---
name: "Kathleen Turner"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/kathleen-turner"
fi1m_id: "kathleen-turner"
imdb_id: "nm0000678"
tmdb_id: 3391
wikidata_id: "Q222008"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "19 June 1954"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 11
average_fi1m_score: 73
average_as: "actor"
average_over: 10
updated: "2026-10-07T14:32:38.836727+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."
---

# Kathleen Turner

## Identity

Kathleen Turner

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/kathleen-turner
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** kathleen-turner
- **IMDb ID:** nm0000678
- **TMDB ID:** 3391
- **Wikidata ID:** Q222008
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kathleen_Turner, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q222008, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000678/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/3391

Actor. Born 19 June 1954 in Springfield, Missouri, USA.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 19 June 1954, Springfield, Missouri, USA
- **Active:** 1981–present
- **Also known as:** Mary Kathleen Turner
- **Titles on Fi1m:** 11: 10 acting, 1 other
- **Frequently works with:** [Danny DeVito](https://film.one/person/danny-devito.md), [Michael Douglas](https://film.one/person/michael-douglas.md), [Francis Ford Coppola](https://film.one/person/francis-ford-coppola.md), [Lawrence Kasdan](https://film.one/person/lawrence-kasdan.md), [William Hurt](https://film.one/person/william-hurt.md)
- **Golden Globes:** 2 Golden Globes (2 won)
- **Average Fi1m score:** 73, as actor, over 10 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1980s 77 (8), 2000s 73 (2), 2020s 58 (1)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 75 to 71 across 9 titles
- **Score spread:** 3 at 80+, 5 at 60–79, 2 under 60
- **Lead roles:** 7 of 8 acting credits billed first or second
- **Genres:** Comedy 7, Drama 6, Romance 5, Action 2, Adventure 2, Crime 2
- **Screen time:** 15 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $479m across 8 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kathleen_Turner, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q222008, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000678/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/3391

## Streaming the US now

- **Tubi:** [*Peggy Sue Got Married*](https://film.one/film/peggy-sue-got-married.md) (79), [*Romancing the Stone*](https://film.one/film/romancing-the-stone.md) (77)
- **Disney+:** [*Who Framed Roger Rabbit*](https://film.one/film/who-framed-roger-rabbit.md) (89)
- **The Roku Channel:** [*The Accidental Tourist*](https://film.one/film/the-accidental-tourist.md) (78)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Fi1m on Kathleen Turner

> Kathleen Turner can make another actor look dangerously eager simply by staying composed. We value the restraint beneath that deep, husky voice: she makes desire convincing and authority troubling without asking us to approve of either.

Kathleen Turner stays composed while William Hurt makes a fool of himself in *Body Heat* (1981). As Matty Walker, she lets his Ned Racine look eager enough for both of them, making their conversations feel unequal without advertising a threat. We felt uneasy watching them together because her self-possession made his willingness to excuse himself so apparent. Lawrence Kasdan gives attraction room to cloud judgement, and Turner makes it credible that this man would stop examining his own conduct. The film sometimes borrows too conspicuously from older noir, but the performances give its familiar temptations enough weight to make it worth an evening.

That breakthrough could have confined her to variations on the same woman. *Romancing the Stone* (1984) made use of her comic timing and physical expressiveness, while *Peggy Sue Got Married* (1986) showed how much feeling she could convey through body language. As Jessica Rabbit's voice in *Who Framed Roger Rabbit* (1988), she could play with the screen persona she had already established. Later she concentrated more on stage roles, voice work and supporting film parts. The danger in remembering only the voice is that it overlooks how much she achieves by declining to press a point.

In Sofia Coppola's *The Virgin Suicides* (2000), that restraint makes Mrs Lisbon's certainty hard to watch. Turner and James Woods give the parents the confidence of people who consider their household rules perfectly ordinary. She does not play the mother as someone waiting to be exposed as a villain, which makes the strictness more disturbing. Coppola allows adult authority to look faintly ridiculous without losing sight of what it does to the girls. Our reservation is with the film's attention: the sisters can recede behind the boys' fascination, even though the performances make this household so recognisable.

