Jamie Lee Curtis Says 'Nepo Baby' Conversation 'Dims, Denigrates and Hurts'

When Jamie Lee Curtis was just 19, she appeared in an episode of the NBC drama "Quincy M.E," and directed her first feature film a year later with "Halloween" in 1978. Part of the reason for her early rise was her name – Curtis is the daughter of Oscar nominees Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh. But that doesn't mean she hasn't worked hard throughout her career, as she said in an Instagram post on Thursday.

This week, New York Magazine ran a long series of articles exploring "nepo babies," a slang term for celebrities or public figures with famous or influential parents or relatives in the industry. Hollywood. Curtis in a story. The series went viral on social media and prompted reactions from celebrities like O'Shea Jackson Jr. and Lily Allen. Now Curtis has weighed in on the conversation, though she didn't explicitly mention the New York story by name, saying the current conversation is "designed to try to belittle, denigrate and hurt." /p> Related Related

"It's curious how we immediately make assumptions and sarcastic remarks about the fact that someone related to someone else who is famous in their field for their art, would somehow not have so no talent. I've learned that's just not true,” Curtis wrote. “I got dressed and showed up for every type of job with thousands of people and every day I tried to bring integrity, professionalism, love, community and artistry to my work. I am not alone. There are many of us. Dedicated to our craft. Proud of our lineage. Strong in our belief in our right to exist."

In the post, Curtis acknowledged her parentage, including two photos of herself with her famous parents, and called herself "an OG Nepo Baby." She also admitted that although she worked hard throughout her career, her connection to Hollywood royalty gave her privileges throughout her career.

"I never understood, and I never will, what qualities made me hire that day, but from my first two lines on 'Quincy' as a contract player at Universal Studios until to this last spectacular creative year some 44 years later, not a day goes by in my professional life that I'm not reminded that I'm the daughter of movie stars," Curtis said. "For the record, I have sailed 44 years with the benefits that my associated and thoughtful fame has brought me, I'm not claiming there aren't any, who try to tell me that I have no worth on my own."

Curtis ended her post by plugging into this year's "Everything Everywhere All at Once," which she starred in with Michelle Yeoh, and which is receiving Best Supporting Actress Oscar buzz.

"So in these difficult days of so much rage in the world, can we just try to find that calm voice that the brilliant movie 'EVERYWHERE EVERYTHING AT ONCE' reminds us of," Curtis wrote before quoting the movie: "NOTE TO SELF: BE KIND, BE KIND; BE KIND."

Read Curtis' full Instagram post below.

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A post shared by Jamie Lee Curtis (@jamieleecurtis)

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