Kathleen Turner

At 69 years old, Kathleen Turner has this physical status:

Kathleen Turner, born June 19, 1954, is an American film and stage actress and producer.

Turner has won two Golden Globe Awards and been nominated for an Academy Award in 1980s and 1990s, as well as plays in Body Heat (1982), Crimes of Passion (1984), and Prizzi's Honor (1985), the last two winning her a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy.

Turner appeared in The Accidental Tourist (1988), The War of the Roses (1989), Serial Mom (1994), and Peggy Sue Got Married (1986), which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Turner appeared in The Virgin Suicides (1999), Baby Geniuses (1999), and Beautiful (2000), as well as guest-starring on NBC's Friends as Chandler Bing's drag queen father Charles Bing, and Sue Collini, the jaded, sex-crazed owner of a talent agency.

In addition to Jethro Rabbit (1988), Monster House (2006), and King of the Hill's television series The Simpsons and King of the Hill, Turner has also done substantial work as a voice actor, including Jessica Rabbit in Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988). Turner has appeared in theatre and has been nominated twice for the Tony Award for her Broadway performances as Maggie in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and Martha in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf. Turner has also taught acting at New York University.

Early life

Turner was born in Springfield, Missouri, to Patsy (née Magee) and Allen Richard Turner, a US Foreign Service agent who grew up in China (where Turner's great-grandfather was a Methodist missionary). She is the third of four children and the first one to be born in the United States. Susannah and two brothers are among her sister's and brothers' names.

Turner was raised in a strict conservative Christian household, and both of her parents discouraged her from performing: "My father was of missionary stock," she later explained, "so theater and acting were just a step up from being a streetwalker." So when I was doing well in school, he would drive my mother [there] and sit in the car. "She's doing really well," she'd say at intermissions and inform him, "She's doing really well."

Turner grew up in Canada, Cuba, Venezuela, Venezuela, and London, England, owing to her father's work in the Foreign Service. She attended The American School in London, graduating in 1972. In her 2008 memoir, she wrote, "The beginning of genuine acting for me began during high school in London." "There were seven of us who were kind of a theater mafia." "We produced, directed, performed, chosen the performances, but one teacher was fired and another one was recruited," says the school. The father died of a coronary thrombosis a week before her graduation, and the family moved to Springfield, Missouri. Turner began volunteering at a local Planned Parenthood office at the age of 19.

She enrolled in theater at Southwest Missouri State University for two years, learning about theater. Director Herbert Blau saw her success in The House of Blue Leaves and invited her to spend her senior year at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, where she earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1977. Turner appeared in several film and stage director Steve Yeager's directed during the time.

Personal life

In 1984, Turner married real estate developer Jay Weiss of New York City, and they had one child, singer Rachel Ann Weiss, who was born on October 14, 1987. In December 2007, Turner and Weiss divorced, but Turner has said, "[Jay] is still my best friend."

Turner had a reputation for being difficult by the 1980s, according to The New York Times, who referred to him as "a verifiable diva." She admitted that she had developed into "not a very kind person" and actress Eileen Atkins, with whom she appeared in the Broadway play Indiscretions, referred to her as a "wonderful nightmare." In 2018, she spoke out against her image by saying: "The 'difficult' thing was pure gender nonsense." People go, 'Here's how I see this being done,' a man says on set.' If a woman does it, they say, 'Oh, fuck.' "She goes."

Turner has defended herself against Atkins' allegations, saying that Atkins harbored animosity against her because she was having trouble memorizing her lines, something Atkins found extremely offensive. Turner later discovered that the new drugs for her rheumatoid arthritis she was taking was making her "fuzzy." Turner said that On days when the rheumatoid arthritis in her wrist was particularly bad and she warned the other cast members not to touch it, Atkins would deliberately sit on it during a scene where Turner had to play dead, causing Turner extreme pain. Turner blasted Hollywood for the inconsistency in male actors and female actors as they aged, describing the gap as a "terrible double standard."

I mean, really!

