Jamie Lee Curtis Says Her Mom Protected Her From The Exorcist — and She’s Grateful for It

Jamie Lee Curtis is looking back with gratitude at a major role she didn’t get — and how her famous mother made sure she had a real childhood first.

Appearing on The Drew Barrymore Show, Curtis revealed that when she was just 12 years old, a producer wanted her to audition for The Exorcist. The call went straight to her mother, legendary actress Janet Leigh, who shut it down immediately.

“He called my mom and said, ‘Hey, I’m producing the movie of the book The Exorcist. Will you let Jamie audition for it?’” Curtis recalled. “And my mother said, ‘No.’”

Curtis said she understood exactly why Leigh made that decision. At the time, she was a kid with personality who likely caught the producer’s attention at a party — but her mother wanted to protect her from early fame and from the potential trauma of being part of such an intense film.

“My mom really wanted me to have, thank God, a childhood,” Curtis told host Drew Barrymore.

The moment resonated with Barrymore, who didn’t have that same choice. She became famous at just seven years old after starring in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.

The role Curtis missed ended up going to Linda Blair, who played the possessed child Regan and earned an Academy Award nomination in 1974.

Ironically, Curtis would later become one of the most iconic figures in horror — just on her own terms and at the right time. She broke out at 19 in Halloween, a performance that launched her into genre stardom. She went on to headline classics like The Fog, Prom Night, and Terror Train.

More than four decades later, Curtis returned to her most famous role as Laurie Strode in Halloween Ends, closing the chapter on a career that made her a horror legend — without sacrificing her childhood along the way.

Looking back now, Curtis made it clear she wouldn’t change a thing. Her mother’s “no” gave her time to grow up, find her footing, and eventually scream her way into movie history on her own schedule.