Jamie Lee Curtis details her challenging journey with recovery as she marks 20 years of sobriety

She was born into a famous family, but paved her own way into the entertainment industry and boasts a stellar resume.

And despite years in the spotlight, Jamie Lee Curtis took a deep dive into her life after a secret battle with drugs and alcohol.

The 60-year-old actress told Variety that she considers herself a ‘junkie’ even more than 20 years after initially seeking help to combat her addiction with pain pills. 

Standing strong: Jamie Lee Curtis took a deep dive into her life after a secret battle with drugs and alcohol; seen in September

‘I call myself a junkie,’ she said. ‘I refer to myself as a junkie simply so I demystify it. I call myself a dope-fiend because I’m a dope-fiend.’ 

While Jamie was on a steady trajectory to become a world famous star with classic roles in Halloween, A Fish Called Wanda and True Lies, all was not as it seemed behind the scenes. 

‘I was in a good stable marriage, writing books for children that were bestsellers, I was getting more and more work, and more and more fame and attention and adulation … I got more as my addiction got worse, not less,’ she said. ‘My bottom made that denial much more pervasive because it was all working.’

Tough: The 60-year-old actress told Variety that she considers herself a ‘junkie’ even more than 20 years after initially seeking help to combat her addiction with pain pills

One night after dinner, she caught herself taking a handful of Vicodin like they were vitamins followed by a swig of wine and knew she had to make a change.

‘I called a friend of mine who was in recovery, an old colleague of mine, and I was terrified about being a public figure and walking into recovery centers and being around recovery,’ she said. ‘I was terrified of it. 

‘I said to my friend, who was a long time into recovery, “Is there any way somebody famous can meet me and go with me into a recovery room?” And a woman called me. And I met her, somebody I had never met, and she walked in with me and I’ve been sober since that day.’  

‘I called a friend of mine who was in recovery, an old colleague of mine, and I was terrified about being a public figure and walking into recovery centers and being around recovery,’ she said. ‘I was terrified of it’

While sobriety has its challenges, she’s committed to maintaining her sober lifestyle at any cost. 

‘I bring sobriety with me,’ she said. ‘I have attended recovery meetings all over this world. I was probably about nine months sober when I made Freaky Friday.

‘I put a big sign up by the catering truck, and it said, “Recovery meeting in Jamie’s trailer every day.” I left the door open and didn’t know if anybody would show up. We ended up calling it the Mobile Home Recovery Meeting. 

She admitted that her trailer talks were probably ‘my favorite grouping of sobriety that’ she’s ever been a part of.

Power: ‘I bring sobriety with me,’ she said. ‘I have attended recovery meetings all over this world. I was probably about nine months sober when I made Freaky Friday’

‘I’ve participated in groups all over the world, but there was something about the cross-section of ages and genders and jobs and races, and it was profound,’ she said.  

Jamie understands how important it is to remain committed to a program in her on-going battle with recovery. 

‘There’s great power that comes from self-declaration: This is who I am, this is what I do, and I am going to try to stop,’ she said. ‘For me to say that the reason my life is so much better is because I am sober is me controlling it. I gave up that information, specifically as a public figure, to acknowledge the reality of my life.’