The deep, husky voice is easy to recognise, but treating it as the whole performance misses her judgement about how much to show. Hurt's eagerness gives her composure something to work against; Woods's matching confidence makes the Lisbon parents more troubling together. These are performances that depend on attending to the other actor, even when Turner's character seems certain of having nothing to learn. Start with *Body Heat*, and do not mistake her calm for an invitation to relax.

## Biography

Kathleen Turner is an American actress. Born Mary Kathleen Turner on 19 June 1954 in Springfield, Missouri, she earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County in 1977. She began her career with a role in the soap opera The Doctors before making her film debut in Body Heat (1981).

Turner appeared in Romancing the Stone (1984), Prizzi's Honor (1985), Peggy Sue Got Married (1986) and The War of the Roses (1989). She played Mrs Lisbon in The Virgin Suicides (2000). Her voice work includes Jessica Rabbit in Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988).

She has guest-starred in Friends (2001) and The Kominsky Method (2019–2021), and has performed on stage, receiving Tony Award nominations.

*Sources: imdb.com, en.wikipedia.org, britannica.com.*

## On Fi1m (11)

### Performed in (10) — the average rests on these

- *White House Plumbers* (2023), Fi1m 58, as Dita Beard — [page](https://film.one/tv/white-house-plumbers.md)
- *Californication* (2007), Fi1m 63, as Sue Collini — [page](https://film.one/tv/californication.md)
- *The Virgin Suicides* (2000), Fi1m 83, as Mrs. Lisbon — [page](https://film.one/film/the-virgin-suicides.md)
- *The War of the Roses* (1989), Fi1m 75, as Barbara Rose — [page](https://film.one/film/the-war-of-the-roses.md)
- *The Accidental Tourist* (1988), Fi1m 78, as Sarah Leary — [page](https://film.one/film/the-accidental-tourist.md)
- *Peggy Sue Got Married* (1986), Fi1m 79, as Peggy Sue — [page](https://film.one/film/peggy-sue-got-married.md)
- *Prizzi's Honor* (1985), Fi1m 82, as Irene Walker — [page](https://film.one/film/prizzis-honor.md)
- *The Jewel of the Nile* (1985), Fi1m 53, as Joan Wilder — [page](https://film.one/film/the-jewel-of-the-nile.md)
- *Romancing the Stone* (1984), Fi1m 77, as Joan Wilder — [page](https://film.one/film/romancing-the-stone.md)
- *Body Heat* (1981), Fi1m 83, as Matty Walker — [page](https://film.one/film/body-heat.md)

### Also credited (1) — thanks, archive footage, uncredited

- *Who Framed Roger Rabbit* (1988), Fi1m 89, as Jessica Rabbit (voice) (uncredited) — [page](https://film.one/film/who-framed-roger-rabbit.md)

