Jamie Lee Curtis just received an honorary degree from the American Film Institute — a cherry on top of her already illustrious career.
The drama school awarded Curtis, 65, with the honor at its commencement ceremony on Saturday, Aug. 10, for her contributions to film.
“A moment like this demands the respect for the institution and the longevity of my life as an artist — and that I claim,” the Freaky Friday star tells PEOPLE at Hollywood’s TCL Chinese Theatre in California.
“You’re going to get me crying,” she adds. “But that I claim the word ‘artist’ at my age now. I didn’t before.”
After decades in the industry — kickstarted by her role in Halloween, whose director, John Carpenter, introduced her at the ceremony — Curtis says she now identifies as “an artist with a capital ‘A’ ” — a title she did resonate with for a long time.
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Discussing the honorary degrees significance given her family tree — including movie star parents Janet Leigh and Tony Curtis — she tells PEOPLE, “Nepo babies is an easy way for people to tell you you don’t deserve your success. And I have been aware of that my whole life.”
“I have not shied away from it,” she adds. “I am not under any delusion that hasn’t had an effect and an impact. But at the end of the day, none of that helps you when they say rolling and action. It’s at that moment that the art takes over.”
“And I didn’t know I was an artist originally, but I know I’m a creative person,” she says. “I’m an ideas girl, and I’ve been an ideas girl from the beginning. I’m a marketing whiz. I’m a publicist. … I’ve written books for children, I’ve written screenplays, I have directed. I am producing.”
Now, the mom of two says, “My legacy is less acute” because “my art has surpassed that.”
“I’m in a place of great historical significance and my daughter is here with me,” she continues. “The legacy is that I’m a mother and a friend and a collaborator. And so I think all of that, of course, has an impact, but it is less acute.”
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And, Curtis explains her “legacy” is still a work in progress — and will be until she cannot work any longer.
“I am more in my own body and in my own mind, and I have no f—— time to waste because I’ll be dead soon,” she tells PEOPLE. “And I’m not saying that out of like, ‘Oh, it’s a cute, stupid thing.’ I’m saying, I’m telling you: I’m [65]. My mother died at 76, my father at 85. I have no f—— time to waste.”
“And this is an example of an establishment of the solidity of my being and my mind,” The Bear star adds. “And now I just have to hustle and I am hustling right now.”
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In its own words, the AFI Conservatory conferred Curtis a doctorate of fine arts degree honoris causa for “contributions of distinction to the art of the moving image,” per a press release.
“Jamie Lee Curtis is a supernova born from the union of two stars — an icon whose fearless approach to her craft and dauntless dedication to driving culture forward define excellence in our modern day,” said AFI President and CEO Bob Gazzale.
Curtis won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 2023 for her role in Everything Everywhere All at Once and will reprise her role as Tess Coleman in the upcoming sequel to 2003’s Freaky Friday alongside Lindsay Lohan’s Anna Coleman.
The film, which releases in theaters next year, will follow Curtis and Lohan’s mother-daughter duo as they switch bodies with two teenage girls. She also stars as Dr. Patricia Tannis in the recently released Borderlands film, based on the popular video game series.
