New Details About the Last Days of Jamie Lee Curtis' Late Sister Kelly Emerge

The final chapter of Kelly Lee Curtis' life has come into sharper focus — and the details reveal a woman who faced the end on her own terms, surrounded by love.

The Blaine County coroner's office has confirmed that Kelly, the eldest daughter of Hollywood legends Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh, died of natural causes at 2:30 a.m. on Saturday, May 30, 2026, at her home in Bellevue, Idaho.

She was 69 years old.

According to the coroner, hospice care had been tending to her in the week leading up to her death. Kelly's husband, John Marsh, was present when the coroner arrived. She is expected to be cremated, though it remains unclear whether the family will request an autopsy.

Jamie Lee Curtis, 67, broke the news publicly on Instagram shortly after her sister's passing, calling it a "warm aloha" to her older sibling. In the post, Jamie described Kelly as her "first friend and lifelong confidant" — someone who was "jaw-droppingly beautiful" and a talented actress.

She noted that Kelly loved her family, nature, music, thrifting, travel, Facebook, and Pokémon Go, and that she took great pride in her Danish roots and Hungarian Jewish ancestry.

In a follow-up post the next day, Jamie shared a contact sheet of black-and-white photographs taken by photographer Suzanne Tenner the night before Jamie's 1984 wedding — a night when Kelly, who served as maid of honor, had come to stay at her apartment.

Jamie reflected openly on their bond, acknowledging that the two had a complicated sibling dynamic growing up, shaped partly by competing for the attention of their divorced parents.

Despite years of living apart, Kelly eventually returned to Jamie's world — first as a guest at her wedding, and later as a fixture in her family's life. "She came back to be with me at my wedding and never really left again," Jamie wrote.

The official obituary, shared on Jamie's Instagram, painted a rich portrait of Kelly's life beyond her famous family.

A graduate of Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York, Kelly had lived and worked in New York City as an actress, becoming a member of the prestigious Actors Studio and appearing in television, film, and on stage.

She and her father also helped raise funds to restore the Dohány Street Synagogue in Budapest, Hungary, through the Emmanuel Foundation.

Kelly and John later settled in Bellevue, Idaho, where together they built Liberty Films, producing documentaries and short films celebrating local artists, musicians, and the surrounding natural landscape.

The couple also restored a historic Victorian home and ultimately donated it back to the community as a preservation site. Kelly was an active member of the Wood River Jewish Community.

Affectionately known as "Auntie Cookie" — a nickname earned through her beloved powdered almond crescent cookies at Christmas — Kelly is survived by her husband John; her siblings Jamie, Alexandra, Allegra, and Benjamin; her many nieces, nephews, grand-nieces, and grand-nephews; and her stepmother, Leslie Curtis.

True to form, Kelly always closed her messages with a Hungarian blessing: Isten Veled, meaning "God is with you." Jamie echoed those words in her farewell. "Isten Veled to our sister of the sun and the moon, Kelly. I'll see you on down the line."