## Complete filmography (77)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Nevatars* (2026), as Kooks
- *Joan's Teeth* (2026), as Joan
- *Animal Farm* (2026), as Benjamin (voice)
- *Shelly's Leg* (2025), as Narrator
- *The Long Game* (2025), as Mariah McKay
- *White House Plumbers* (2023), series, as Dita Beard — Fi1m 58, [page](https://film.one/tv/white-house-plumbers.md)
- *The Estate* (2022), as Aunt Hilda Beauchamp
- *The Swearing Jar* (2022), as Bev
- *Dolly Parton's Heartstrings* (2019), series, as Miss Mary Shaw
- *The Metropolitan Opera:  La Fille du Régiment* (2019), as Duchess of Krakenthorp
- *The Kominsky Method* (2018), series, as Roz
- *Brave Little Army* (2018), Casting Assistant
- *Summer Camp Island* (2018), series, as Mole Judge (voice)
- *Another Kind of Wedding* (2017), as Barbara Haines
- *Edgar Allan Poe: Buried Alive* (2017), as Narrator
- *The Path* (2016), series, as Brenda Roberts
- *Emily & Tim* (2015), as Narrator
- *Fifty Shades of Erotica* (2015), as (archive footage)
- *Dumb and Dumber To* (2014), as Fraida
- *Rick and Morty* (2013), series, as Monogatron Queen (voice) — Fi1m 78, [page](https://film.one/tv/rick-and-morty.md)
- *Gods Behaving Badly* (2013), as Styx
- *Nurse 3-D* (2013), as Head Nurse
- *Mom* (2013), series, as Cookie
- *The Perfect Family* (2011), as Eileen Cleary
- *Life is a Banquet* (2009), as Rosalind Russell (Voice)
- *Marley & Me* (2008), as Ms. Kornblut
- *Californication* (2007), series, as Sue Collini — Fi1m 63, [page](https://film.one/tv/californication.md)
- *Monster House* (2006), as Constance (voice)
- *Alias Nick and Nora* (2005), as Host
- *Today with Des and Mel* (2004), series, Actor
- *Nip/Tuck* (2003), series, as Cindy Plumb — Fi1m 70, [page](https://film.one/tv/nip-tuck.md)
- *Beautiful* (2000), as Verna Chickle
- *Prince of Central Park* (2000), as Rebecca Cairn
- *National Geographic Kids: Creepy Creatures* (2000), as Clawdette the Black Cat (voice)
- *The Virgin Suicides* (2000), as Mrs. Lisbon — Fi1m 83, [page](https://film.one/film/the-virgin-suicides.md)
- *Cinderella* (2000), as Claudette
- *Love and Action in Chicago* (1999), as Middleman
- *Baby Geniuses* (1999), as Elena Kinder
- *Family Guy* (1999), series, as Kathleen Turner disguised as Peter Griffin (voice) — Fi1m 63, [page](https://film.one/tv/family-guy.md)
- *Legalese* (1998), as Brenda Whitlass
- *The Real Blonde* (1998), as Dee Dee Taylor
- *A Simple Wish* (1997), as Claudia
- *Bad Baby* (1997), as Mom (voice)
- *King of the Hill* (1997), series, as Miss Liz Strickland (voice) — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/tv/king-of-the-hill-1997.md)
- *The Best of Roger Rabbit* (1996), as Jessica Rabbit  (voice) (archive footage)
- *Moonlight and Valentino* (1995), as Alberta Trager
- *Friends at Last* (1995), as Fanny Connelyn · Producer
- *Leslie's Folly* (1994), Director
- *Friends* (1994), series, as Helena — Fi1m 78, [page](https://film.one/tv/friends.md)
- *Serial Mom* (1994), as Beverly Sutphin
- *Naked in New York* (1993), as Dana Coles
- *Undercover Blues* (1993), as Jane Blue
- *House of Cards* (1993), as Ruth Matthews
- *Trail Mix-Up* (1993), as Jessica Rabbit (voice)
- *HBO First Look* (1992), series, Actor
- *Rabbit Ears - Rumpelstiltskin* (1991), as Narrator (voice)
- *V.I. Warshawski* (1991), as Victoria 'V.I.' Warshawski
- *Law & Order* (1990), series, as Rebecca Shane — Fi1m 72, [page](https://film.one/tv/law-and-order.md)
- *Roller Coaster Rabbit* (1990), as Jessica Rabbit (voice)
- *The Simpsons* (1989), series, as Stacy Lovell (voice) — Fi1m 88, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-simpsons.md)
- *The War of the Roses* (1989), as Barbara Rose — Fi1m 75, [page](https://film.one/film/the-war-of-the-roses.md)
- *Tummy Trouble* (1989), as Jessica Rabbit (voice)
- *The Accidental Tourist* (1988), as Sarah Leary — Fi1m 78, [page](https://film.one/film/the-accidental-tourist.md)
- *Who Framed Roger Rabbit* (1988), as Jessica Rabbit (voice) (uncredited) — Fi1m 89, [page](https://film.one/film/who-framed-roger-rabbit.md)
- *Switching Channels* (1988), as Christy Colleran
- *Julia and Julia* (1988), as Giulia
- *Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam* (1987), as Lynda Van Devanter (voice)
- *Peggy Sue Got Married* (1986), as Peggy Sue — Fi1m 79, [page](https://film.one/film/peggy-sue-got-married.md)
- *American Masters* (1986), series, as Narrator (voice)
- *The Jewel of the Nile* (1985), as Joan Wilder — Fi1m 53, [page](https://film.one/film/the-jewel-of-the-nile.md)
- *Prizzi's Honor* (1985), as Irene Walker — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/film/prizzis-honor.md)
- *Crimes of Passion* (1984), as Joanna Crane / China Blue
- *A Breed Apart* (1984), as Stella Clayton
- *Romancing the Stone* (1984), as Joan Wilder — Fi1m 77, [page](https://film.one/film/romancing-the-stone.md)
- *The Man with Two Brains* (1983), as Dolores Benedict
- *Body Heat* (1981), as Matty Walker — Fi1m 83, [page](https://film.one/film/body-heat.md)
- *La Fille du régiment - Royal Opera House*, as Duchess of Krakenthorp

