Jamie Lee Curtis has a really good reason for signing on to hawk pantyhose, yogurt and rental cars despite being a huge star.
In an interview that aired on CBS’ 60 Minutes on Sunday night, the actress was asked why she signed on as a spokesperson for L’eggs pantyhose, Activia yogurt and Hertz rental cars while her acting career was thriving. She began pitching those products despite starring in the critically acclaimed A Fish Called Wanda (1988), which earned her a BAFTA Film Award nom, and amid the success of True Lies, which earned her a Golden Globe and pulled in about $387 million worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing film of 1994, among other noteworthy credits.
Curtis shared perhaps a perfect response for this question, given that it aired on Mother’s Day.
“For the most part, because [doing the commercials] allowed me to stay home with my kids,” she shared. “I am an imperfect working mom. Because no working moms are perfect.”
She continued: “We make it look good, we think we’ve done it, but the truth is we feel badly, but I know how much time away from them I spent” — here she became a little emotional — “in pursuit of my own creativity.”
Curtis has two kids with her husband Christopher Guest: Annie, who was adopted as an infant in 1986, and Ruby, who was adopted in 1988.
She previously opened up about those Activia ads in an interview with NBC’s Today, saying she had a struggled being away from her family due to the demands of her work. (Kristen Wiig famously parodied those Activia ads on Saturday Night Live.)
“It’s the reason that I sold yogurt that makes you shit for seven years,” Curtis said in 2011. “Part of the reason why I’ve done commercials.… I’ve been doing commercials for a very, very, very long time partially so I can ameliorate all of that distance from my family. It allowed me to earn money and stay home.”
Curtis, of course, is the daughter of Janet Leigh, who also juggled motherhood with her own acting career.
Curtis recently earned her first Oscar for Everything Everywhere All at Once, and this past awards season landed BAFTA and SAG Awards noms for her role in The Last Showgirl. Her upcoming credits include the films Freakier Friday and Ella McCay.