Jamie Lee Curtis is continuing to pay tribute to her late sister, Kelly Curtis, just hours after announcing her death at the age of 69.
“In 1984 on December 17, in the evening before my wedding, my sister, Kelly, who was my maid of honor, came to my apartment and slept over,” Jamie, 67, wrote via Facebook on Saturday, May 30.
Jamie added that their friend Suzanne Tenner “made a portrait of the sisters” before her wedding to husband Christopher Guest. “She sent me this contact sheet today in condolence for the loss of my beautiful sister,” the Freaky Friday actress added.
In the photos, Jamie and Kelly struck various poses as they sat on the floor. The sisters hugged in a handful of the snapshots, while others showed them entwined as they laid on the ground.
“My sister and I were close as children but also had that sibling competition for divorced parent’s attention, and love and we were wildly different and lived apart for many years, but she came back to be with me at my wedding and never really left again,” Jamie continued. “She worked for me at one point when she was in between jobs as my assister-aunt and became an integral part of my family structure.”
The actress concluded, “I miss her today but am buoyed by the knowledge that she is at peace.”
Jamie confirmed Kelly’s death via Instagram earlier on Saturday.
“A warm aloha to my older sister, Kelly Lee Curtis. She passed away this morning. In her home. In nature. At peace,” she wrote alongside a black and white photo of her late sibling, which showed her getting her hair done as she smoked a cigarette.
She went on to say that Kelly was her “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,” Jamie continued. “She was proud of her Danish roots and Hungarian Jewish ancestry and was a devoted American patriot.”
Jamie added that she will remember Kelly for “her loving generosity, fierce opinions, endless curiosity, unique style, and her powdered, almond, crescent cookies at Christmas.”
Kelly, the eldest daughter of Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh, was born in Santa Monica on June 17, 1956. Similar to Jamie, she followed in her mother and father’s professional footsteps and made her acting debut in the 1958 adventure film The Vikings alongside her parents.
She and Jamie also appeared in several films together, including 1983’s Trading Places, 1987’s Magic Sticks and 1991’s The Devil’s Daughter.
Kelly also worked behind the camera and directed the 2018 documentary Marby Jets Are Go.
Her cause of death has not yet been publicly revealed. Kelly is survived by Jamie and Christoper, 78, her husband and fellow filmmaker John Marsh, and her half-siblings Alexandra, Allegra, Ben and Nicholas.
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