Janet Leigh
Acting
Janet Leigh (born Jeanette Helen Morrison; July 6, 1927 – October 3, 2004) was an American actress, singer, dancer, and author. Her career spanned over five decades. Raised in Stockton, California, by working-class parents, Leigh was discovered at 18 by actress Norma Shearer, who helped her secure a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Leigh appeared in radio programs before her first formal foray into acting, making her film debut in the drama The Romance of Rosy Ridge (1947). With MGM, she appeared in many films which spanned a wide variety of genres, which include the crime-drama Act of Violence (1948), the drama Little Women (1949), the comedy Angels in the Outfield (1951), the romance Scaramouche (1952) and the western drama The Naked Spur (1953). She played dramatic roles during the late 1950s, in such films as Safari (1956) and Orson Welles's film noir Touch of Evil (1958). With RKO Radio pictures she co-starred in the romantic comedy Holiday Affair (1949) with Robert Mitchum. Leigh achieved her biggest success starring as Marion Crane in Alfred Hitchcock's psychological thriller Psycho (1960). For her performance, Leigh won the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress and earned a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Intermittently, she continued to appear in films, including Bye Bye Birdie (1963), Harper (1966), Night of the Lepus (1972), and Boardwalk (1979). She made her Broadway debut in 1975 in a production of Murder Among Friends. She would also go on to appear in two horror films with her daughter, Jamie Lee Curtis: The Fog (1980) and Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998). In addition to her work as an actress, Leigh also wrote four books between 1984 and 2002, two of which were novels. Leigh had two brief marriages as a teenager (one of which was annulled) before marrying actor Tony Curtis in 1951. The pair's highly publicized union ended in divorce in 1962, and after starring in The Manchurian Candidate that same year, Leigh remarried and scaled back her career. She died in October 2004 at age 77, following a year-long battle with vasculitis, an inflammation of the blood vessels.
Known for
Acting131
movieJaws @ 50: The Definitive Inside Story
2025
Self (archive footage)
moviePictures of Ghosts
2023
Self (archive footage)
movieRat Pack
2022
Self (archive footage)
movieI Am Alfred Hitchcock
2021
Self (archive footage)
movieEmergency: Donald Trump’s "Touch of Evil"
2019
(archive footage)
movieThe Fabulous Allan Carr
2017
Self (archive)
movieFascination: Unauthorized Story of Marilyn Monroe
2012
Self (archive footage)
movieBad Girls from Valley High
2005
Mrs. Witt
movieSaturday Night Live: 25th Anniversary Special
1999
Self (uncredited)
tvFamily Law
1999
Mary Sawyer
movieIn My Sister's Shadow
1997
Kay Connor
tvTouched by an Angel
1994
Vera King
tvIntimate Portrait
1993
Self (archive footage) / Self
movieThe Egg
1993
The egg (voice) (archive footage)
moviePsycho III
1986
Marion Crane (archive footage) (uncredited)
tvThe Twilight Zone
1985
Barbara LeMay
tvMurder, She Wrote
1984
Cornelia Montaigne Harper
moviePsycho II
1983
Marion Crane (archive footage) (uncredited)
movieHollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
1983
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
tvMatt Houston
1982
Ramona
movieThe Fog
1980
Kathy Williams
movieBoardwalk
1979
Florence Cohen
movieMirror, Mirror
1979
Millie Gorman
tvTales of the Unexpected
1979
Joan Stackpole
movieThe Horror Show
1979
(archive footage)
movieTelethon
1977
Elaine Cotten
tvThe Love Boat
1977
Joan Philipps / Gail
movieMurder at the World Series
1977
Karen Weese
movieMurdock's Gang
1973
Laura Talbot
movieNight of the Lepus
1972
Gerry Bennett
tvGhost Story
1972
Carol
movieOne Is a Lonely Number
1972
Gert Meredith
movieHollywood: The Dream Factory
1972
Self (archive footage)
movieThe Deadly Dream
1971
Laurel Hanley
tvColumbo
1971
Grace Wheeler Willis
movieHouse on Greenapple Road
1970
Marian Ord
movieHoneymoon with a Stranger
1969
Sandra Latham
movieThe Monk
1969
Janice Barnes
movieHello Down There
1969
Vivian Miller
tvRowan & Martin's Laugh-In
1968
Self (uncredited) / Self
movieGrand Slam
1967
Mary Ann
movieThe Spy in the Green Hat
1967
Miss Diketon
movieAn American Dream
1966
Cherry McMahon
movieThree on a Couch
1966
Dr Elizabeth Acord
movieHarper
1966
Susan Harper
tvThe Man from U.N.C.L.E.
1964
Miss Diketon
tvThe Hollywood Palace
1964
Self - Host
movieWives and Lovers
1963
Bertie Austin
movieBye Bye Birdie
1963
Rosie DeLeon
movieThe Manchurian Candidate
1962
Eugenie Rose Chaney
moviePepe
1960
Janet Leigh
moviePsycho
1960
Marion Crane
movieWho Was That Lady?
1960
Ann Wilson
movieThe Perfect Furlough
1958
Lt. Vicki Loren
movieThe Vikings
1958
Morgana
movieTouch of Evil
1958
Susan 'Susie' Vargas
movieJet Pilot
1957
Lt. Anna Marladovna Shannon / Olga Orlief
movieSafari
1956
Linda Latham
movieMy Sister Eileen
1955
Eileen Sherwood
moviePete Kelly's Blues
1955
Ivy Conrad
movieRogue Cop
1954
Karen Stephanson
movieThe Black Shield of Falworth
1954
Lady Anne of Mackworth
movieLiving It Up
1954
Wally Cook
moviePrince Valiant
1954
Princess Aleta
movieWalking My Baby Back Home
1953
Chris Hall
movieHoudini
1953
Bess Houdini
tvThe Oscars
1953
Self
movieConfidentially Connie
1953
Connie Bedloe
movieThe Naked Spur
1953
Lina Patch
movieFearless Fagan
1952
Abby Ames
movieScaramouche
1952
Aline de Gavrillac de Bourbon
movieJust This Once
1952
Lucy Duncan
movieIt's a Big Country
1951
Rosa Szabo Xenophon
movieTwo Tickets to Broadway
1951
Nancy Peterson
movieAngels in the Outfield
1951
Jennifer Paige
movieThe Re-Inforcer
1951
Mary Muck
movieStrictly Dishonorable
1951
Isabelle Perry
movieHoliday Affair
1949
Connie Ennis
movieThat Forsyte Woman
1949
June Forsyte
movieThe Red Danube
1949
Olga Alexandrova aka Maria Buhlen
movieThe Doctor and the Girl
1949
Evelyn 'Taffy' Heldon
movieAct of Violence
1949
Edith Enley
movieWords and Music
1948
Dorothy Feiner
movieHills of Home
1948
Margit Mitchell
movieIf Winter Comes
1947
Effie Bright
movieThe Romance of Rosy Ridge
1947
Lissy Anne MacBean
Production3
tvStartime
1959
Executive Producer
movieThe Vikings
1958
Executive Producer
movieSweet Smell of Success
1957
Executive Producer