As one of Hollywood’s most beautiful actresses, Kathleen Turner gained notoriety in the 1980s thanks to her beauty and strength.
The actress has endured many good and bad times over the years, and this tenacity has seen her through both.
Having grown up in a family with four other children, Kathleen Turner had a difficult upbringing. She and her siblings spent their formative years in both Venezuela and London. She experienced tragedy when, at a young age, her father passed away suddenly while mowing the lawn of their Hampstead home.
Kathleen and her family were expelled from the UK by the foreign service a month after his death. Turner and her family moved to Springfield, Missouri, where they all continued to mourn their father and their previous residence.
After moving to New York to pursue a career as an actor as an adult, Tuner finally experienced peace. She had some success on the stage, but her big break came when she was cast in 1981’s “Body Heat” as the femme fatale. ”.
Turner was given the opportunity to co-star with Michael Douglas in the renowned “Romancing the Stone” three years after sharing a screen with William Hurt. At the time of filming, Douglas was going through a contentious divorce from his wife Diandra, and he started to have feelings for Turner.
“We were heavily flirting and exchanging fervent, longing looks as we were in the process of falling in love. Then Diandra showed up and reminded me that he was still married, said Kathleen.
In 1984, she wed Jay Weiss, the movie’s real estate developer. Soon after, the two became parents to their only daughter. On October 14, 1987, Rachel Ann Weiss was conceived.
Unfortunately, as they began to raise their daughter, the couple’s relationship started to deteriorate.
To allow my daughter and husband to visit me, I would demand that movie studios give me extended weekends or extra tickets. But I felt guilty because it seemed like he was putting all of the effort into the marriage. It ended for a number of reasons, including this. I began to feel incredibly oppressed. Hold on a second, you’ve made a fortune from being married to me too, I thought, Kathleen remarked.
Their marital issues reached a breaking point in 2005 when Turner played Martha in the Broadway revival of “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”. With eight shows per week, Turner’s schedule grew incredibly busy, and it seemed Weiss didn’t want to spend any time with her when she was at home.
During that time, the two divorced amicably, and Turner received a Tony nomination for her portrayal of Martha.
In 1987, the actress received an Oscar nomination for her work in “Peggy Sue Got Married.”. Her film career flourished in the 1980s, and she appeared in several blockbusters, three of which starred Michael Douglas.
They told me I’d be in a wheelchair when it was first diagnosed, and I was terrified,” Kathleen recalled.
“I reasoned that I couldn’t act if I couldn’t move.
I’m not just interested in acting. I was created to do it. It surrounds me everywhere I go. Along with the ongoing pain, the thought of not being able to do it was the most terrifying aspect. ”.
To cope with her pain, Kathleen turned to alcohol and pills. While these made it easier for her to work, her propensity for drinking vodka caused her to pass out during dress rehearsals for plays like the 2002 stage production of “The Graduate.”. ”.
It was discovered that the actress was not an alcoholic when she entered rehab after the show had ended. She was instead instructed to simply keep better track of her medication intake and side effects.
Today, the actress practices yoga and pilates to help her manage her pain and stay flexible.
The star started to really concentrate on her stage career as she was able to better manage her pain. Although she continued to work in film and television on occasion as she got older, she largely stayed true to her roots, even taking the stage in her forties to star in “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.”.
Because, as I got older, I knew that the better roles would be in theater, which is absolutely true, so that was a little foresight on my part of which I am justly proud, Kathleen said. s.
The actress has been able to devote more time to her passions by concentrating on theater, including volunteering for Amnesty International and working for Planned Parenthood of America.
Turner has dedicated her life to advancing other women as a fervent feminist. In Gloria Feldt’s 2008 biography of the actress, Send Yourself Roses, her ideologies are depicted in a clear way.
“Our generation is the first to include women who can support themselves. As Kathleen noted, “Women are returning to the workforce. They are changing themselves. I believed I could help, maybe even make it better. Therefore, it contains a lot of philosophy and a lot of my beliefs. ”.
