--- name: "Janine Turner" canonical: "https://film.one/person/janine-turner" fi1m_id: "janine-turner" imdb_id: "nm0005508" tmdb_id: 51580 wikidata_id: "Q262524" roles: ["Actor"] born: "6 December 1962" reviewed_on_fi1m: 4 average_fi1m_score: 77 average_as: "actor" average_over: 4 updated: "2026-10-04T21:04:36.877164+00:00" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Janine Turner ## Identity Janine Turner - **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/janine-turner - **Type:** Person - **Fi1m ID:** janine-turner - **IMDb ID:** nm0005508 - **TMDB ID:** 51580 - **Wikidata ID:** Q262524 - **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janine_Turner, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q262524, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005508/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/51580 Actor. Born 6 December 1962 in Lincoln, Nebraska, USA. ## Details - **Work:** Actor - **Born:** 6 December 1962, Lincoln, Nebraska, USA - **Active:** 1989–2006 - **Also known as:** Janine Loraine Gauntt, جنین ترنر - **Golden Globes:** 3 Golden Globe nominations - **Average Fi1m score:** 77, as actor, over 4 titles - **Fi1m score by decade:** 1980s 67 (1), 1990s 78 (2), 2000s 86 (1) - **Fi1m against the critics:** 76 to 66 across 3 titles - **Score spread:** 2 at 80+, 2 at 60–79, 0 under 60 - **Lead roles:** 1 of 2 acting credits billed first or second - **Genres:** Drama 3, Comedy 2, Action 1, Adventure 1, Sci-Fi & Fantasy 1, Sport 1 - **Screen time:** 4 hours of reviewed films - **Box office:** $351m across 2 films with figures - **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janine_Turner, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q262524, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005508/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/51580 ## Streaming the US now - **Amazon Prime Video:** [*Cliffhanger*](https://film.one/film/cliffhanger.md) (74) For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country. ## Fi1m on Janine Turner > Janine Turner plays women who have already made up their minds, and she is at her best when a script gives her someone to argue with. In Cicely that was most weeks; on a mountain beside Sylvester Stallone it was rarer. Maggie O'Connell flies a small plane for a living and does not see why anyone should find that remarkable. When Rob Morrow's Joel Fleischman complains about the town, the weather or her, she tells him exactly what she thinks of him and gets on with her day. That is the Janine Turner performance in one habit: a woman who was not waiting to be asked, played straight, without any wink to the audience about how modern this is meant to be. Across six seasons of *Northern Exposure* (1990-95) it gave Morrow's exasperated doctor someone worth disagreeing with, and the disagreements were the best thing in the programme. She had to go looking for the part. She was modelling in New York in her mid-teens and acting from 1980, with guest work on *Dallas* and a stint on *General Hospital*, and grew tired of being cast as the girl in peril. Around 1986 she went back to New York to train at the Actors Studio. "She's smarter and stronger than all the men she meets," she said of Maggie, and you can hear in that the relief of an actor who had spent a decade playing the opposite. The films came in the series' hiatuses and around its edges. There was a small supporting part in *Steel Magnolias* (1989) before Cicely, and *Cliffhanger* (1993) during it, with Turner as Jessie Deighan opposite Stallone in Renny Harlin's mountain thriller. We said at the time that she and Michael Rooker bring a useful directness to parts that could disappear against the scenery, and that is the pattern of her feature work: she keeps herself visible in films built around a male star and a set piece, without ever being handed anything as good as a Maggie argument to play. Later she turned up for Robert Altman in *Dr. T & the Women* (2000), in *Friday Night Lights* (2008-09) as Katie McCoy, and opposite Anthony Hopkins in *Solace* (2015), none of which we have reviewed and none of which changed the general view of her as a television actress who visits the cinema. We do not think that view is unfair, but it undersells what the television work is. Going back to Cicely, we were surprised by how much of the pleasure is hers: watching Maggie lose an argument to Joel and refuse, flatly, to concede it, we laughed out loud, and it was the refusal that did it, not the line. Her limits show when the writers will not let a feeling finish. The romantic back-and-forth of the later seasons asks her to be uncertain for months at a time, and uncertainty is not what she is for. If you want to see what she does, start in Cicely and stay a while. The mountain can wait. ## Biography Janine Turner (born Janine Loraine Gauntt) is an American actress. She played Maggie O'Connell in the television series *Northern Exposure* (1990–1995), receiving a Primetime Emmy nomination and three consecutive Golden Globe nominations. She appeared as Jessie Deighan in the film *Cliffhanger* (1993). Turner has also had roles in the series *Strong Medicine* (2000–2002) and *Friday Night Lights* (2006), and in films including *Steel Magnolias* (1989), *Monkey Shines* (1988) and *Dr. T & the Women* (2000). In 2008 she published the book *Holding Her Head High*. *Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.