Jamie Lee Curtis is honored by the American Film Institute

From films “True Lies,” “Trading Places” to a “A Fish Called Wanda,” Jamie Lee Curtis has enjoyed a long and distinguished career as an actress, hitting new heights with her performance in the film “Everything Everywhere all at once” for which she won the Academy Award and SAG Award for Best Supporting Actress.

The actress was recently honored by the American Film Institute with a Doctorate of Fine Arts for her contributions to the art of the moving image.

At the ceremony, held at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, Curtis was introduced on stage by director John Carpenter who cast Curtis in his 1978 horror classic “Halloween” which marked her film debut.

In accepting her AFI Honorary Degree, Curtis shared a quote that she loves, “Life hinges on a couple seconds you never see coming.” She concluded her speech offering the following advice to the Fellows, “Stay open, stay free, stay engaged, stay absolutely enthusiastic, don’t get lazy, fight for it, work for it, save the universe please, god bless you all, thank you.”

Past recipients include Maya Angelou, Angela Bassett, Kathryn Bigelow, Clint Eastwood, Roger Ebert, Jodie Foster, James Earl Jones, Spike Lee, Rita Moreno, Gina Prince-Bythewood and Quentin Tarantino.

Curtis is also the founder and CEO of My Hand In Yours, a charitable organization that offers comfort and celebration items with 100% of every sale donated directly to Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. Curtis is also a New York Times best-selling children’s book author, having written 13 books.  Her most recent book, “Just One More Sleep,” was released earlier this year.

By Samantha Ofole-Prince / Photo Credit Courtesy of AFI Getty/Michael Kovac