Janet Leigh (born Jeanette Helen Morrison; July , â€" October , ) was
an American actress, singer, dancer, and author, whose career spanned
over five decades. Raised in Stockton, California by working-class
parents, Leigh was discovered at by actress Norma Shearer, who helped
her secure a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Leigh had her first
formal foray into acting, appearing in radio programs before making
her film debut in the drama The Romance of Rosy Ridge ().Early in her
career, she appeared in several popular films for MGM which spanned a
wide variety of genres, including Act of Violence (), Little Women (),
Angels in the Outfield (), Scaramouche (), The Naked Spur (), and
Living It Up (). Leigh played mostly dramatic roles during the latter
half of the s, in such films as Safari () and Orson Welles's film noir
Touch of Evil (), but achieved her most lasting recognition as the
doomed Marion Crane in Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho (), which earned her
a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress and a nomination for
the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.Her highly publicized
marriage to actor Tony Curtis ended in divorce in , and after starring
in The Manchurian Candidate that same year, Leigh scaled back her
career. Intermittently, she continued to appear in films, including
Bye Bye Birdie (), Harper (), Night of the Lepus (), and Boardwalk ().
In late , she made her Broadway debut 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 () and Halloween H: Years Later
().
an American actress, singer, dancer, and author, whose career spanned
over five decades. Raised in Stockton, California by working-class
parents, Leigh was discovered at by actress Norma Shearer, who helped
her secure a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Leigh had her first
formal foray into acting, appearing in radio programs before making
her film debut in the drama The Romance of Rosy Ridge ().Early in her
career, she appeared in several popular films for MGM which spanned a
wide variety of genres, including Act of Violence (), Little Women (),
Angels in the Outfield (), Scaramouche (), The Naked Spur (), and
Living It Up (). Leigh played mostly dramatic roles during the latter
half of the s, in such films as Safari () and Orson Welles's film noir
Touch of Evil (), but achieved her most lasting recognition as the
doomed Marion Crane in Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho (), which earned her
a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress and a nomination for
the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.Her highly publicized
marriage to actor Tony Curtis ended in divorce in , and after starring
in The Manchurian Candidate that same year, Leigh scaled back her
career. Intermittently, she continued to appear in films, including
Bye Bye Birdie (), Harper (), Night of the Lepus (), and Boardwalk ().
In late , she made her Broadway debut 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 () and Halloween H: Years Later
().
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