Jamie Lee Curtis announces death of sister Kelly Curtis at 69

Jamie Lee Curtis announced the death of her sister, the actor Kelly Curtis, at the age of 69.

Kelly Curtis died at her home in nature and at peace on Saturday, Jamie Lee Curtis said. No cause of death was given. Kelly Curtis appeared in films including Trading Places in 1983, Magic Sticks in 1987 and The Devil’s Daughter in 1991.

She was the eldest child of the actors Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh. Kelly Curtis made her first screen appearance as an infant in the 1958 film The Vikings, which starred her parents.

In an Instagram post, Jamie Lee Curtis wrote that her sister was her first friend and lifelong confidant. She described Kelly Curtis as jaw droppingly beautiful and a talented actress. Kelly Curtis played a mean game of hearts, collected turtles, loved her family, nature, music, thrifting, travel, Facebook and Pokémon Go, Jamie Lee Curtis wrote. She was proud of her Danish roots and Hungarian Jewish ancestry and was a devoted American patriot.

Kelly Curtis will be remembered for her loving generosity, fierce opinions, endless curiosity, unique style and her powdered almond crescent cookies at Christmas, Jamie Lee Curtis wrote, adding that her sister signed off messages with the Hungarian phrase Isten Veled, meaning God is with you.

In a second post, Jamie Lee Curtis reflected on their childhood and how they grew close again as adults after her 1984 wedding to Christopher Guest. Kelly Curtis worked for her sister as an as-sister-aunt between jobs and became an integral part of the family, Jamie Lee Curtis wrote.

Kelly Curtis also appeared in episodes of The Equaliser, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and The Sentinel. She directed the 2018 documentary Marby Jets Are Go about an Australian high school track team. She served as her sister’s assistant on the films Freaky Friday in 2003, Christmas With the Kranks in 2004 and You Again in 2010.

Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh divorced in 1962. The Curtis sisters had four half-siblings from their father’s later marriages: Alexandra, Allegra, Ben and Nicholas, who died in 1994 of a heroin overdose at age 23.