Kathleen Turner

She was once married to the real estate entrepreneur Jay Weiss whom she wed in 1984. She has one daughter. Weiss and Turner divorced in 2007.

She has been involved with Planned Parenthood of America from her teenage and later became a chairperson. She also volunteers for other charities like Amnesty International and Citymeals-on-Wheels.

She was born to Allen Richard Turner and his wife Patsy. Her father was a U.S. Foreign Service officer. The family traveled all over the world because of her father’s profession. She was raised in a conservative Christian household.

She was interested in the performing arts from a young age though her parents were opposed to it. She graduated from the American School in London in 1972 and then moved back to the U.S.

She attended Missouri State University for two years and then studied theater at the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC). She earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1977. During her college years she frequently appeared in several stage productions directed by Steve Yeager.

She moved to New York in 1977 and started acting as the female lead in Michael Zetter’s play ‘Mister T’ at the Soho Repertory Theatre, making her off-Broadway debut. She made her Broadway debut as Judith Hastings in ‘Gemini’ at The Little Theatre after a few months.

Her film debut came in 1981 when she was chosen to play the role of the femme fatale Matty Walker in the thriller ‘Body Heat’. Her role of a cunning and beautiful woman who plots her husband’s murder was loved by all.

Not wishing to be stereotyped as a sexy seductress after her debut, she made a conscious choice to choose a variety of roles. She played a gold-digging wife in the science fiction comedy ‘The Man with Two Brains’ in 1983.

She chose to play a comedic role in the 1984 romantic comedy ‘Romancing the Stone’ directed by Robert Zemeckis. It also starred Michael Douglas and Danny DeVito. It was a big commercial hit and catapulted Turner to stardom.

She played a middle aged married woman who finds herself transported back to her high school days in the comedy drama ‘Peggy Sue Got Married’ in 1986. She was nominated for the Academy Award for the Best Actress for this role.

She played Joan Wilder in ‘Romancing the Stone’ which was a romantic comedy that launched her to stardom. She played a lonely romance novelist whose sister is kidnapped by smugglers. This was her first venture into comedy.

She effortlessly played the role of a middle aged woman who is transported back to her high school days in the comedy drama ‘Peggy Sue Got Married’ for which she received an Academy Award nomination and won several other awards.