Janet Leigh ( born Jeanette Helen Morrison ; July 6 , 1927 -- October 3 , 2004 ) was an American actress , singer , dancer and author . She is best remembered for her performance in Psycho , for which she was awarded the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress and received an Academy Award nomination . She was the first wife of actor Tony Curtis and the mother of Kelly Curtis and Jamie Lee Curtis . Discovered by actress Norma Shearer , Leigh made her acting debut on radio in 1946 and secured a contract with MGM the following year . Early in her career , she appeared in popular films spanning a wide variety of genres , including Act of Violence ( 1948 ) , Little Women ( 1949 ) , Angels in the Outfield ( 1951 ) , Scaramouche ( 1952 ) , The Naked Spur ( 1953 ) and Living It Up ( 1954 ) .
Janet Leigh was a person.