Was Jamie Lee Curtis born a hermaphadite?

Snopes says: Undetermined.

In my “Hormones & Behavior” class just 2 weeks ago, my professor officially debunked this one. According to him, there is absolutely no evidence that this is true. Poor Jamie Lee!

Maybe they could do a special episode of “MythBusters” about this one? Ha ha.

she was born an intersexual. It is physically impossible for a human to be an hermaphrodite (meaning, born with a penis and vagina, and may also breed with one self).

She was born with a penis that was not quite clinically large enough to be considered a penis. “it’s easier to make a hole than build a pole.” which it what the doctor’s did with jamie lee curtis.

Analysis, what are you basing your answer on? I don’t think there is ANY concrete evidence that Jamie Lee Curtis is anything but an XX-chromosome, normal woman. It’s just one of those urban myths that gets passed on.

This urban myths website has a pretty good analysis of the whole situation:
http://www.snopes.com/movies/actors/jamie.asp

christybird, i took a Sociology of Sexuality class, and one of the lectures was solely based on intersexuals. We watched a documentary on how controversial it is for a doctor to choose a born intersexual’s future sex.
Jamie Lee Curtis was in the documentary explaining what her reaction was when her parents told her, and how she lives a great life today. It was a very old documentary, and i’m guessing this is how rumors of Jamie Lee Curtis being a hermaphrodite started. But intersexuals are completely different than hermaphrodites. That is what many don’t understand.

If you would like I can try finding the name of the documentary. And I, probably like you, are not one of the gullible…but it’s hard not to believe it when you’re taking notes on the documentary and she’s on the screen right in front of your eyes.

I’m a biologist, and I know that many intersexual people are born every year, the result of different chromosomal abnormalities (such as androgen insensitivity syndrome, or AIS). Many of them live great lives. I’m glad someone asked this Jamie Lee question because this is a really interesting topic – here is the website of the North American Intersex Society, that has more information on intersex issues: http://www.isna.org/

The thing that makes this rumor so insidious is that people often hear it in science (or, apparently, sociology) classes, repeated by respected professors and scientists, and stated as “a proven fact.” Two people in my class a couple weeks ago had heard this rumor from professors of genetics classes – also not the most gullible section of the population, particularly on genetic issues!

Not to be a jerk, but unless you can come up with the name of this documentary (and how I might be able to get my hands on a copy) I will remain very, very dubious about this one.

Here’s what Wikipedia has to say about Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Androgen_insensitivity_syndrome

“CAIS urban legends

Whether called CAIS or testicular feminization, this condition intrigues the imagination when people first learn of it. Inevitably, when CAIS is discussed or taught, someone will mention that they have heard from a reliable source that insert name of voluptuous female movie star or celebrity has AIS, as if offering some titillating scandal or memorable illustration. Lack of corroborative evidence never stops a good rumor. Experience teaches that the names change with the decades, but not the story.”

AIS women, though genetically XY are considered women and are often some of the most beautiful women. They have testicles and make testosterone but their bodies do not respond to the testosterone. They do not have ovaries, no uterus, cannot have children but usually become tall, thin (due to testosterone) and have rather large breasts. So they often become beautiful actresses or supermodels…the joke being that what every man wants in a woman is…another man.
Whether Jamie Lee has this, or not…? She is a beautiful woman.

Oh, the testicles are in their abdomen…where ovaries would be so externally they look completely female. Like I said, their bodies do not respond to testosterone and the default pathway is female. So, if you have a y chromosome, but a y chromosome only makes testosterone (it does nothing else) and your body ‘ignores’ does not respond to testosterone…then you are basically a female who cannot bear children and who is not cursed with a montly cycle.

scorpiomoon is completely correct in his answer, she has admitted this herself. and it is included in her biography!

christybird, you should admit when you are wrong as opposed to acting smarter than you actually are due to insecurity. Jamie Lee would be disappointed:-(

not true, more than one magazine has obtained DNA samples from Curtis (from cups, cigarettes, brushes) and all showed she has xx chromosomes- the bigger story is what lengths people go to to find rubbish on others