So what's the story behind one of Hollywood's longest-lasting couples?
7 It Was Love At First Sight For Jamie Lee Curtis
In 1984, Jamie Lee Curtis was flipping through Rolling Stone magazine next to her friend Debra Hill when she spotted a picture of the cast of Spinal Tap, including British comedian Christopher Guest.
"I looked at the man on the right, wearing a plaid shirt and a waggish smirk. I'd never seen him before, but I pointed at him," Curtis wrote in O Magazine. "'I'm going to marry that man,' I said to my friend."
"I just really did an old-fashioned 'Spanky and Our Gang' double take," Curtis revealed to the Washington Post in 1985. "I said, 'Whoever this guy is, is it. That's as good as it gets.'"
As luck would have it, Curtis' friend knew Guest's agent, and passed along her contact information if Guest was interested in getting to know her.
6 Jamie Lee Curtis' Husband Didn't Call Her Back For Months
Though Curtis had made her attraction to Guest obvious, the interest was not reciprocated at first, through no fault of her own - Guest admitted that many "bizzare women" were reaching out to him because of his newfound fame.
"I waited. Chris never called," Curtis wrote in O Magazine, revealing that she actually continued on with her life and began dating another man. After that brief relationship ended, Curtis went out to a restaurant with friends, and lo and behold, Guest was sitting 3 tables away.
5 A Chance Encounter Led To Marriage
At the restaurant, Jamie Lee Curtis couldn't help but stare at her future husband.
"He waved to me as if to say, "I'm the guy you called." I waved back: "I'm the woman who called you." A few minutes later, he got up to leave," Curtis explained. "Standing 20 feet away, he shrugged his shoulders and put up his hand as if to say, "I'll see ya." As he left, I looked down at my plate."
The next day, Guest called Curtis to set up a date. 5 months later, the two were married.
4 Jamie Lee Curtis And Her Husband Have Two Children
Curtis and Guest are the proud parents of two adopted children, Annie Guest, who was born in 1986, and Ruby Guest, who was born in 1996. Though she always knew she wanted to be a mother, Curtis and Guest found out they could not have biological children.
"Adoption was the only way for us to have a family," Curtis revealed. "People who adopt who are fertile have a more difficult decision than when you have no other option. It becomes the viable option for you. If you want to be a family, that’s how you’re going to be it."
Today, Curtis' daughter Annie is a successful dance teacher, and she recently got married. In July 2021, Curtis proudly announced that her younger daughter, Ruby, who works as a gaming editor, had come out as transgender. "I have watched in wonder and pride as our son became our daughter Ruby," the actress said. "She and her fiancé will get married next year at a wedding that I will officiate.”
“Motherhood has changed everything in my life,” Curtis has declared. “When I began acting, I did not assume I would ever have a child. I made choices based on my life then … Now, I make every decision with my children in mind. I choose my roles carefully.”
3 Jamie Lee Curtis Feels Safe With Her Husband
It's a rarity in Hollywood, but Jamie Lee Curtis and Christopher Guest have outlasted many of their peers' relationships. Curtis partly attributes the longevity of their marriage to feeling safe and comforted by her husband's presence.
"I feel safe when I drive up and see that [he is] home," Curtis told AARP Magazine. "That's the long marriage. It's the safety of knowing his car is in the garage, that I'm not alone," she added. In fact, to celebrate their 35th wedding anniversary, Curtis wrote her husband a song with the chorus: “I feel safe when I drive up and see that you are home."
2 Jamie Lee Curtis' Husband Has A Special Nickname For Her
In a recent appearance on The Late Late Show with James Corden, Curtis revealed the story behind the addition of "Lee" to her name. The actress grew up as Jamie Curtis, but added Lee in order to stand out as an actress.
Curtis also revealed she despised the name Jamie because she was teased about it sounding like a boy's name. She demanded her parents call her Janie instead, which stuck for about a week before they returned to her original name. However, the name Janie did stick with someone else... Curtis' husband.
"My husband will -- in moments of great intimacy, when you are not trying to laugh, if you know what I mean -- when are you going for something else, Christopher will look at me and say, 'Oh, Janie!'", Curtis revealed to host James Corden.
1 Jamie Lee Curtis Has Been Married For 37 Years
When Curtis was approaching her 34-year wedding anniversary, she spoke to Good Housekeeping about what has made her marriage last. Her pointers? Put in the work, and don't give up.
“Don’t leave," Curtis advised. "There’s a recovery phrase that says, ‘Stay on the bus…the scenery will change.’ You think you’re having a bad week, but stay on the bus, because one of these days you’ll look out the window and it’ll be beautiful. I think it can apply to almost anything where you feel unhappy in that moment. I’m not a wild romantic. I’m a realist. I respect him. And I just don’t leave.”
Though she has admitted that growing up as a child of divorce affected her, today Jamie Lee Curtis considers herself “a deep, serious romantic", acknowledging that Christopher Guest is her "one and only". She attributes their successful marriage to staying realistic and putting in the work.