## Gallery

- ![Kathleen Turner](https://film.one/media/person/88761/gallery-07ce25384aee.jpg) Kathleen Turner — ShashiBellamkonda from Potomac, USA, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a2/Kathleen_Turner_%288689689518%29_cropped.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Kathleen turner .1999.Kennedy center.Washington dc (2010)](https://film.one/media/person/88761/gallery-208d13c32783.jpg) Kathleen turner .1999.Kennedy center.Washington dc (2010) — Kingkongphoto & www.celebrity-photos.com from Laurel  Maryland, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/23/Kathleen_Turner_1.jpg/1280px-Kathleen_Turner_1.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Kathleen Turner at the Planned Parenthood Rally in New York City. Find out why people were protesting from Women's eNews womensenews.org/story/the-nation/110309 (2011)](https://film.one/media/person/88761/gallery-c219bda93d40.jpg) Kathleen Turner at the Planned Parenthood Rally in New York City. Find out why people were protesting from Women's eNews womensenews.org/story/the-nation/110309 (2011) — Women's eNews, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d4/Kathleen_Turner_2011.jpg/1280px-Kathleen_Turner_2011.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Kathleen Turner](https://film.one/media/person/88761/gallery-95fc99c98b46.jpg) Kathleen Turner — CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/42/Kathleen_turner.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Kathleen Turner](https://film.one/media/person/88761/gallery-7f796af58b13.jpg) Kathleen Turner — Image via TMDB
- ![Kathleen Turner](https://film.one/media/person/88761/gallery-1d3a9c107979.jpg) Kathleen Turner — Image via TMDB
- ![Kathleen Turner](https://film.one/media/person/88761/gallery-ca73103eb7e0.jpg) Kathleen Turner — Image via TMDB
- ![12-4-1988 President Reagan and Nancy Reagan greet actress Kathleen Turner at the Kennedy Center Honors reception in Blue Room](https://film.one/media/person/88761/gallery-b3a70c34169b.jpg) 12-4-1988 President Reagan and Nancy Reagan greet actress Kathleen Turner at the Kennedy Center Honors reception in Blue Room — Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a9/President_Reagan_and_Nancy_Reagan_greet_actress_Kathleen_Turner.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Kathleen Turner](https://film.one/media/person/88761/gallery-03f3e4b3e9ee.jpg) Kathleen Turner — President (1981-1989 : Reagan). White House Photographic Office. 1981-1989, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/81/President_Ronald_Reagan_and_Nancy_Reagan_greet_actress_Kathleen_Turner_at_the_Kennedy_Center_Honors_reception_in_Blue_Room_-_DPLA_-_dfd7556f09dab93e10d9f8ddc1abdf53.jpg/1280px-thumbnail.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Kathleen Turner](https://film.one/media/person/88761/gallery-9dff4c4b7895.jpg) Kathleen Turner — Image via TMDB
- ![Kathleen Turner](https://film.one/media/person/88761/gallery-306764b19f7e.jpg) Kathleen Turner — Image via TMDB
- ![Kathleen Turner](https://film.one/media/person/88761/gallery-3cb74686b32d.jpg) Kathleen Turner — Image via TMDB

## Awards

### Academy Awards — 0 won, 1 nominated

- 1987: Best Actress (nominated), for *Peggy Sue Got Married*

### Golden Globes — 2 won

- 1985: Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy (won), for *Prizzi's Honor*
- 1984: Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy (won), for *Romancing the Stone*

### Other awards — 2 won, 2 nominated

- Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play 2005: Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play (nominated)
- Theatre World Special Award 1990: Theatre World Special Award (won)
- Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play 1990: Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play (nominated)
- Hasty Pudding Woman of the Year 1989: Hasty Pudding Woman of the Year (won)

*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/kathleen-turner