* ## On Fi1m (4) - *Friday Night Lights* (2006), Fi1m 86, as Katie McCoy — [page](https://film.one/tv/friday-night-lights.md) - *Cliffhanger* (1993), Fi1m 74, as Jessie Deighan — [page](https://film.one/film/cliffhanger.md) - *Northern Exposure* (1990), Fi1m 82, as Maggie O'Connell — [page](https://film.one/tv/northern-exposure.md) - *Steel Magnolias* (1989), Fi1m 67, as Nancy Beth Marmillion — [page](https://film.one/film/steel-magnolias.md) ## Complete filmography (43) Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page. - *Birthright Outlaw* (2023), as Bonnie Beauchamp - *Taking the Reins* (2021), as Bonnie Barclay - *Patsy & Loretta* (2019), as Hilda Hensley - *Runnin' from my Roots* (2018), as Anne Whitfield Barnes - *Gosnell: The Trial of America's Biggest Serial Killer* (2018), as Dr. North - *Occupy, Texas* (2016), as Mrs. Thomas - *Solace* (2015), as Elizabeth Clancy - *Black Widow* (2010), Actor - *Maggie's Passage* (2009), as Jenny Sirron - *Primal Doubt* (2007), as Jean Harper - *Friday Night Lights* (2006), series, as Katie McCoy — Fi1m 86, [page](https://film.one/tv/friday-night-lights.md) - *The Night of the White Pants* (2006), as Barbara Hagan - *Miracle Dogs Too* (2006), as Paula Wells - *Walker, Texas Ranger: Trial by Fire* (2005), as Kay Austin - *Birdie and Bogey* (2004), as Amy - *No Regrets* (2004), Actor - *Dr. T & the Women* (2000), as Dorothy Chambliss - *Strong Medicine* (2000), series, as Dr. Dana Stowe - *A Secret Affair* (1999), as Vanessa Shaw - *Law & Order: Special Victims Unit* (1999), series, as Victoria Grall - *Fatal Error* (1999), Actor - *Beauty* (1998), as Alix Miller - *Circle of Deceit* (1998), as Terry Silva · Co-Producer - *Leave It to Beaver* (1997), as June Cleaver - *Stolen Women, Captured Hearts* (1997), as Anna Brewster-Morgan - *The Curse of Inferno* (1996), as Layla Moanes - *Cliffhanger* (1993), as Jessie Deighan — Fi1m 74, [page](https://film.one/film/cliffhanger.md) - *Northern Exposure* (1990), series, as Maggie O'Connell — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/tv/northern-exposure.md) - *The Ambulance* (1990), as Cheryl - *Steel Magnolias* (1989), as Nancy Beth Marmillion — Fi1m 67, [page](https://film.one/film/steel-magnolias.md) - *Quantum Leap* (1989), series, as Michelle - *Monkey Shines* (1988), as Linda Aikman - *Tai-Pan* (1986), as Shevaun Tillman - *Knights of the City* (1986), as Brooke - *The Master* (1984), series, as Gina/Teri - *The A-Team* (1983), series, as Theresa Gianni - *Knight Rider* (1982), series, as Karen Forester - *Young Doctors in Love* (1982), as Soap Cameos - *Mr. Merlin* (1981), series, Actor - *Dallas* (1978), series, as Susan - *The Love Boat* (1977), series, as Beatrice 'Betsy' Dunvar - *Happy Days* (1974), series, Actor - *Another World* (1964), series, as Patricia Kirkland ## Gallery - ![Janine Turner](https://film.one/media/person/92854/gallery-c4e089ad4c8c.jpg) Janine Turner — FoundationStudio, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4f/Janine_Turner_At_Her_Ranch_%28cropped%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) - ![Photo taken at the 45th Emmy Awards 9/19/93- Governor's Ball (2006)](https://film.one/media/person/92854/gallery-eb14078f92fe.jpg) Photo taken at the 45th Emmy Awards 9/19/93- Governor's Ball (2006) — Alan Light, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/de/Cynthia_Geary_Rob_Morrow_and_Janine_Turner_at_the_45th_Emmy_Awards.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) - ![Photo taken at the 45th Emmy Awards 9/19/93- Governor's Ball. (1993)](https://film.one/media/person/92854/gallery-4da0c426926d.jpg) Photo taken at the 45th Emmy Awards 9/19/93- Governor's Ball. (1993) — Alan Light, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fc/Cynthia_Geary_Rob_Morrow_and_Janine_Turner_at_the_45th_Emmy_Awards_2.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) - ![The “Grassroots Bootcamp Training” in Dallas, Tx for the serious leaders and thinkers in the movement. There are leading experts ready to train leaders on how t (2011)](https://film.one/media/person/92854/gallery-66d52167e386.jpg) The “Grassroots Bootcamp Training” in Dallas, Tx for the serious leaders and thinkers in the movement. There are leading experts ready to train leaders on how t (2011) — Voices To Action with Alice Linahan, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bd/Janine_Turner%2C_Alice_Linahan_and_Juliette_Turner_at_Grassroots_Boot_Camp_Training_in_Dallas%2C_TX_-_Flickr_-_Voices_Empower_with_Alice_Linahan_%281%29.jpg/1280px-Janine_Turner%2C_Alice_Linahan_and_Juliette_Turner_at_Grassroots_Boot_Camp_Training_in_Dallas%2C_TX_-_Flickr_-_Voices_Empower_with_Alice_Linahan_%281%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![Janine Turner at the Governor's Ball after the 1992 Emmy Awards](https://film.one/media/person/92854/gallery-3c646c6157c7.jpg) Janine Turner at the Governor's Ball after the 1992 Emmy Awards — Alan Light, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/87/Janine_Turner.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) ## Awards ### Golden Globes — 0 won, 3 nominated - 1994: Best Actress – Television Series Drama (nominated), for *Northern Exposure* - 1993: Best Actress – Television Series Drama (nominated), for *Northern Exposure* - 1992: Best Actress – Television Series Drama (nominated), for *Northern Exposure* ### Primetime Emmy Awards — 0 won, 1 nominated - 1993: Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series (nominated), for *Northern Exposure* ### SAG Awards — 0 won, 1 nominated - 1995: Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series (nominated), for *Northern Exposure* ### Other awards — 1 won - Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a TV Series - Leading Young Actress 1983: Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a TV Series - Leading Young Actress (won), for *General Hospital* *From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.* --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/janine-turner