# Was Jaimie Lee Curtis born a hermaphrodite? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 13, 2003, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-jaimie-lee-curtis-born-a-hermaphrodite/148403 "2003-01-13T23:26:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jillicious](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/85f322/32.png) [@Jillicious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jillicious)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2003, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-jaimie-lee-curtis-born-a-hermaphrodite/148403/1 "2003-01-13T23:26:52Z")
It is not my intention to insult or slander the actress, but I have heard numerous rumors that Jamie Lee Curtis was born a hermaphrodite. I’ve tried to research this myself but the most conclusive answer I was able to glean was “maybe”. I must know! ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2003, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-jaimie-lee-curtis-born-a-hermaphrodite/148403/2 "2003-01-13T23:30:27Z")
[Hmmm](http://www.snopes.com/movies/actors/jamie.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2003, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-jaimie-lee-curtis-born-a-hermaphrodite/148403/3 "2003-01-13T23:32:22Z")
Perhaps ‘maybe’ is the best you’re ever going to get; not everybody is entirely comfortable discussing the precise configuration of their genitals - just because she is an actress, she is under no greater obligation than the rest of us. ---
**Author:** ![Mock\_Suds](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@Mock\_Suds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mock_Suds)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2003, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-jaimie-lee-curtis-born-a-hermaphrodite/148403/4 "2003-01-13T23:34:39Z")
Wasn’t this answered in the column once? ---
**Author:** ![Jillicious](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/85f322/32.png) [@Jillicious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jillicious)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2003, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-jaimie-lee-curtis-born-a-hermaphrodite/148403/5 "2003-01-13T23:36:35Z")
I tried searching the various databases on TSD, but got not hits either for “Jaimie Lee Curtis” (tried a couple of spellings of her name) or for “hermaphrodite”. I thought it very odd that “hermaphrodite” did not return any hits, knowing the audience . . . ---
**Author:** ![Agback](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/977dab/32.png) [@Agback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agback)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2003, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-jaimie-lee-curtis-born-a-hermaphrodite/148403/6 "2003-01-13T23:44:00Z")
G’day The rumour I heard was not that she was a hermaphrodite, but that she is genetically male with androgen insensitivity syndrome. But even if that were true, how would anyone know? Most AIS patients are themselves unaware of their condition until they go to a fertility clinic or attempt to compete in the Olympics. My guess is that the rumour was started by someone jealous of Ms. Curtiss’s looks. Regards, Agback ---
**Author:** ![Susanann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ab992/32.png) [@Susanann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Susanann)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2003, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-jaimie-lee-curtis-born-a-hermaphrodite/148403/7 "2003-01-13T23:44:46Z")
According to the Discovery Channel, other documentaries, most biology teachers, and many other things I read and saw, Jamie was born with XY chromosones, and is, therefore, according to the World Olympics committe, a male. To me, I consider her a female, that is what Tony Curtis, Janet Leigh chose to raise her, and who she is choosing to live as. She looks very butch to me, with mannish features, and more so all the time. She looks like a man who has taken female hormones. The doctors offices leaked out that she had xy chromosones. Jamie, with xy chromosones, cannot bear children, and therefore, adopted 2 chidren. As far as being a hemephrodite(having both sexes), that is just a rumor, and I dont believe so. She was not in the hospital very long as a baby, so if they did an operation to make her female , I dont know when it would have been done. In press releases and in the news, Jamie was announced as a “baby girl” as soon as she was born. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2003, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-jaimie-lee-curtis-born-a-hermaphrodite/148403/8 "2003-01-13T23:52:26Z")
Alas, there is no evidence for any of the claims in **Susanann** ’s post. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2003, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-jaimie-lee-curtis-born-a-hermaphrodite/148403/9 "2003-01-13T23:55:57Z")
Uh, do you have a cite for that XY chromosome claim, **Susanann**? ---
**Author:** ![raisinbread](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8491ac/32.png) [@raisinbread](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raisinbread)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2003, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-jaimie-lee-curtis-born-a-hermaphrodite/148403/10 "2003-01-14T00:03:22Z")
Well she’s got a damn fine set of cans for a guy! ---
**Author:** ![slipster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@slipster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slipster)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2003, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-jaimie-lee-curtis-born-a-hermaphrodite/148403/11 "2003-01-14T00:24:06Z")
To echo Zoggie: is there a citation for Susanann’s information? A search of the Discovery Chnnel and Discovery Health websites came up with nothing: I tried “Jamie Leigh Curtis”, “intergender” and “hermaphrodite”. If there had been a program such as the one described (and maybe there was), you’d think something would come up under one of those searches. The [Snopes.com](http://Snopes.com) site listed by a previous writer provides an article saying that the story has been circulated, but was, as of the time of that writing, unconfirmed. A check of [urbanlegends.com](http://urbanlegends.com) comes up with the same. The [urbanlegends.com](http://urbanlegends.com) site adds that a Baltimore Sun article is sometimes cited as authority, but that the real article as published said nothing whatever about Curtis. No offense is intended, but the assertion that Curtis made a statement sometime somewhere on a talk show is one I’ve heard before, and in and of itself it makes me suspicious. For twenty years people have been telling me that an executive with Proctor & Gamble has “recently” admitted on a national talk show that his company gives financial support to organized Satanism. Similarly, I remember a time back in the late 1970s when “everybody knew” that Farrah Fawcett and/or Olivia Newton John had announced on The Tonight Show that she was gay. It is entirely possible that Curtis is genetically male. But I remain highly doubtful that she has ever gone on record as acknowledging this. And yes, I thought that this question had been addressed by Cecil in the past, and that he had said that condition in question was called “testicular feminization” (something else I looked for at the Discovery sites without success), and that Curtis had never confirmed the stories. A search of the Straight Dope archive came up with nothing though. ---