Turner has been employed as a Planned Parenthood of America since age 19, and later became a chairperson. She serves on the board of People for the American Way, as well as volunteering at Amnesty International and Citymeals-on-Wheels. She was one of John Kerry's first celebrity endorsers. She has been a regular contributor to the Democratic Party for many years. She has also worked to raise the threat of rheumatoid arthritis.

Turner worked with Gloria Feldt in the writing of her memoirs, "Everybody Roses: Thoughts on My Life, Love, and Leading Roles" in the mid-2000s. In 2008, the book was first published. Turner wrote that while filming Peggy Sue Got Married, her co-star Nicolas Cage became inebriated and took a Chihua that she adored. Cage also filed a lawsuit against Turner and her book publisher in the United Kingdom, who took an excerpt from the book and posted it on their website (before publication). Cage pleaded defamation and damage to character and was awarded the lawsuit, which resulted in retractions, court fees, and a donation to charity. Turner later apologised publicly for his apology. Turner apologised for any distress she may have caused Cage relating to an event 20 years ago during an interview on The View.

Vulture magazine published an in-depth interview with Turner on August 7, 2018, wherein she discussed a variety of topics, from Elizabeth Taylor's acting abilities to what it was like meeting Donald Trump in the 1980s. Turner's openness and concrete claims caused the article to be widely distributed in various media outlets, which led to her name becoming a hit on Google.

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Career

Turner took over the female lead in Michael Zetter's play Mister T, which co-starred Jonathan Frakes and appeared at Soho Repertory Theatre many months after he moved to New York City in 1977. That performance was her off-Broadway debut. Turner made her Broadway debut in Gemini, Australia, by Albert Innaurato, as Judith Hastings, starring Danny Aiello and The Little Theatre (now known as the Helen Hayes Theater). It premiered in 1977, 1977, just after she first appeared in the soap The Doctors.

Turner made her television debut in 1978 as the second Nola Dancy Aldrich of NBC daytime soap The Doctors. In 1981, she made her film debut as the ruthless Matty Walker in the film Body Heat; the role brought her to international prominence. When Empire ranked her as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in Film History in 1995, it cited the film as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in Film History. The New York Times wrote in 2005 that she began building a career of adventure and frank sexuality born of robust physicality, after being inspired by her "jaw-dropping film debut [in] Body Heat. Turner went on to be one of the best box-office recruits and most in-demand actresses of the 1980s and early 1990s.

"Body Heat was a blessing" for Turner, because I went straight to being a leading actor and I didn't have to endure any of the predatory male behavior that so many young actors endured. It doesn't bother me that nearly four decades after the film was released, I'm still think of as a sexual icon. I got over it a long time ago."

Turner was often compared to a young Lauren Bacall due to her deep voice. Turner reportedly introduced herself as the two girls met by saying, "I'm the young you."

Turner steered away from femme fatale roles to "prevent typecasting" and "because femme fatale roles had a shelf-life" after Body Heat. According to her, her first project after this was The Man With Two Brains, an 1983 comedy. Turner appeared in Romancing the Stone with Michael Douglas and Danny DeVito. "Turner knows how to use her dimples amusingly and how to dance like a woman who didn't know she could," film critic Pauline Kael wrote about her role as writer Joan Wilder. Romancing the Stone was a surprise hit: she received a Golden Globe for her role in the film, making it one of the top ten-grossing films of 1984. The Jewel of the Nile reunited Turner with Douglas and DeVito every year. Because Turner refused to commit to the "terrible" script she had been given, pre-production for the film was fraught with conflict. When she said no, 20th Century Fox threatened her with a US$25 million breach of contract lawsuit. Eventually, Douglas, the film's director, decided to rewrite the script to make it more palatable to Turner, which resulted in a lot of back-and-forth between the two characters as the script was retooled right up to when shooting began in Fez, Morocco.

Several months before Jewel appeared in Prizzi's Honor with Jack Nicholson, winning his second Golden Globe award and later starring Nicolas Cage in Peggy Sue Got Married. Peggy Sue received the Best Actress award from the United States National Board of Review of Motion Pictures, as well as an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress.

