Photo Credit: Andrew Eccles

The American Film Institute announced today it will confer a Doctorate of Fine Arts degree honoris causa for contributions of distinction to the art of the moving image upon Jamie Lee Curtis. Curtis will be recognized during the AFI Conservatory’s commencement ceremony celebrating the Class of 2024 on Saturday, August 10, 2024, at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.

“Jamie Lee Curtis is a supernova born from the union of two stars – an icon whose fearless approach to her craft and dauntless dedication to driving culture forward define excellence in our modern day,” said Bob Gazzale, AFI President and CEO. “AFI is privileged to honor her at AFI Commencement, where the next generation of storytellers will draw inspiration from her remarkable journey.”

Curtis has enjoyed a long and distinguished career as an actress, hitting new heights with her performance in the film Everything Everywhere All at Once, for which she won the Academy Award® for Best Supporting Actress. Curtis’ extensive film credits also include TRUE LIES, TRADING PLACES, A FISH CALLED WANDA, HALLOWEEN (1978), HALLOWEEN (2018), KNIVES OUT, BLUE STEEL, CHRISTMAS WITH THE KRANKS, FREAKY FRIDAY, MY GIRL, THE TAILOR OF PANAMA, YOU AGAIN, and many others. Her television credits include ANYTHING BUT LOVE, SCREAM QUEENS and THE BEAR, for which she recently garnered an Emmy® nomination for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series.

Curtis joins an esteemed group of distinguished AFI Honorary Degree recipients, including Robert Altman, Maya Angelou, Saul Bass, Angela Bassett, Kathryn Bigelow, Mel Brooks, Carol Burnett, Anne V. Coates, Ernest R. Dickerson, Clint Eastwood, Roger Ebert, Nora Ephron, Jodie Foster, Lesli Linka Glatter, Lawrence Herbert, James Earl Jones, Lawrence Kasdan, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Kathleen Kennedy, Angela Lansbury, Spike Lee, David Lynch, Helen Mirren, Rita Moreno, Gina Prince-Bythewood, Paul Schrader, Quentin Tarantino, Lily Tomlin, Robert Towne, Cicely Tyson, Haskell Wexler, John Williams and Michelle Yeoh.

In addition to the commencement ceremony, AFI will host several industry showcases featuring the work of the graduating filmmakers. The showcases are part of AFI’s Bridge to the Future program for Conservatory graduates. The Production Design Showcase will host an opening reception on August 8 at 7:00 p.m. and the open house – filled with work by AFI Conservatory Production Design graduates – will take place August 9 and 11 from 10:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m. The Cinematography Visual Essays Showcase, which screens a collection of three-minute films all shot on motion picture film by AFI Conservatory Fellows, will take place on August 11 at 1:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m., with an encore presentation on August 12 at 11:00 a.m. The Conservatory Screenwriting Showcase is slated for September 12, with the Directing Showcase set for October 22. To RSVP or learn more about AFI Conservatory showcases, please email [email protected].

About Jamie Lee Curtis

Jamie Lee Curtis has enjoyed a long and distinguished career as an actress, hitting new heights with her performance in the film Everything Everywhere All at Once, for which she won the Academy Award® and SAG Award for Best Supporting Actress. For her performance, Curtis was also nominated for a Golden Globe® Award and an Independent Spirit Award.  In 2021, Curtis received the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the Venice Film Festival.

She has demonstrated her versatility in acclaimed films including the blockbuster TRUE LIES, for which she won a Golden Globe® Award and TRADING PLACES, for which she earned a BAFTA Award. Curtis garnered BAFTA and Golden Globe® Award nominations for A FISH CALLED WANDA, and a Golden Globe® nomination for FREAKY FRIDAY. Its sequel FREAKY FRIDAY 2 will be released in 2025.

Her film debut in John Carpenter’s 1978 horror classic HALLOWEEN brought her worldwide attention. Forty years later, Curtis reprised her iconic role in David Gordon Green’s record-breaking HALLOWEEN (2018), produced by Jason Blum. Its opening weekend was the biggest debut ever, for any movie in any genre, to feature a female lead character over 55 years of age. The film trilogy also includes HALLOWEEN KILLS (2021) and HALLOWEEN ENDS (2022).

Curtis’ extensive film credits also include KNIVES OUT, YOU AGAIN, BEVERLY HILLS CHIHUAHUA, CHRISTMAS WITH THE KRANKS, THE TAILOR OF PANAMA, BLUE STEEL, MY GIRL, MY GIRL 2 and many others.

On television, Curtis most recently guest-starred on the award-winning FX on Hulu series THE BEAR, for which she received an Emmy® nomination for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series. Other television highlights include SCREAM QUEENS, for which she received a Golden Globe® nomination; the sitcom ANYTHING BUT LOVE, co-starring Richard Lewis, for which she earned a Golden Globe® Award; TNT’s adaptation of the Wendy Wasserstein play THE HEIDI CHRONICLES, for which she earned a Golden Globe® nomination; and the CBS television film NICHOLAS’ GIFT, for which she was nominated for an Emmy® Award.

In 2019, Curtis formed Comet Pictures, a film, television and podcast production company that has a first-look deal with Blumhouse. Comet’s projects in the works include: SCARPETTA, a series based on Patricia Cornwell’s best-selling novels about forensic pathologist Kay Scarpetta which will star Nicole Kidman; Apple Original Films’  THE LOST BUS, starring Matthew McConaughey, America Ferrera and directed by Paul Greengrass; and MOTHER NATURE, an eco-horror film based on the graphic novel written by Curtis and Russell Goldman and illustrated by Karl Stevens that Curtis co-wrote with Goldman and that she will direct.

Curtis is also the founder and CEO of My Hand In Yours, a charitable organization that offers comfort and celebration items with 100% of every sale donated directly to Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. Curtis is also a New York Times best-selling children’s book author, having written 13 books.  Her most recent book, “Just One More Sleep,” was released earlier this year.