Kathleen Turner

Kathleen Turner Bio

Mary Kathleen Turner (born June 19, 1954) is an American actress whose distinctive deep, husky voice has made her one of Hollywood’s most recognizable talents. Born in Springfield, Missouri, she studied at The American School in London and later at Southwest Missouri State University and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, where she earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1977. Turner gained prominence in Body Heat (1981) and went on to achieve two Golden Globe awards and nominations for an Academy Award, a Grammy, and two Tony Awards. Beyond her work in film and on stage, she is an advocate for rheumatoid arthritis awareness and other charitable causes.

Early Life and Background

Mary Kathleen Turner was born on June 19, 1954, in Springfield, Missouri, to Patsy (née Magee) and Allen Richard Turner, a U.S. Foreign Service officer. She is the third of four children and the only one of her siblings to be born in the United States. She has a sister, Susan, and two brothers. Turner was raised in a strictly conservative Christian home, and her interest in performing was discouraged by both parents during her early years.

Because of her father’s work with the Foreign Service, the family moved often, and Turner spent formative years in Canada, Cuba, Venezuela, and London, England. She attended high school at The American School in London, graduating in 1972, and later recalled that the start of her real acting began during those high school years in London, where she produced, directed, and acted in school plays. Her father died of a coronary thrombosis one week before her graduation, and the family returned to Springfield, Missouri.

At the age of 19, Turner began volunteering at a local Planned Parenthood office, a cause she would continue to support throughout her life. She attended Southwest Missouri State University for two years, studying theater. Director Herbert Blau saw her performance in The House of Blue Leaves and invited her to spend her senior year at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, where she received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1977. During that period, she acted in several productions directed by Steve Yeager.

Path to Acting

Turner’s earliest professional stage moment came in 1973, when, while spending the summer with her mother in Midland, Texas, she was cast as the first female villain in the Yucca Theater’s Summer Mummers melodrama, Plodding Among the Planets. Several months after moving to New York City in 1977, she took over the female lead in Michael Zetter’s play Mister T at the Soho Repertory Theatre, marking her off-Broadway debut. She made her Broadway debut shortly afterward as Judith Hastings in Gemini by Albert Innaurato, starring alongside Danny Aiello at The Little Theatre.

In 1978, Turner made her television debut in the NBC daytime soap opera The Doctors as the second Nola Dancy Aldrich, appearing on the series through 1979. Her commanding presence and her famously low, husky voice drew comparisons to a young Lauren Bacall. When the two met, Turner reportedly introduced herself by saying, “Hi, I’m the young you,” a story that has become a piece of Hollywood lore.

Kathleen Turner Career

Early Career (1977-1981)

Turner’s early years in New York combined stage work with her role on The Doctors, giving her steady experience in front of audiences. Her off-Broadway and Broadway appearances in 1977 helped establish her as a serious dramatic talent, while her soap opera work gave her daily on-camera training. These foundations prepared her for the leap to feature films that would soon change her career.

She made her film debut in 1981 as the ruthless Matty Walker in the thriller Body Heat, directed by Lawrence Kasdan. The role brought her international prominence and a reputation as a sex symbol. The New York Times later wrote that, propelled by her jaw-dropping movie debut, she built a career on adventurousness and frank sexuality born of robust physicality. The film was named by Empire magazine in 1995 as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in Film History, and Turner went on to become one of the top box-office draws of the 1980s.

Breakthrough (1983-1991)

After Body Heat, Turner steered away from femme fatale roles to prevent typecasting. Her first project after the thriller was the 1983 comedy The Man with Two Brains. She then co-starred in Romancing the Stone (1984) with Michael Douglas and Danny DeVito, playing writer Joan Wilder. Film critic Pauline Kael praised her performance, and the film became a surprise hit, earning Turner her first Golden Globe award and placing it among the top-ten-grossing movies of 1984.

Turner teamed with Douglas and DeVito again the following year for The Jewel of the Nile (1985), and also starred opposite Jack Nicholson in Prizzi’s Honor (1985), winning a second Golden Globe award. In 1986, she co-starred with Nicolas Cage in Peggy Sue Got Married, a performance that earned her the Best Actress award from the U.S. National Board of Review of Motion Pictures and a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress. She voiced the cartoon femme fatale Jessica Rabbit in Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), delivering the famous line “I’m not bad, I’m just drawn that way.”

In 1989, Turner reunited with Douglas and DeVito for The War of the Roses, playing Douglas’s disillusioned wife in a dark comedy about divorce. The New York Times praised the trio, with critic Janet Maslin calling Turner evilly enchanting. Other notable films of the period included Switching Channels (1988), The Accidental Tourist (1988), V.I. Warshawski (1991), and Serial Mom (1994), the last directed by John Waters. She also broke her nose filming V.I. Warshawski while doing her own stunts.

Notable Works and Milestones

Turner’s signature works include Body Heat, Romancing the Stone, Prizzi’s Honor, Peggy Sue Got Married, and Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Her two Golden Globe wins and her Best Actress Academy Award nomination for Peggy Sue Got Married mark her as one of the most acclaimed dramatic actresses of her generation. In 2008, she published her memoir, Send Yourself Roses: Thoughts on My Life, Love, and Leading Roles, written with Gloria Feldt.

Kathleen Turner Award Nominations

Kathleen Turner has received nominations for an Academy Award, a Grammy, and two Tony Awards across her career, in addition to her two Golden Globe wins. Her Academy Award nomination came for Best Actress for Peggy Sue Got Married at the 1987 ceremony. Her Tony Award nominations were for Best Actress in a Play for Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and for her performance as Martha in the 2005 Broadway revival of Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? at the Longacre Theatre. Her Grammy nomination reflects her work in recorded performance. She has also been honored with the Best Actress award from the U.S. National Board of Review of Motion Pictures for Peggy Sue Got Married.

Kathleen Turner Awards Won

Kathleen Turner is the recipient of two Golden Globe awards for her film work in the 1980s, cementing her status as a leading lady of that decade. Her first Golden Globe was for Romancing the Stone, and her second was for Prizzi’s Honor, in which she starred opposite Jack Nicholson. She also won the U.S. National Board of Review of Motion Pictures Best Actress award for Peggy Sue Got Married.

Kathleen Turner Family

Turner was born to Allen Richard Turner, a U.S. Foreign Service officer who grew up in China, and Patsy (née Magee) Turner. She is the third of four children and has a sister, Susan, and two brothers. Her father’s career with the Foreign Service took the family to Canada, Cuba, Venezuela, and London during her childhood.

Turner married real estate entrepreneur Jay Weiss of New York City in 1984. The couple had one daughter, singer Rachel Ann Weiss, who was born on October 14, 1987. Turner and Weiss divorced in December 2007, though Turner has said that Jay remains her best friend.

Personal Life

Outside of her film and stage career, Turner has long been involved in advocacy and charitable work. She began volunteering with Planned Parenthood of America at age 19 and later became a chairperson of the organization. She also serves on the board of People for the American Way, and volunteers with Amnesty International and Citymeals-on-Wheels. Turner was one of John Kerry’s first celebrity endorsers and has been a frequent donor to the Democratic Party. She has also been open about her work to raise awareness of rheumatoid arthritis after her own diagnosis in the early 1990s, and she has taught acting classes at New York University. Her voice work has extended to radio commercials, BBC Radio 4 dramas, and guest roles on animated series including The Simpsons, Family Guy, King of the Hill, and Rick and Morty.