’80s Hollywood Icon Kathleen Turner's Life Has Been Full Of Highs & Lows

Feb 17, 2025 by apost team

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With two Golden Globes, numerous accolades, and five decades of winning hearts on stage, and on the small and big screen, Kathleen Turner is no stranger to stardom. The actress, 70, rose to stardom in the 1981 thriller “Body Heat,” which catapulted her to sex symbol status and immense fame in Hollywood. She would later come to be known for her roles in “The Man With Two Brains,” the daytime soap opera “The Doctors,” and the hit film “Romancing the Stone” alongside Michael Douglas and Danny DeVito. She also starred in 1986’s “Peggy Sue Got Married” and 1994’s “Serial Mom,” which became a cult classic. 

Additionally, Turner also made a name for herself in voice acting. Her notable roles include voicing Jessica Rabbit in “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?” and Constance in “Monster House.” Decades on, Turner has lived through the highs and lows of her Hollywood career and lived to tell the tale. She has also faced many challenges in her personal life – some that nearly destroyed her – but like a phoenix, she rose from the ashes.

Turner’s personal life has been marked by misfortune, including health issues and grief. From addiction to loss, heartache and survival, the actress has remained candid and open about her life, making her one of the most inspiring women in Hollywood.

Let’s take a deep dive into the life of this icon, exploring the battles that have made her the woman she is today and the joyous moments that have shaped her.

Turner caught her big break in the ’80s and swiftly became known for her beauty and presence onscreen. Her unique voice and unmistakable talent quickly made her a household name. At the end of the decade, she had starred in five big films and earned herself two Golden Globes awards and three nominations. After earning multiple awards and starring in some of the decade’s highest-grossing films, she had cemented herself as one of Hollywood’s most sought-after stars. 

However, the actress would face some challenges in the following decade. She fell ill in the mid-1990s, battling chronic neck and joint pain, which was later diagnosed as rheumatoid arthritis, a chronic autoimmune disorder mainly affecting the joints. Turner described the ordeal in an interview with The Guardian, voicing her fears over not being able to act again because of the physical pain.

“It was crippling,” she said. “You stop taking things for granted when you lose them, even temporarily. What I took for granted – my athleticism, my ability to throw myself around, and just be able to move however I wanted to. When I lost that, that was a real crisis of self: who am I if I cannot do this?”

Despite her health issues, Turner soon made a comeback and revived her career. Unlike many stars, she said she didn’t find the prospects of aging and weight gain daunting but rather embraced it with excitement over the new roles she could take on.

“I can honestly say how I look has never been one of my demons,” she commented. “I don’t know why. It just never was. As you can see, I enjoy life too much to diet.”

Despite the pain of arthritis, the actress makes sure she stays nimble by practicing yoga and pilates.

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She also took advantage of her maturity to explore more roles in theater and onstage instead of limiting herself to film and television roles. Speaking to The Guardian, the actress said:

“Because I knew that the better roles as I got older would be in theater, which is absolutely true, so that was a little foresight on my part of which I am justly proud.”

Turner doesn’t just hold these views for herself but advocates it for all women. She also always tries to look on the bright side of her life’s unfortunate circumstances, like her failed marriage to ex-husband Jay Weiss, with whom she had one daughter, singer Rachel Ann Weiss.

She explained to The Daily Mail that “there was a sense in the marriage” that Turner felt that the effort was “all” on Jay’s side, which made her feel “guilty.” 

“It was one of the reasons it ended. I started to feel very oppressed. I thought, ‘Hang on a minute, you’ve done very well out of being married to me also,’” she added. 

She reminisced fondly on the ill-fated marriage and expressed support for him, saying:

“But we parted quite amicably. He started a new family and he’s got a gorgeous daughter who looks exactly like ours did as a baby.”

Over the course of her career, she developed an addiction to alcohol and pills to cope with the pain of her arthritis. Although the pills helped her cope with her joint pain, alcohol abuse threatened her health and her career. Turner would go on to overcome alcohol addiction, bravely checking herself into rehab and making a full recovery. She recently opened up about her addiction with The Guardian, vowing:

“I’ll never drink like that again.”

Today, Turner is still working both in Hollywood and on Broadway, proving just how bright her star shines despite all she has endured.

In 2018, Turner appeared on “The Kominsky Method” during the second season but signed on full-time for the third season. She and Douglas reconnected and rekindled their friendship behind the scenes, which has only added to their fantastic chemistry in front of the camera. 

When asked how the dynamic between the two actors has worked so well over the years, Turner had this to say:

“I don’t know that I can answer that. I’m not sure if Michael can either. But (series creator) Chuck Lorre has the smarts to see our rhythm and make use of it!”

Are you a fan of Kathleen Turner? Which of her movies are your favorites? Let us know, and then pass this along to friends and loved ones who love the star, too!