Strong and lovely, Kathleen Turner shot to stardom in the ’80s and is widely regarded as one of Hollywood’s most stunning performers.
The actress’s resilience has carried her through both the good and terrible circumstances she’s encountered.
Kathleen Turner was one of four children and had a difficult upbringing. Her childhood was split between London and Venezuela with her brothers.
Her father tragically died while mowing the lawn of their Hampstead house when she was only a little girl. A month after his death, the British government forced Kathleen and her family to leave the country.
While Turner and her family were still mourning the loss of their father and their house, they decided to relocate to Springfield, Missouri.
After a troubled childhood, Tuner found solace in New York City, where she went to pursue an acting career. Her theatre career was successful, but she hit it big when she was cast as the femme fatale in the 1981 film “Body Heat.”
On the set of Lawrence Kasdan’s Body Heat, starring American actress Kathleen Turner. (Image: Sunset Strip, courtesy of Corbis/Getty Images)
After sharing the screen with William Hurt for three years, Michael Douglas gave Turner the opportunity to co-star in the classic “Romancing the Stone.
” Douglas’s divorce from Diandra was rough during production, and he and Turner became romantically involved.
We were having passionate, yearning glances and passionate, heavy flirting; in other words, we were falling in love. Then Diandra came down and said, “Kathleen, remember he’s still married.
In 1984, she tied the knot with Jay Weiss, the film’s real estate developer. Soon later, they had a daughter, who would be their only child. On October 14, 1987, Rachel Ann Weiss entered the world.
As they began to focus more on being good parents to their daughter, the cracks in their relationship became more apparent.
I would demand additional days off from work or free tickets to the movies so that my family could join me.
However, I always felt bad since it seemed like he was the one putting in all the work in our marriage.
It was a contributing factor to the breakup. I felt like I was being suffocated by it all. ‘Hang on, you’ve done pretty well out of being married to me also,’ Kathleen said.
Their marriage finally broke out in 2005, when Turner played Martha in a Broadway version of “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
” Turner’s schedule was more hectic as she performed in eight concerts each week, and it seemed like Weiss had little interest in spending time with her even while she was at home.
During this period, the couple split amicably, and Turner was nominated for a Tony Award for her performance as Martha.
The actress had already been nominated for an Academy Award for her performance in 1987’s “Peggy Sue Got Married.
” During the 1980s, she was a major Hollywood celebrity, appearing in many hit films (including three with Michael Douglas).
In the 1990s, however, Kathleen had a medical setback when she found herself unable to move her head due to a locked neck. In addition, the swelling in her hands rendered them useless.
In her own words, “it was crippling,” is how Kathleen described the experience. When something is taken away from you, even momentarily, you learn to appreciate it more.
The ease with which I could run, jump, and otherwise manipulate my physical environment was something I seldom questioned.
When I lost it, I had a profound sense of inadequacy: “Who am I if I can’t do this?” Rheumatoid arthritis.
A disease that causes the lining of our joints to thicken, was ultimately to blame for her misery. Pain from this illness is constant and sometimes difficult to treat.
“When it was first diagnosed, I was terrified because they said I’d be in a wheelchair,” Kathleen recalled. It occurred to me, ‘If I can’t move, I can’t act.
‘ My interest in acting goes beyond a simple hobby. This is what I was meant to accomplish with my life. It permeates every aspect of my existence.
The continual ache was the worst part, but the thought of failing was far worse. Kathleen began self-medicating with pharmaceuticals and alcoholic beverages.
While they got her in the zone, her regular vodka consumption caused her to black out during rehearsals for musicals like the 2002 Broadway staging of “The Graduate.”
After the series ended, the actress checked herself into recovery, only to learn that she was not an alcoholic.
Instead, she was encouraged to keep better track of her prescription schedule and any adverse reactions she had.
The actress now practises yoga and pilates to keep her body flexible and pain-free. The actress started putting in serious stage time after she found effective pain relief.
She continued to act on film and TV periodically into her forties, although she gravitated back towards her theatrical origins, even appearing in “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” at that point.
Foresight such as Kathleen’s is grounds for justifiable pride: “because I knew that the better roles as I got older would be in theatre,” she said.
The star’s time spent on theatre has given her the freedom to pursue other interests, such as her work with Amnesty International and Planned Parenthood of America.
Turner has spent the better part of her life as a passionate feminist, using her undeniable strength to empower other women.
Send Yourself Roses, Gloria Feldt’s biography of the singer published in 2008, is a strong representation of the star’s ideology.
We’re the first generation of women to be really self-sufficient economically. It’s a woman’s world again,” Kathleen said.
They’re changing into something new. I believed I could contribute to it, maybe even boost it. There’s a lot of my philosophy and my values in there.”
