How Jamie Lee Curtis’ ‘Halloween Ends’ Wig Wound Up on Jennifer Grey in ‘Gwen Shamblin’
Jamie Lee Curtis and Jennifer Grey are Hollywood icons and good friends. Curtis is best known as a scream queen in the Halloween franchise, while Grey solidified her star status with the beloved romance Dirty Dancing. These days, both actors are going strong, with Curtis riding a new wave of acclaim and Grey appearing in a powerful Lifetime movie. In a recent interview, Grey revealed that Curtis provided guidance in finding the right wig for her latest project, Gwen Shamblin: Starving for Salvation. The True Lies star even lent Grey her wig from Halloween Ends.
Jamie Lee Curtis is famous for her ‘Halloween’ movies
Curtis began her involvement with the Halloween franchise in the 1978 slasher film of the same name. As tough teenager Laurie Strode, Curtis proved she had the acting chops to succeed in the harsh film industry. She became one of the biggest stars of the ’80s and ’90s, appearing in movies like Trading Places, True Lies, My Girl, and Blue Steel.
Through it all, Curtis retained her affinity for the franchise that made her famous. Over the years, she has appeared in many Halloween sequels, including Halloween II, Halloween H20: 20 Years Later, Halloween: Resurrection, 2018’s Halloween, and 2021’s Halloween Kills. Most recently, she reprised the role of Laurie Strode again in 2022’s Halloween Ends, the highly anticipated capper of the horror trilogy that began in 2018. Noticeably, Curtis has an updated look in Halloween Ends, including a blond-gray bob hairstyle.
Jennifer Grey used Jamie Lee Curtis’ wig from ‘Halloween Ends’ in her new Lifetime movie
The wig Curtis wore in Halloween Ends got new life in Grey’s Lifetime movie, Gwen Shamblin: Starving for Salvation.
“I’m very tight with Jamie Lee Curtis,” Grey revealed in an exclusive interview with Entertainment Weekly. “I have talked to her most days, and on this day, I said, ‘Oh, there’s this job I’m thinking of maybe doing.’ And then I sent her a picture of the woman, and I said, ‘But I told them I need good wigs.’ And she said, ‘OK, I’m sending you a number right now. His name is Rob Pickens, and he did my wigs for Halloween.'”
Grey explained that Pickens had an excellent idea for how he could create a fantastic look for the film. “He said, ‘Well, you need at least two wigs, probably four.’ There was one wig where he said, ‘We could repurpose Jamie’s old wig from Halloween. We can use that as the base.’ So the first wig I’m wearing [at the beginning of the movie] when Gwen is kind of like the church lady, that’s Jamie’s old wig from Halloween Ends.”
Grey has received acclaim for her work in ‘Gwen Shamblin: Starving for Salvation’
Gwen Shamblin: Starving for Salvation features Grey as the infamous Gwen Shamblin, who has often been described as a cult leader. The movie premiered on February 8 on Lifetime, and critics praised Grey’s immersive performance.
“Grey does a stellar job of disappearing into the character and becoming Shamblin,” Richard Roeper of Chicago Sun-Times wrote.
Those who want to see Grey’s performance (and Curtis’ old wig) can watch Gwen Shamblin: Starving for Salvation in reruns on Lifetime and the Lifetime app.
