2 June 2026
Jamie Lee Curtis is crediting a trip she took with her older sister Kelly for helping her with her grief following her sibling’s death.
Jamie Lee Curtis and Kelly Curtis – May 2009 – Famous – Los Angeles
The actress, 67, revealed on Saturday (30.05.26) her older sibling Kelly Lee Curtis had passed away peacefully at the age of 69, with the star hailing her as her best friend and confidante.
She returned to the social media site to share an update on Tuesday (02.06.26), as she posted pictures of herself and her sister from a trip they took together in 2012 to “trace our family’s roots”.
She wrote in the caption: “We started out in Hungary, in Budapest, where Tony Curtis’ family Schwartz was from, a small town, Mátészalka near Budapest.
“We also went to Denmark and the island of Bornholm where our mother, Janet Leigh’s family, Kofoed was from.”
Jamie added that the journey became more than just “a once in a lifetime trip”, as she added: “If you have a sibling, I recommend taking at least one trip, just the two of you, to trace a little bit of your family history.
“It will be a lasting and permanent and important memory. It is for me and is helping me in these days of grief and mourning.”
Jamie also shared four photos of herself and Kelly in front of a ‘tree of life’ memorial in Budapest.
She continued: “In Budapest we visited the Dohány Street Synagogue. In the 90’s my sister joined my father and a group of Hungarian Jews to help raise money for the restoration of this gorgeous synagogue after the war.
“It’s a magnificent building with incredible history and there’s a tree of life in this courtyard and each leaf has the name placed in memory of someone lost during the holocaust.”
The final photo in the sequence showed three plaques, which had been laid by Deborah Oppenheimer as a tribute to the Curtis and Schwartz families.
Jamie added she was “so moved when” she saw them.
Like Jamie, Kelly was also an actress, and landed roles in 1987’s Magic Sticks, as well as The Devil’s Daughter, released in 1991. At the time of her death, she was married to filmmaker John Marsh.
