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.
106 movies · 26 shows
Jaws @ 50: The Definitive Inside Story
2025·7.5
Pictures of Ghosts
2023·8.1
Jamie Lee Curtis: Hollywood Call of Freedom
2022·7.0
Rat Pack
2022·9.0
I Am Alfred Hitchcock
2021·7.3
Emergency: Donald Trump’s "Touch of Evil"
2019·0.0
Hollywood: No Sex, Please!
2018·5.5
The Fabulous Allan Carr
2017·4.5
Fascination: Unauthorized Story of Marilyn Monroe
2012·7.2
The Making of 'Psycho'
2005·7.5
Bad Girls from Valley High
2005·4.0
Tales from the Mist: Inside 'The Fog'
2002·6.3
Mary Pickford: A Life on Film
2000·7.0
The American Nightmare
2000·6.8
Howard Hughes: His Women and His Movies
2000·9.0
Cubby Broccoli: The Man Behind Bond
2000·6.5
Rat Pack: A Conference of Cool
1999·0.0
Hitchcock: Shadow of a Genius
1999·8.5
Saturday Night Live: 25th Anniversary Special
1999·6.9
Anthony Perkins: A Life in the Shadows
1999·8.0
Halloween H20: 20 Years Later
1998·6.0
Unmasking the Horror
1998·10.0
In My Sister's Shadow
1997·6.3
Jerry Lewis: The Last American Clown
1996·6.0
Inside the Dream Factory
1995·8.0
Charlton Heston: For All Seasons
1995·5.0
The Story of Lassie
1994·8.0
Hitchcock: Alfred the Great
1994·7.0
The Egg
1993·7.0
Happy 100th Birthday, Hollywood
1987·6.0
The Fantasy Film Worlds of George Pal
1986·7.3
Psycho III
1986·5.7
Night of 100 Stars II
1985·6.8
Psycho II
1983·6.5
Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
1983·7.0
Night of 100 Stars
1982·5.8
The Fog
1980·6.7
Fear on Film: Inside 'The Fog'
1980·5.8
Boardwalk
1979·7.5
Mirror, Mirror
1979·8.0
The Horror Show
1979·3.4
Telethon
1977·6.0
Murder at the World Series
1977·6.7
Murdock's Gang
1973·7.5
Night of the Lepus
1972·4.4
One Is a Lonely Number
1972·5.1
Hollywood: The Dream Factory
1972·7.3
The Deadly Dream
1971·7.0
House on Greenapple Road
1970·7.4
Honeymoon with a Stranger
1969·7.0
The Monk
1969·8.0
Hello Down There
1969·5.9
Grand Slam
1967·7.1
The Spy in the Green Hat
1967·6.6
An American Dream
1966·5.0
Three on a Couch
1966·5.4
Harper
1966·6.7
Kid Rodelo
1966·8.0
Bob Hope Christmas Show
1965·7.0
Wives and Lovers
1963·4.4
Bye Bye Birdie
1963·5.9
The Manchurian Candidate
1962·7.5
Pepe
1960·6.3
Psycho
1960·8.4
Who Was That Lady?
1960·6.4
People, Hopes, Medals
1960·4.6
The Perfect Furlough
1958·6.8
The Vikings
1958·7.0
Touch of Evil
1958·7.7
Jet Pilot
1957·5.5
Safari
1956·5.6
Nightmare
1956·0.0
My Sister Eileen
1955·6.6
Pete Kelly's Blues
1955·6.2
A Star Is Born World Premiere
1954·8.0
Rogue Cop
1954·5.7
The Black Shield of Falworth
1954·6.2
Living It Up
1954·6.5
Miss Glucksman Visits Hollywood
1954·0.0
Prince Valiant
1954·6.1
Walking My Baby Back Home
1953·9.0
Houdini
1953·6.6
Confidentially Connie
1953·5.8
The Naked Spur
1953·7.0
Fearless Fagan
1952·5.2
Scaramouche
1952·7.0
Just This Once
1952·4.4
An Eye for an Eye
1952·0.0
Come Back Little Shiksa
1952·0.0
It's a Big Country
1951·5.9
Two Tickets to Broadway
1951·4.6
Angels in the Outfield
1951·7.0
The Re-Inforcer
1951·5.5
Strictly Dishonorable
1951·5.0
Fairfax Avenue
1951·0.0
Holiday Affair
1949·6.9
That Forsyte Woman
1949·6.0
The Red Danube
1949·6.7
The Doctor and the Girl
1949·5.9
Little Women
1949·7.4
Act of Violence
1949·6.9
How to Smuggle a Hernia Across the Border
1949·8.0
Words and Music
1948·5.8
Hills of Home
1948·6.9
If Winter Comes
1947·6.7
The Romance of Rosy Ridge
1947·6.7