If She Ruled the World

Jamie Lee Curtis is Hollywood royalty. She’s the daughter of Janet Leigh and Tony Curtis, godmother to brooding hottie Jake Gyllenhaal, and wife of Lord Christopher Guest (which technically makes her Lady Haden-Guest). Her filmography is vast and genre-defying. She started out as a scream queen in John Carpenter’s Halloween, amped up the sex-kitten image in Trading Places and A Fish Called Wanda, dallied with the Governator in True Lies, and made the holidays hysterical in Christmas with the Kranks. To hear her refer to herself as a “loser” is laughable.

“I have no formal education of any note. I barely got through high school. I am the classic underachiever. So on paper, I am a loser. But in my heart, and in what I do, I am a real success. That’s what I’m trying to teach my kids, that success is about self-worth, and you get that by doing estimable acts,” says the wonderfully self-deprecating actress and author. The still-short-haired Tinseltown legend is doing more than her share of good deeds. Together with amazing illustrator Laura Cornell, she has written seven best-selling children’s books, and Curtis is coming to town to promote their latest bright and bustling volume, Is There Really a Human Race?, a colorful keepsake reminiscent of the most inspiring Dr. Seuss classics.

The book is based on a question her son asked when he was little. “I was very taken by the question. I told him that I had to think about it. Then I wrote this answer to him. Ultimately the idea that all of us always are trying to win at something – love, family, school, the business world – the obsession with winning seems to have muted the very beautiful act of being a good person,” she says.

With the kind of work she’s currently producing, Curtis can look forward to aging beautifully, as eager fans approach her to tell her how much her books meant to them as children rather than how much they loved her on Anything but Love. Meet Jamie Lee Curtis this morning at 10:00 at Temple Judea. Admission is free. Educators who want to organize a school field trip to this event should contact Emily D’Amour at [email protected]. Call 305-442-4408, or visit www.booksandbooks.com and www.jamieleecurtisbooks.com.
Fri., Sept. 29