Jamie Lee Curtis opens up on the ‘complicated’ issue of gender-neutral post-Oscar awards

Jamie Lee Curtis has shared her thoughts on the “complicated” issue of gender-neutral award categories.

The Halloween Star won her first Best Supporting Actress Oscar on Sunday night (March 12) at the age of 64 for her role in Everything everywhere at once.

The film was the night’s big winner, taking home seven awards including Best Picture.

Find the full list of winners hereand all Live updates from the ceremony as it happened here.

After her win, Curtis was asked in the press room how it felt to be one of 65 women nominated for this year’s Oscars.

Describing the experience as “surreal”, she said: “Obviously I would like to see a lot more women nominated so that there is gender parity in all fields and all branches. I think we’re getting there [but] we are not close.”

Curtis then turned to the subject of gender-neutral award categories, explaining that she approached the subject as “the mother of a trans daughter.”

“And of course inclusivity then involves the bigger question: How do you include everyone when there are binary choices? [It’s] very difficult and as a mother of a trans daughter I totally understand that.

“And yet I fear that de-gendering the category will narrow opportunities for more women, which is something I’ve worked hard to try to encourage.”

Earlier this year, the Brit Awards faced backlash after failing to nominate a single woman in the Best Female Artist category.

Curtis concluded the question was “complicated,” adding, “But I think the most important thing is inclusivity and more women. I mean basically just fuck more women anywhere, anytime, at once.”

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In 2021, Curtis shared for the first time that Ruby, her daughter with director Christopher Guest, is transgender.

The actress has been an outspoken supporter of trans rights, with Ruby saying in a joint interview that she wasn’t afraid to come out to her parents.

“It was intimidating — but I wasn’t concerned,” she said. “You’ve accepted me like that my whole life.”

Comparing the experience to “speaking a new language,” Curtis said, “It means learning new terminology and new words. I’m new to this. I’m not someone who pretends to know much about it. And I’ll mess it up, I’ll make mistakes. I want to try to avoid big mistakes.”

Last year, Curtis ran Ruby’s World of Warcraft-Themed wedding with her partner Cynthia.