Janet Leigh
Known for
Discovered at eighteen and signed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Janet Leigh (Merced, California, 1927-2004) unfolded a career of more than fifty years across very different genres, from the film noir of Orson Welles's 'Touch of Evil' to the western 'The Naked Spur'. But her name was linked forever to Marion Crane in Alfred Hitchcock's 'Psycho', whose shower scene is the most famous in the history of suspense; the role earned her a Golden Globe and an Oscar nomination. She also worked in 'The Manchurian Candidate' and, as a veteran, shared the screen with her daughter Jamie Lee Curtis in the horror of 'The Fog' and 'Halloween H20'. Leigh combined luminous beauty and nervous fragility, a presence that Hitchcock knew how to turn into pure tension.
Janet Leigh
52 Movies
12 Series
Discovered at eighteen and signed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Janet Leigh (Merced, California, 1927-2004) unfolded a career of more than fifty years across very different genres, from the film noir of Orson Welles's 'Touch of Evil' to the western 'The Naked Spur'. But her name was linked forever to Marion Crane in Alfred Hitchcock's 'Psycho', whose shower scene is the most famous in the history of suspense; the role earned her a Golden Globe and an Oscar nomination. She also worked in 'The Manchurian Candidate' and, as a veteran, shared the screen with her daughter Jamie Lee Curtis in the horror of 'The Fog' and 'Halloween H20'. Leigh combined luminous beauty and nervous fragility, a presence that Hitchcock knew how to turn into pure tension.
Movies
Plays Marion Crane
Psycho
1960
Plays Kathy Williams
The Fog
1980
Plays Norma
Halloween H20: 20 Years Later
1998
Plays Susan 'Susie' Vargas
Touch of Evil
1958
Plays Susan Harper
Harper
1966
Plays Meg
Little Women
1949
Plays Eugenie Rose Chaney
The Manchurian Candidate
1962
Producer
Plays Morgana
The Vikings
1958
Plays Jennifer Paige
Angels in the Outfield
1951
Plays Rosie DeLeon
Bye Bye Birdie
1963
Plays Aline de Gavrillac de Bourbon
Scaramouche
1952
Plays Lina Patch
The Naked Spur
1953
Plays Bess Houdini
Houdini
1953
Plays Gerry Bennett
Night of the Lepus
1972
Plays Connie Ennis
Holiday Affair
1949
Plays Princess Aleta
Prince Valiant
1954
Plays Eileen Sherwood
My Sister Eileen
1955
Plays Lady Anne of Mackworth
The Black Shield of Falworth
1954
Plays Lt. Anna Marladovna Shannon / Olga Orlief
Jet Pilot
1957
Plays Florence Cohen
Boardwalk
1979
Plays Wally Cook
Living It Up
1954
Plays Edith Enley
Act of Violence
1949
Plays Miss Diketon
The Spy in the Green Hat
1967
Plays Rosa Szabo Xenophon
It's a Big Country
1951
Plays Linda Latham
Safari
1956
Plays Dorothy Feiner
Words and Music
1948
Plays Vicki Loren
The Perfect Furlough
1958
Plays Janet Leigh
Pepe
1960
Plays Connie Bedloe
Confidentially Connie
1953
Plays Vivian Miller
Hello Down There
1969
Plays Mrs. Witt
Bad Girls from Valley High
2005
Plays Cherry McMahon
An American Dream
1966
Plays Nancy Peterson
Two Tickets to Broadway
1951
Plays Lucy Duncan
Just This Once
1952
Plays Ann Wilson
Who Was That Lady?
1960
Plays Bertie Austin
Wives and Lovers
1963
Plays Ivy Conrad
Pete Kelly's Blues
1955
Plays Evelyn 'Taffy' Heldon
The Doctor and the Girl
1949
Plays Karen Stephanson
Rogue Cop
1954
Plays Lissy Anne MacBean
The Romance of Rosy Ridge
1947
Plays Dr Elizabeth Acord
Three on a Couch
1966
Plays June Forsyte
That Forsyte Woman
1949
Plays Olga Alexandrova aka Maria Buhlen
The Red Danube
1949
Plays Mary Ann
Grand Slam
1967
Plays Isabelle Perry
Strictly Dishonorable
1951
Plays Gert Meredith
One Is a Lonely Number
1972
Plays Margit Mitchell
Hills of Home
1948
Plays Abby Ames
Fearless Fagan
1952
Plays Effie Bright
If Winter Comes
1947
TV Shows
Plays Self
What's My Line?
1950
Plays Self
The Colgate Comedy Hour
1950
Plays Joan Philipps / Gail
The Love Boat
1977
Plays Miss Diketon
The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
1964
Plays Grace Wheeler Willis
Columbo
1971
Plays Barbara LeMay
The Twilight Zone
1985
Plays Joan Stackpole
Tales of the Unexpected
1979
Plays Mary Sawyer
Family Law
1999
Plays Ramona
Matt Houston
1982
Plays Carol
Ghost Story
1972
Plays Cornelia Montaigne Harper
Murder, She Wrote
1984
Plays Vera King
Touched by an Angel
1994
Latest Trailers
Watch Trailer
Bad Girls from Valley High
Full Filmography
Bad Girls from Valley High
Mrs. Witt
2005
Film
Family Law
Mary Sawyer · 1 episode
2000–2001
TV
Halloween H20: 20 Years Later
Norma
1998
Film
Touched by an Angel
Vera King · 1 episode
1997
TV
The Twilight Zone
Barbara LeMay · 1 episode
1988–1989
TV
Murder, She Wrote
Cornelia Montaigne Harper · 1 episode
1987
TV
The Love Boat
Joan Philipps / Gail · 2 episodes
1978–1985
TV
Tales of the Unexpected
Joan Stackpole · 1 episode
1982
TV
Matt Houston
Ramona · 1 episode
1982
TV
Photos
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Janet Leigh still alive?
Janet Leigh passed away on October 3, 2004 at age 77.
What are the most famous roles of Janet Leigh?
Janet Leigh is best known for roles in Psycho, Halloween H20: 20 Years Later, The Fog.
How many movies has Janet Leigh been in?
Over a 57-year career (since 1947), Janet Leigh has appeared in 52 movies and 10 TV shows.
What was Janet Leigh's first movie?
The career of Janet Leigh began with The Romance of Rosy Ridge (1947).
What is Janet Leigh's most recent movie or series?
Janet Leigh's most recent release is The Making of 'Psycho', which premiered on October 26, 2005.
What TV shows has Janet Leigh appeared in?
On television, Janet Leigh has appeared in Columbo, Murder, She Wrote, The Twilight Zone, The Love Boat.
Janet Leigh
1927-07-06 · Merced, California, USA
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.