**Author:** ![Desmostylus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c57346/32.png) [@Desmostylus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desmostylus)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2003, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-jaimie-lee-curtis-born-a-hermaphrodite/148403/12 "2003-01-14T00:55:10Z")
Here is the [Snopes](http://www.snopes.com/movies/actors/jamie.htm) page on Jamie Lee. > [@](#): > > As only someone who has seen True Lies can say, if that’s not all woman, then maybe we need to rethink what is. And while we’re at it, let’s see if we can’t rethink what’s a fit topic for gossip and what isn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2003, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-jaimie-lee-curtis-born-a-hermaphrodite/148403/13 "2003-01-14T00:58:09Z")
Cecil _did_ write on it… I just can’t find it. ---
**Author:** ![manhattan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manhattan/32/7_2.png) [@manhattan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manhattan)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2003, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-jaimie-lee-curtis-born-a-hermaphrodite/148403/14 "2003-01-14T01:00:42Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jonathan Chance \* > \*\*Cecil _did_ write on it… > > I just can’t find it. \*\* He didn’t write a column on it – he commented on the question on the old AOL boards, which comment (along with others) is appended to one of his books. ---
**Author:** ![maralinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@maralinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maralinn)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2003, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-jaimie-lee-curtis-born-a-hermaphrodite/148403/15 "2003-01-14T01:04:21Z")
“Most biology teachers”?? How many have you talked to? ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2003, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-jaimie-lee-curtis-born-a-hermaphrodite/148403/16 "2003-01-14T01:05:13Z")
And IIRC, Cecil’s answer was it’s “nunuvyerbizniz” or words to that effect. **susanann** ’s comments do not fit with the medical model of testicular feminization (aka androgen insensitivity syndrome). ---
**Author:** ![TheRealJohnPeat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4bbf92/32.png) [@TheRealJohnPeat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheRealJohnPeat)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2003, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-jaimie-lee-curtis-born-a-hermaphrodite/148403/17 "2003-01-14T01:12:44Z")
I read an article recently which suggested that babies born of ‘indeterminate sex’ are not as uncommon as you might think. According to the research this journo had done - as many as 1 birth in 200 has ‘gender complications’ and 1 in 5 of those require the parents to make a ‘gender decision’ and the child to undergo follow-up surgery/hormone treatment etc. to “better determine their sex”. Shocked me at the time - but when you realise that sex is a complex issue which cannot be totally determined by any one physical factor - I suppose ‘issues’ are not that unusual. As for JLC - I’ve no idea, but with the 1/200 and 1/1000 figures - SOME ‘famous’ people have to be included surely… TTFN JP ---
**Author:** ![UncleBill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/d26b3c/32.png) [@UncleBill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBill)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2003, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-jaimie-lee-curtis-born-a-hermaphrodite/148403/18 "2003-01-14T01:17:22Z")
It would be nice if **susanann** would, for once, return to a thread and back up fantastic and somewhat unbelieveable statements like that. Hey, a guy can dream. ---
**Author:** ![stockton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5a626/32.png) [@stockton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stockton)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2003, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-jaimie-lee-curtis-born-a-hermaphrodite/148403/19 "2003-01-14T01:39:47Z")
Heckfire, **Unc** , I’d just be happy to find out what “chromosones, committe and hemephrodite” mean. That’s a LOT of reckless data to spew without some sort of cite to back it up. Most biology teachers are angry right now about those assertions (I’ve polled 53% of them already). ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2003, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-jaimie-lee-curtis-born-a-hermaphrodite/148403/20 "2003-01-14T01:40:20Z")
Even if **she** does have AIS, a few things about that condition should be pointed out: 1 - In the case of complete AIS, it often is not detected until puberty - the individual is, to all external appearances, female. 2 - By the time it is detected at puberty (lack of onset of menstruation), the individual has grown up thinking of themselves as female, whatever their chromosomes might say, and will probably continue to do so. Particularly since their external appearance will be that of a normally developed woman. Best that they think of themselves as a woman who happens to be infertile, similar to women who are infertile for any number of other reasons. A program on NPR about this condition actually mentioned that many women who have it tend to be tall and quite striking in appearance, and have flawless skin, oddly enough (the doctor being interviewed commented that they often looked like fashion models). That, and the fact that JLC has adopted might be considered circumstantial evidence, but we can’t no for sure, and, at the end of the day, it’s really none of our business. Background on AIS: [http://www.geneclinics.org/profiles/androgen/](http://www.geneclinics.org/profiles/androgen/) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-jaimie-lee-curtis-born-a-hermaphrodite/148403.md?page=2)