Jamie Lee Curtis recently revealed that her mother, Janet Leigh, prevented her from auditioning for the iconic 1973 horror film, The Exorcist, when she was just 12 years old. Curtis shared this personal anecdote during an appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show.

Curtis recounted that Ray Stark, a producer on The Exorcist and a friend of her mother, contacted Leigh, known for her role in Psycho, to ask if Jamie could audition for the film. According to Curtis, Stark may have seen her at a party and thought she would be a good fit for the role, describing her younger self as "cute," "sassy," and possessing a lot of personality. However, Leigh declined the offer, prioritizing her daughter's childhood. Curtis expressed gratitude for her mother's decision, saying, "My mom really wanted me to have—thank God—a childhood". She contrasted her experience with that of Drew Barrymore, who began acting at a young age, implying that Barrymore didn't have the same level of protection and childhood experiences.

The role of Regan MacNeil in The Exorcist ultimately went to Linda Blair, who was 14 years old at the time. Blair's performance earned her an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress in 1974. Despite missing out on the early opportunity to star in The Exorcist, Curtis eventually made her own mark in the horror genre. She debuted in 1977 with television roles and achieved prominence as Laurie Strode in the Halloween film series, beginning with the original in 1978. Curtis starred in seven Halloween movies across six decades.

Curtis has spoken about this near-miss in her career before. In 2018, she told Entertainment Weekly that seeing The Exorcist at 15 scared her so badly that her friends would tease her about it at school. She watched the movie with friends during a screening for her fifteenth birthday.

Curtis, the daughter of actors Janet Leigh and Tony Curtis, has often discussed her Hollywood lineage. Leigh passed away in 2004 at age 77, and Tony Curtis died in 2010 at age 85. Curtis's latest film, Ella McCay, is currently in theaters.

Looking back, Curtis seems content with how things played out, acknowledging the importance of her mother's decision in allowing her to have a normal childhood. While she didn't star in The Exorcist, she carved out her own successful career in horror and beyond, becoming a "scream queen" in her own right.