Jessica Rabbit, the talking voice of cartoon femme fatale Jessica Rabbit in 1988's toon-noir Who Framed Roger Rabbit, was the one who narrates the line, "I'm not bad, I'm just drawn that way." Her uncredited, sultry appearance was described as "the kind of sexpot ball-breaker she was made for." (In the scene in which the character first appears in the film, Amy Irving provides Jessica Rabbit's singing voice.) Turner appeared in Switching Channels, a loose remake of the 1940 hit film His Girl Friday; this, in turn, was a loose remake of the Ben Hecht-Charles MacArthur comedy The Front Page.

Turner was the subject of Austrian techno-pop singer Falco's 1986 album "The Kiss of Kathleen Turner." Turner teamed with Douglas and DeVito for a third time in The War of the Roses in 1989, but this time as Douglas' disillusioned wife, with DeVito in the role of a divorce prosecutor who shared their tale. "Mr. Douglas and Ms. Turner have never been more comfortable with a team," the New York Times said, "each of them is at their best when being as miserable as both are expected to be here." Turner played a former gymnast and did many of her own stunts in the film. (She broke her nose two years after being filming 1991's V.I. Warshawski (warshawski) vs.

Turner was a leading lady in the early 1990s and appeared in V.I. Warshawski and Undercover Blues were both employed before rheumatoid arthritis severely restricted her activities. "When I was 40, the roles came to a halt, I started getting calls from playmothers and grandmothers," she said.

"Inexplicable pains and fevers" started in 1992, during the filming of Serial Mom. About a year ago, the rheumatoid arthritis diagnosis was made. She "could hardly turn her head or walk" by the time she was diagnosed, and she was told she'd end up in a wheelchair." "My body could respond with excruciating pain anytime I tried to move at all." My hands were so swollen that I couldn't hold a pen. I couldn't drink a glass of water any day. My child couldn't be picked up; my feet would be so swollen that they would not be able to put them into any kind of shoes, much less walk on them."

After the rheumatoid arthritis diagnosis, Turner's appearance had changed. In her memoir, she says, "The media were merciless." "They snipped that I had become fat and unrecognizable because I was an out-of-control person with no influence," I said. Nonetheless, I didn't reveal what was going to me."

Alcohol use became a problem as her rheumatoid arthritis progressed. "I drank intentionally at first to put an end to the pain." "Later, after getting the new medications and the discomfort began to fade, I continued to drink too much." It didn't hurt my career, but it did hurt me personally."

Turner has admitted that she found it difficult to be around because of the alcohol use. "Rumors started circulating that she was drinking too much," an article in the New York Times in 2005. "I went on allowing others to believe whatever they wanted to hear about my behavior and physical changes," she wrote in her book. Several people were led to the belief that I had turned into a heavy drinker. I couldn't deny them because I felt it was worse to have people know that I had this terrible disease. They'd hire me if they were inebriated because they could remember, but they wouldn't hire me if they didn't know about a mysterious, frightening disease that they didn't understand. We – Jay, my agent, and myself – felt it was vital to protect my rheumatoid arthritis.

Her career as a leading lady began to wanel, and she was seen in fewer and less successful films. She ruled out lead roles in Ghost and The Bridges of Madison County, both of which were huge hits. She appeared in the low-budget House of Cards, as well as the comedy-drama Moonlight & Valentino, and appeared in A Simple Wish, The Real Blonde, and Sofia Coppola's The Virgin Suicides. In the episode "Lisa vs. Malibu Stacy" on The Simpsons, she also appeared as the voice of Malibu Stacy's creator, Stacy Lovell.

Despite drug therapy for her illness, the disease has remained stable for eight years. Then's rheumatoid arthritis went into remission as a result of newly available treatments. She was increasingly seen on television, including three episodes of Friends, where she appeared as Chandler Bing's father, a drag performer.

