Legendary actor Tony Curtis welcomed six children: daughters Kelly, Jamie Lee, Alexandra and Allegra, and sons Nicholas and Benjamin.
Tony and his first wife, actress Janet Leigh, welcomed daughters Kelly in 1956 and Jamie Leigh in 1958. A few years later, he welcomed daughters Alexandra in 1964 and Allegra in 1966 with his second wife, German actress Christine Kaufmann. Tony became a father again with the birth of his two sons – Nicholas in 1970 and Benjamin in 1973 – whom he shared with his third wife, Leslie Allen.
Tony was estranged from his children throughout their lives and was often absent during their childhood. However, the Spartacus star was closer to his children, despite Nicholas’ death at the age of 23 in 1994. Decades later, the actor’s children reflected on their various relationships with him.
“I had very good years with my father, which none of my sisters had,” Benjamin told the Courier-Gazette in 2010 after Tony’s death. “He wasn’t a good father, and that was clear, especially to his daughters.”
Tony Curtis with his children Benjamin, Nicholas, Allegra and Alexandra in 1979.
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Despite her own experiences, Jamie Lee has come to understand his circumstances.
“He wasn’t a father and he wasn’t interested in being a father,” she said on The Talk in 2010. “This is not biased against him… He did what he was supposed to do financially, which was generous to him, and he was not a polytheist father.”
Allegra also reflects on her childhood with Tony. “I think my father’s greatest accomplishment was that he became a big star and was able to take care of his family,” she told Closer Weekly in 2021. “He had a wonderful way of bringing us all together.”
Here’s everything to know about Tony Curtis’ kids, including daughters Kelly, Jamie-Lee, Alexandra, and Allegra, and sons, Nicholas and Benjamin.
Kelly Curtis, 68-year-old American actor Tony Curtis (1925-2010), his wife Janet Leigh (1927-2004), and their young daughter Kelly are photographed boarding a passenger liner in England on June 19, 1957.
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Tony and Janet welcomed their eldest child, Kelly Lee Curtis, on June 17, 1956.
She quickly followed her parents into the family business, joining them in the 1958 film The Vikings when she was just two years old.
Kelly Lee Curtis arrives at the Los Angeles Premiere of “Hitchcock” at the AMPAS Samuel Goldwyn Theater on November 20, 2012 in Beverly Hills, California.
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Kelly continued to pursue acting in early adulthood and studied at the Lee Strasberg Theater Institute after graduating from Skidmore College. She eventually landed a few roles, including Magic Sticks, the TV series The Equalizer, and Judging Amy.
A decade after Tony’s death, Kelly was able to see their relationship differently: “I know he loved me and my sisters and brothers so deeply and we loved him with our hearts and souls,” Kelly told Closer in 2021. “.
Kelly married playwright Scott Murphy in 1989.
Jamie Lee Curtis, actress Jamie Lee Curtis and her father Tony Curtis at a screening of “Streets of Fire” in Beverly Hills on May 29, 1984.
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Tony and Janet welcomed their second child, Jamie Lee Curtis, on November 22, 1958.
She has become an icon in her own right due to her role in the Halloween film series and her Oscar win for her supporting role in the 2022 film Everything Everywhere All at One.
Although she had been distant from Tony often throughout her life, the two reconnected for a time but it did not last. Despite the ups and downs, Jamie Lee was able to establish a relationship with her father toward the end of Tony’s life.
Actor Tony Curtis and actress Jamie Lee Curtis attend the 36th Annual American Women in Radio and Television Genie Awards – Southern California Chapter on May 30, 1991.
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“My relationship with him, although nonexistent for most of my life, was ultimately good and based on mutual respect and not any father-daughter model,” she told PEOPLE magazine in 2010.
Jamie Lee has now been sober for decades, a move she sees as breaking generational family patterns.
“I’m basically breaking the cycle that has destroyed the lives of generations in my family,” Jamie Lee told PEOPLE in 2018. “Staying sober remains my greatest accomplishment.”
Jamie Lee married her husband, Christopher Guest, in 1984 and they have two children. She continued her career in Hollywood, including the highly anticipated sequel to her 2003 film Freaky Friday.
Alexandra Curtis, 60, his wife, actress Christine Kaufman, and their 1-year-old daughter, Alexandra, left New York on the French cruiser on August 5, 1965.
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Tony and his second wife, Christine, welcomed their third child, Alexandra Curtis, on July 19, 1964.
Like her two older sisters and parents, Alexandra pursued acting for some time and appeared in a few projects in the early 1980s, including 1982’s The Excluded and 1983’s The Gold of Love.
Despite this, Alexandra is the most private of her siblings and lives a life outside the public eye.
Allegra Curtis, 58 Tony Curtis (center), Allegra Kaufman Curtis and Antonia Dorian.
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Tony and Christine welcomed their second daughter, Allegra Curtis, on July 11, 1966.
Allegra joined the family business and pursued acting in the 1980s and 1990s, and has since appeared on shows such as Germany’s Dschungelcamp (a reality competition show based on I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here) in 2013.
Allegra Cortes poses for a photo during a photo shoot at the Maricel Hotel on December 13, 2012 in Palma de Mallorca, Spain.
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Allegra also has a son named Rafael. They attended Tony’s 80th birthday party together in 2005.
She recounted happier memories of her father than her brothers, including the ways Tony would make her laugh even if he didn’t see her often. “He was one of the funniest people ever,” the closer said in 2021. Call me and leave me a message like: “Allegra, this is Dracula.” How long is your neck? ”
Nicholas Bernard Curtis Tony Curtis and his son Nicholas attend the centenary celebration of the Moulin Rouge in Paris in 1989.
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Tony and Leslie welcomed their first son, Nicholas Bernard, on December 31, 1970. He died at the age of 23 on July 2, 1994, of a heroin overdose.
Before his death, Nicholas was a musician and student at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. He grew up mainly in Cape Cod, Massachusetts with his mother and younger brother.
According to Jamie Lee, Nicholas had been “clean and sober” for a while before his death and overdosed during a relapse.
“He’s one of the millions and millions of people whose lives have been snuffed out by addiction,” Jimmy Lee said on Morning Joe in 2023.
In a 2003 interview with the Cape Cod Times, Tony expressed that he was “not sad” about his life, but that he missed his “beautiful boy” Nicholas. Tony was buried with a pair of Nicholas Children’s shoes when he died in 2010.
“It is a terrible thing for a father to lose his son,” he said.
Benjamin Curtis, 51 Tony Curtis with his son, Benjamin outside Spago on July 29, 1998.
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Tony and Leslie welcomed their second son, Benjamin Curtis, on May 2, 1973.
Benjamin has admitted how different his father’s relationship with him was when he was a young boy, although it was still difficult to live up to his expectations.
“My father had the ability to make me feel like the most special, unique and desirable person I was. He loved to recognize himself in me, there was definitely favoritism.
Ben now lives in Maine where he runs a bar and raises his three children with his partner. In the interview with The Courier-Gazette, he expressed how seriously he takes being an active father and how important it is for him to be with his children.
“I’m there every day when they wake up and I’m there every night when they go to sleep. And that’s important to me,” he said. “For me, personally in my life, that’s the most important thing in parenting, is to be present every day.” Looking back, Ben saw how he was able to cope with his difficult upbringing with his estranged father by normalizing it, and eventually learning how to find joy in it.
“The whole extended family dynamic was very chaotic, but it’s very normal for me. I feel like I’ve learned to just try to enjoy the times I have with my parents,” he said.
