Tony Curtis’ Ex-Wives: Inside His Marriage History

Late actor Tony Curtis earned the label of Hollywood heartthrob during his successful six-decade career as a film and television star. In his personal life, he searched for love and was married six times.

Though his life in the spotlight seemed glamorous, Tony, who died in 2010, suffered many traumatic moments throughout his childhood before he even made it to Hollywood. He and his brother, Julius, lived in an orphanage for a few years during childhood as their parents did not have enough money for food. Julius died a few years later when he was hit by a truck. The New York native turned to the arts to help him cope.

“He was happiest when he was creating,” Kelly Curtis, Tony’s eldest daughter, told Closer in April 2022. “On a film set, in front of a group of fans, or alone in his art studio painting.”

The Spartacus star set out to pursue acting in California after returning home from World War II. He landed the lead role in The Prince Who Was a Thief in 1951, the start of a lifetime full of blockbuster roles. His life changed dramatically as he entered the first of his six marriages that same year.

Perhaps Tony’s most famous bride was Janet Leigh, a widely popular MGM actress who earned herself a Golden Globe and an Academy Award nomination for her role in 1960’s Psycho. Her effortless beauty and ability to act, sing and dance made her a starlet in the eyes of many.

“Her face was exquisite,” Tony shared in Janet Leigh: A Biography. “It just devastated me to look at this woman.”

The pair welcomed two children during their 11-year marriage: Kelly Curtis and Jamie Lee Curtis. Both of their daughters ended up following in their parents’ footsteps and became actresses themselves.

“One of the great benefits of being the daughter of great film stars, Janet Leigh and Tony Curtis, is I had the opportunity to watch them play the game,” Jamie Lee said of her father and mother, who died in 2004, at the ICG Publicists Awards in March 2019. “Their example was crucial.”

However, their union did not last. The couple called it quits on their marriage in 1962. They both went their separate ways and moved on with other partners.

“My parents’ bond had deteriorated precipitously as their stardom grew,” the Halloween star recalled in More magazine in April 2010. “And like any other save-the-marriage baby, I failed.”

Keep scrolling to learn more about Tony’s six marriages.

Janet Leigh

Tony was married to Janet from 1951 to 1962. The California native was discovered by actress Norma Shearer when she was just a teen. She signed a contract with MGM and appeared in several of the studio’s popular films like 1949’s Little Women and 1953’s Houdini alongside her then-husband.

Starring in films with Tony became a common occurrence throughout their relationship. The pair also shared the screen in The Black Shield of Falworth, The Vikings, The Perfect Furlough and Who Was That Lady? In 1975, Janet made her Broadway debut in Murder Among Friends. She also appeared alongside her youngest daughter in 1980’s The Fog and 1998’s Halloween H20: 20 Years Later.

Janet was married to her second husband, Robert Brandt, from 1962 up until her death from vasculitis in 2004 at the age of 77.

Christine Kaufmann

In 1963, Tony married German-Austrian actress Christine Kaufmann after working with her on the film Taras Bulba. As a child, Christine performed as a ballerina with the Munich Opera. She made her film debut in the German musical The White Horse Inn in 1952 when she was 7 years old.

Some of her most popular films throughout her career included 1954’s Rosen-Resli, 1959’s The Last Days of Pompeii and 1961’s Town Without Pity with Kirk Douglas. During her marriage to Tony, Christine stepped away from the spotlight to focus on being a mom to their two daughters, Alexandra Curtis and Allegra Curtis.

Leslie Allen

In 1968, the Academy Award nominee wed Leslie Allen. Together, they welcomed two children, Nicholas Curtis in 1970 and Benjamin Curtis in 1973. Leslie earned one film credit during their marriage, playing Tony’s onscreen wife in The Last Tycoon in 1976. The pair split in 1982. In 1994, their eldest son, Nicholas, died from suffering a seizure after overdosing on heroin, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

Jill Vandenberg

The film icon walked down the aisle for the sixth time with horse trainer Jill Vandenberg in 1998. Together, they founded a horse rescue ranch in Nevada. The couple were married up until Tony’s death in 2010 from cardiac arrest at the age of 85.

Jill went on to marry her third husband, Todd Weber, three years later. She sold the ranch and moved to South Dakota, but always keeps her late husband in mind.

“Todd has the same sense of humor and wit, and is very intelligent and kind,” she told Mansfield News Journal in October 2020. “I think Tony would have liked him. Todd is very supportive of my past life and has never felt he had to live up to Tony, who had a larger-than-life personality. We have a wonderful life, share the same interests and work together every day. I think you could say I have been very lucky in love throughout my life.”