Turner appeared on FX's Nip/Tuck in 2006 as a phone sex operator in need of laryngeal surgery. She appeared in a small part in Marley & Me in 2008 and also served as a defense attorney on Law & Order. In season three of the television series Californication, she appeared as Charlie Runkle's sexually hyperactive boss.

Turner starred in The Perfect Family in 2011 and appeared in Nurse 3D (2013) and Dumb and Dumber To in 2014.

She appeared in two episodes of Hulu's The Path (2016–17), appeared in an episode of Dolly Parton's Heartstrings (2019) and guest-starred on two episodes of CBS comedy series Mom in 2020. Turner appeared on Netflix's The Kominsky Method in season 2 (2019) and became a principal cast member in season 3 (2021). For the first time since The War of the Roses, actress Michael Douglas reunited her with fellow actor Michael Douglas.

In the 1988 live action/animated film Who Framed Roger Rabbit, three animated short film spinoffs, and Roger Rabbit's Car Toon Spinoff, Jessica Rabbit appeared in the Disneyland attraction spinoff Roger Rabbit. Turner portrayed Constance in the animated film Monster House in 2006. Lay's potato chips were later sold on radio commercial voice-overs. Sara Paretsky's V. I. Warshawski novels were used in four radio dramas on BBC Radio 4. Turner reprised her 1991 film role in Killing Orders and Deadlock, which had been based on Paretsky's book Deadlock; however, Bitter Medicine, which was released in 2009, had Sharon Gless play the lead. Emily & Tim, a documentary about anthology drama film, narrated it in 2015. Turner appeared on the animated series King of the Hill, Family Guy, 3Below, Tales of Arcadia, Rick and Morty, Summer Camp Island, and Wizards of Arcadia.

Turner, who received a Tony Award nomination for Best Actress in 1990s Broadway plays Indiscretions and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, moved to London in 2000 to star in a stage version of The Graduate. According to the BBC, initial poor ticket sales for The Graduate "went through the roof" when it was revealed that Turner, then 45, would appear naked on stage." Although Turner's tenure as the infamous Mrs. Robinson was gaining a following in the box office, critics mixed about her. In 2002, the play was revived to Broadway, with similar critical reactions.

Turner defeated Martha in the role of Martha in Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf's 2005 Broadway revival. At the Longacre Theatre. Albee later told the New York Times that when Turner read for the role with her future co-star Bill Irwin, he received "an echo of the'revelation' that he felt years ago when the parts were read by [Uta] Hagen and Arthur Hill." Turner had "a look of voluptuousness, a woman of appetites, yes... but a glimpse of having suffered as well."

In a letter, Ben Brantley lauded Turner at length: he wrote:

Martha Turner received her second Tony Award nomination for Best Actress in a Play, losing to Cherry Jones. In 2006, the show was moved to the Apollo Theatre in London. Tallulah, Sandra Ryan Heyward's one-woman show, toured around the United States, she appeared in Sandra Ryan Heyward's one-woman show Tallulah.

In Matthew Lombardo's drama High at Hartford TheaterWorks, Turner portrayed Sister Jamison Connelly. The production departed to Broadway at the Booth Theater where it opened in previews on March 25, 2011, before finally closing on April 24, 2011. However, in a rare twist, the troupe was revived, now led by Turner, to embark on a national tour, which began in Boston in December 2012.

Turner appeared in Red Hot Patriot: The Kick-Ass Wit of Molly Ivins, a play about the legendary liberal Texas columnist Molly Ivins, from August to October 28, 2012, at Arena Stage in Washington, DC. Turner appeared at Berkeley Repertory Theatre in December 2014 and January 2015. In October and November 2016, she appeared in the title role of Bertolt Brecht's Mother Courage, opening in February 2014, and playing Joan Didion in the one-woman exhibition The Year of Magical Thought, based on Didion's memoir of the same name, performed onstage. In February 2019, Turner made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City in the speaking role of The Duchess of Krakentorp in Donizetti's opera La fille du régiment.

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