“I went and had an eye job”: Jamie Lee Curtis’ Appalling Experience On $13 Million John Travolta Film That Inspired Her to Get Plastic Surgery

Actress Jamie Lee Curtis, popular for her performances in horror and slasher genre movies, is often regarded as a screen queen. She is one of the most talented and respected actresses in the industry who, after her role as a workout instructor in 1985’s Perfect, was dubbed a s*x symbol. Curtis has been a part of projects including My Girl, Freaky Friday, Knives Out, Everything Everywhere All At Once, and more.

The actress has been part of movies including True Lies, As Summer Dies, A Fish Called Wanda, and more. The actress has written numerous children’s books including Today I Feel Silly, Other Moods That Make My Day, and many more for which she has always been appreciated. Curtis has been honest about her struggles with being a recovering alcoholic and, in an interview, opened up about what led her to get plastic surgery.

Jamie Lee Curtis opens up about getting an eye job at the age of 35

According to an interview with AARP, Jamie Lee Curtis back in 1998 washed down a handful of Vicodin tablets with a glass of wine. She explained that it was a habit that had begun when she was prescribed the painkillers following cosmetic surgery nearly a decade earlier.

A comment from a friend and an article by Tom Chiarella about his addiction to Vicodin made her realize what situation she was in. She recalled,

He wrote about how he didn’t know where his marriage certificate or his daughter’s birth certificate was, but he knew where every Vicodin was in his house. There were two at the tip of his left cowboy boot, one under the bill of his Cubs cap… and I recognized all the secrecy and the obsession, and that was me.

In 1999, the actress entered into recovery and has been free of drugs and alcohol ever since. Jamie Lee Curtis noted that she would have been dead for sure if she hadn’t taken care of her addiction. In her New Yorker profile, the actress opened up about the cosmetic surgery that eventually led to her addiction. Curtis acknowledged,

I had undergone plastic surgery, which is where I first found Vicodin. I underwent an eye job when I was thirty-five years old because one day I was in the movie Perfect, and Gordon Willis, the great cameraman, looked at me and said, ‘Yeah, I am not shooting her today’. I was puffy that day and for whatever reason. I was mortified. Right after that movie, I went and had an eye job. That’s when I found Vicodin, and the cycle of addiction began with that.

Curtis starred in Perfect alongside John Travolta, and it was based on a series of articles that appeared in Rolling Stone magazine in the late 1970s. The movie went on to gross over $13 million at the box office, receiving negative reviews from critics and the audience. The movie holds an 18% score on Rotten Tomatoes.

The actress shared in the same interview that she was terrified when she got sober, as it scared her about being outed. She felt that her weakness was going to be exposed and exploited, but during an interview for her children’s book, Redbook, she just let it all out because she felt that it was important to talk about opiates.

Jamie Lee Curtis talks if she is finally done with the Halloween movie series

In a conversation with EW, the talented and well-respected actress was asked if there was a possibility of her reprising her iconic character from the Halloween movie series. She said,

I have hung up my bellbottoms and my pale blue button-down shirt, and I have relinquished Laurie to the ages with a warm ‘aloha’ and thanks for all the years and memories. And yet, if I’ve learned anything in my 65 years on the planet, it’s never said never.

Curtis’ breakout role as Laurie Strode in John Carpenter’s 1978’s Halloween was highly appreciated by the audience and the critics. The movie’s critical and commercial success established the actress as a Scream Queen, which eventually led to her starring in other horror movies.

Back in 2022, Jamie Lee Curtis shared with NPR about how she said goodbye to a character that was her way to the stardom. The actress added that she does not look at it as a goodbye but a thank you. She mentioned that it’s because the role of Laurie Strode gave her a creative life, and she met her husband because of it, so she wants to be thankful for it. The actress also noted that the character gave her a platform as a young actor to stand on, which is why she’ll always be grateful for it.

Jamie Lee Curtis reprised her role for 2021’s Halloween Kills and the final one for 2022’s Halloween Ends. Halloween Ends is available to stream on Prime Video.