AARP The Magazine EXCLUSIVE: Jamie Lee Curtis Living Freely and Soberly, Aging Boldly, and Why She Feels More Alive Than Ever at 66

WASHINGTON—After more than four decades in the spotlight, Oscar-winning actor and producer and AARP Movies for Grownups Career Achievement winner Jamie Lee Curtis reflects on a life shaped by transformation, tenacity, and unapologetic truth. In the August/September 2025 issue of AARP The Magazine (ATM), Curtis opens up about the hard-won freedom she has gained through sobriety, her bold relationship with aging, and why she feels more alive than ever at 66.

The Everything Everywhere All at Once star talks candidly about the creative explosion that followed her 2023 Oscar win, the joy she finds in domestic life, and the spiritual clarity that has come from recovery and self-acceptance. With multiple film and television projects on the horizon, including the upcoming Freakier Friday, the James L. Brooks’ film Ella McCay, and Prime Video’s Scarpetta, Curtis shows no signs of leaving Hollywood.

The following are excerpts from ATM’s August/September 2025 cover story featuring Jamie Lee Curtis. The issue is available in homes starting in August and online now at www.aarp.org/magazine/.

On approaching her 67th birthday:

“I am more alive today than I was when I was 37. Or 47. Or 57. Way more alive. ‘Dying alive’ has to do with constant curiosity, and that is freedom to me.”

On embracing who she is today:

“There isn’t a person here who hasn’t looked in the mirror and thought, ‘Whoa!’ We all have our top three and bottom three assets. The bottom three would include my cankles. I have really let go of my vanity. I am free, totally free.”

On redefining freedom through sobriety:

“The truth is that addiction wants you dead, period, end of story. It will sit here at this table with us waiting, waiting, waiting… That outlet of a drink or drug, or whatever it was which relieved you of the feelings before, will remind you that they’re still there.”

On finding creative purpose after 60:

“I never, ever, ever, ever, ever thought I would find myself seated with other major nominees in the front row of the Academy Awards… I am more than you think.”

On finding joy in simplicity and structure:

“I don’t know if it’s a childhood trauma, and I don’t really care, but in my opinion nothing good happens at night.”

On lasting love with husband Christopher Guest:

“The one thing I cannot do for myself is to make myself laugh… I married the funniest dude on the planet. Christopher Guest can drop me to the ground with a look let alone a phrase. It can be annoying to be married to somebody who can use his humor to disarm any natural rage that you might have, but it’s also an amazing blessing.”

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About AARP:

AARP is the nation’s largest nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to empowering Americans 50 and older to choose how they live as they age. With a nationwide presence, AARP strengthens communities and advocates for what matters most to the more than 100 million Americans 50-plus and their families: health security, financial stability and personal fulfillment. AARP also works for individuals in the marketplace by sparking new solutions and allowing carefully chosen, high-quality products and services to carry the AARP name. As a trusted source for news and information, AARP produces the nation’s largest circulation publications, AARP The Magazine and AARP Bulletin. To learn more, visit www.aarp.org/about-aarp/, www.aarp.org/español or follow @AARP, @AARPenEspañol and @AARPadvocates on social media.