Who Knew?

How do you horrify the original scream queen? Corner her at a party and try to make small talk.

Scream queen Jamie Lee Curtis is freaked out by small talk

What’s your greatest strength?

I’m a really honest person. That’s served me pretty well in this life.

And your greatest weakness?

Well, I’m a recovering drug addict. This is my 20th year sober after an opiate and alcohol addiction. I don’t mean to say that drug addicts are weak but I’m human and I became addicted to something that was hard to shake; it was my weakness.

Who is your personal hero?

Heroes are nurses in paediatric oncology wards or people working five jobs to make sure their children are provided for. Real people in real jobs are heroes to me.

What virtue do you most admire in others?

I’m a doer and I admire that quality in other people, too. I believe in hard work and sweat equity.

If you could do any other job, what would it be?

I was terrible at school and I only got into college where my mother [actress Janet Leigh] was the most famous person to have ever graduated. Academics were never my thing. I think I’d have been a great police officer; I have empathy, strength and bravery, I hope.

What’s your idea of absolute happiness?

Being curled up with a good book – I’m always hungry for knowledge.

What’s your most treasured possession?

My mind, especially when it spits out an idea for a really great children’s book [Curtis is the author of 15 bestselling storybooks]. Each idea that has shown up has been a gift. I love the miracle of creation.

What has been your greatest achievement?

Sobriety, by far.

What’s one thing about you that would surprise people?

I have zero issue about giving a one-hour lecture with no notes in front of 150,000 people but the truth is that I’m actually a very quiet, solitary person.

What scares you?

The snarky answer is the state of American politics right now because it’s terrifying. What the current administration is doing – and undoing – is potentially harming generations. I’m terrified of what that could mean for my kids [daughter Annie and son Thomas with her husband, writer, director and actor Christopher Guest].

What would you say is the most American thing about you?

I’m incredibly patriotic. I believe in the beautiful document that is the Constitution [of the United States of America] but I don’t believe any of the original founding fathers thought it would never be amended. It should be a fluid document.

Where would we find you at a party?

Parties freak me out because I’m not good at small talk; I get deep and dark with people pretty quickly. I’m the first person there and the first person to leave.

What’s your guilty pleasure?

Granola. I love really good granola.

What travel experience is on your bucket list?

I love to travel and I’ll take any flight, anywhere. I actually rate plane landings – I almost need to carry numbers with me to hold up like they do in the Olympics. When it’s a soft landing, I’m the person who starts clapping. I look around at the other passengers like, “Come on people, that was impressive!”