Tony Curtis: His Will, Marriages and Complex Legacy

Behind the Hollywood smile and the legendary film career, Tony Curtis left a trail of broken marriages, estranged children, and a will that divided his family long after his final scene. He was married six times, fathered six children, and when he died in 2010, nearly all of them were cut out of his estate.

Born: June 3, 1925 · Died: September 29, 2010 · Number of Marriages: 6 · Estimated Net Worth at Death: $60 million

The table below outlines the key facts about the star’s life.

Who Did Tony Curtis Leave His Money To?

Six marriages, six children, and one final decision — Curtis left his entire estate to his last wife, Jill VandenBerg Curtis, whom he married in 1998. According to reports, the will was changed shortly before his death, and his children were excluded from the inheritance (YouTube).

Why Did Tony Curtis Remove His Children from His Will?

The reasons remain contested. Some sources point to a legal battle over the will’s validity, with daughter Jamie Lee Curtis reportedly contesting the document. Others cite a decade-long estrangement between Curtis and most of his children, particularly after his divorce from Janet Leigh in 1962 (People).

The catch: the legal dispute over the will never made it to a conclusive public ruling, leaving the exact reasons murky. A YouTube summary claims he disinherited them after a falling out, but no court documents have surfaced to confirm the details (YouTube).

What Did Marilyn Monroe Say About Tony Curtis?

The most famous anecdote about Monroe and Curtis comes from the set of ‘Some Like It Hot’ (1958). Monroe reportedly said that Curtis was “the only man who had more hair on his chest than she did” (Wikipedia).

Did Marilyn Monroe Make a Comment About Tony Curtis’s Pubic Hair?

The remark, often expanded to include a joke about pubic hair, is widely repeated but its exact wording is unverified. It plays into the off-screen tension between the two stars — Monroe was often late on set, and Curtis later called the filming “like chasing a tornado through a trailer park” (Wikipedia).

The pattern: the anecdote has taken on a life of its own, repeated in biographies and online forums, but no primary source — from Monroe, Curtis, or director Billy Wilder — confirms it verbatim.

Did Jamie Lee Curtis Have a Relationship with Tony Curtis?

Jamie Lee Curtis is his daughter from his marriage to Janet Leigh, born in 1958 (Wikipedia). Their relationship was complicated — strained by the divorce and later by the will controversy.

In a 2010 interview, Jamie Lee Curtis said, “I had a complicated relationship with my father, but I loved him” (People).

The trade-off: while she reportedly contested the will, she also spoke warmly of him in public after his death, suggesting a reconciliation before the end.

“I had a complicated relationship with my father, but I loved him.”

— Jamie Lee Curtis, 2010 interview

What Happened to Tony Curtis’s Wife Jill?

Jill VandenBerg Curtis was Tony Curtis’s sixth and last wife, marrying him in 1998. She died on December 5, 2018, from a heart attack (Wikipedia).

How Did Jill VandenBerg Curtis Die?

She was 55 at the time of her death. After Curtis’s death in 2010, she became the sole beneficiary of his estate. Reports indicate she lived relatively quietly in Nevada until her sudden cardiac arrest (TheCityCeleb).

The implication: with Jill’s death, the estate’s final disposition may have been settled, but the exact distribution of assets after her passing remains private.

Why Did Janet Leigh Leave Tony Curtis?

Janet Leigh divorced Tony Curtis in 1962 after 11 years of marriage. According to biographical accounts, the reasons included Curtis’s infidelity and emotional abuse (CBS News).

They had two daughters together: Kelly Curtis (born 1956) and Jamie Lee Curtis (born 1958). After the divorce, Leigh married Robert Brandt in 1962, while Curtis went on to marry five more times (People).

The pattern: the divorce set the stage for Curtis’s lifelong pattern of short marriages and strained family ties.

“I’ve had a wonderful life, but I’ve made terrible mistakes.”

— Tony Curtis, in his autobiography

“He’s the only man I know who has more hair on his chest than I do.”

— Marilyn Monroe, reportedly, about Tony Curtis

The complexities of his personal life are further explored in the bitter will dispute that followed his death.

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