Laurie Strode

Laurie Strode is a fictional character in the Halloween horror franchise, portrayed by actresses Jamie Lee Curtis and Scout Taylor-Compton. She appears in six of the ten Halloween films, first appearing in John Carpenter's original 1978 film. She is the primary protagonist of the first, second, and seventh and appears at the beginning of the eighth. Jamie Lee Curtis portrayed the role in the original run of the series, with Scout Taylor-Compton taking the role in Rob Zombie's reboot and its sequel. In academic materials, Strode is widely cited as the one of the earliest and most influential examples of the "final girl" slasher film archetype.

Appearances

Films

Laurie Strode first appears in the original Halloween. The 17-year-old Laurie (Curtis) has plans to babysit Tommy Doyle (Brian Andrews) on Halloween night, 1978. However, throughout the day, she keeps seeing a mysterious masked man watching her wherever she goes; unbeknownst to her, this is Michael Myers (Nick Castle), an escaped mental patient who murdered his sister, Judith Myers (Sandy Johnson), 15 years ago and has begun stalking her. As Laurie babysits Tommy, Myers kills Annie (Nancy Loomis) and Lynda (P. J. Soles), in the house across the street. Growing concerned when they fail to call her, Laurie goes to investigate and sees their corpses laid out for her to find, before being attacked by Myers. Laurie defends herself by stabbing him with a knitting needle, a metal hanger, and his own knife, but nothing kills him. As he rises again and begins to strangle her, Laurie is saved by Dr. Sam Loomis (Donald Pleasence), who shoots Myers off the balcony.