Jamie Lee Curtis on Playing Nicole Kidman's 'Maneater' Sister in New Series: 'I Have to Look Cute and I Hate It' (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Jamie Lee Curtis (left) and Nicole Kidman.

At this point in her career,Jamie Lee Curtisprefers to disappear into her roles. “It’s all I’m looking for,” she says.

Her recent résumé would suggest as much: Curtis, 66,won an Oscarfor playing dowdy IRS auditorDeirdre Beaubeirdra inEverything Everywhere All at Once,took home won an EmmyasThe Bear’s chain-smoking matriarch Donna Berzatto, and, in her latest role — a cocktail waitress inThe Last Showgirl— she wears a “red shag” wig and has a “leathered” look thanks to a spray tan.

But for her upcoming Prime Video series,Scarpetta, starringNicole Kidmanas medical examiner Kay Scarpetta, Curtis is going glam, which is taking her some getting used to.

“I have to look cute and I hate it,” Curtis quips to PEOPLE. “She’s a maneater and it’s all about what she looks like.”

Jamie Lee Curtis on Oct. 5, 2024.Tommaso Boddi/Getty

Tommaso Boddi/Getty

“Look at these,” continues Curtis holding up her manicure. “I’ve got her French tips. And of course, I have to look really cute and fashionable and sexy.”

Jamie Lee Curtis in ‘The Last Showgirl’.Roadside Attractions

Roadside Attractions

Curtis, who is an executive producer on the series along with Kidman, said in a statement last fall that she had long-wanted to bring Cornwell’s books to the screen.

But before that series premieres at a later date, Curtis is focusing onThe Last Showgirl, starringPamela Andersonas a Las Vegas dancer whose show is closing after decades on the strip.

The formerHalloweenscream queentells PEOPLE she signed on to the movie because she knew formerBaywatchstar Anderson — who is getting the best reviews of her career and is nominated for a best actress Golden Globe — would sink her teeth into the lead role of Shelly.

“I understood the opportunity that this was going to present to her to be an artist. I made horror movies when I was 19 years old, and I’ve waited a long time to be an artist. And I get to be an artist now,” says Curtis.

The Last Showgirlis in theaters on Friday, Jan. 10.

For more on Jamie Lee Curtis and Pamela Anderson, pick up the new issue of PEOPLE.

source: people.com