Hungarians in Hollywood: Jamie Lee Curtis

Just when we thought Hungarians had somehow been excluded from the major honors of the 94th Academy Awards, Best Supporting Oscar winner Jamie Lee Curtis opened her mouth at the post-ceremony press conference and sang a little in Hungarian, revealing that Hungary is the “country of my family.”

This is because the grand dame scream queen is the daughter of Hollywood legend (and child of Hungarian immigrants) Tony Curtis. According to Wikipedia, Curtis’s parents “were Hungarian Jewish emigrants from Hungary: his father was born in Ópályi, near Mátészalka, and his mother was a native of Nagymihály (now Michalovce, Slovakia); she later said she arrived in the U.S. from Válykó (now Vaľkovo, Slovakia). He spoke only Hungarian until the age of six, delaying his schooling.”

Jamie Lee Curtis famously got her movie debut as the innocent heroine Laurie Strode in John Carpenter’s Halloween, a role she reprises to this day. Halloween led to a slew of roles in slasher films, then later iconic comedies like Trading Places and A Fish Called Wanda. Her award was for the role as an IRS inspector in Best Film winner Everything Everywhere All at Once.

Curtis is known to return to Budapest from time to time, and was a major force in fund-raising for the Dohány Street Synagogue renovation. Not stopping there, she further honored her Jewish Hungarian roots by contributing to the renovation of the local synagogue in Mátészalka, where her grandparents lived and worshiped. In the same town, she attended the opening of the Tony Curtis Memorial Museum and Cafe. There is no word if she treated that audience to a song in Hungarian.

In her post-Oscar interview, Jamie Lee Curtis conceded that the win was at least “a semi-Hungarian Oscar,” and that’s good enough for us. See the full interview, with a snippet of the Hungarian song, below.

Flatpack Films has many years of experience dedicated to offering expert servicing. It has brought the best of Hungary to countless brands, agencies, and production companies through its unique locations, exceptionally skilled crews, top of the line equipment and technical solutions. Backed by an impeccable track record, Flatpack Films has worked with world-class clients including Samsung, Samsonite, Toyota, Braun, Chivas Regal and many more - bringing their projects to life through a highly bespoke approach.