Janet Leigh: Psycho

Janet Leigh, born Jeanette Helen Morrison in Merced, California, US, on July 6th, 1927 was an actress, singer, dancer & author, whose career lasted over 5 decades. Raised in Stockton, California by working-class parents, Jeanette was discovered when aged 18 by actress Norma Shearer, who helped her get a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Leigh featured in radio programs before getting into acting, making her movie debut in the drama The Romance of Rosy Ridge (1947). She appeared in many motion pictures from a wide variety of genres, including the crime-drama Act of Violence (1948), the drama Little Women (1949), the comedy Angels in the Outfield (1951), the romance Scaramouche (1952) then western drama The Naked Spur (1953). Janet played dramatic roles during the late '50s, starring in Safari (1956) then Orson Welles's film noir Touch of Evil (1958), among others. Jeanette had her biggest hit as Marion Crane in Alfred Hitchcock's classic psychological thriller Psycho (1960), winning the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress then being nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance. She continued to appear in movies intermittently, including Bye Bye Birdie (1963), Harper (1966), Night of the Lepus (1972) then Boardwalk (1979). Leigh made her Broadway debut in 1975 in a production of Murder Among Friends, before appearing in a couple of horror flicks with her daughter, Jamie Lee Curtis: The Fog (1980) then Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998).