Mary Kathleen Turner (born
June 19,
1954) is a
Tony Award- and
Academy Award-nominated
American actress. She came to fame during the 1980s, after roles in the
Hollywood films
Body Heat,
Romancing the Stone and
Prizzi's Honor.
Early life
Turner was born in
Springfield, Missouri, the daughter of Patsy (
née Magee) and Allen Richard Turner, who was a
U.S. Foreign Service officer and schoolteacher;
[Kathleen Turner Biography] who grew up in
China (where Turner's great-grandfather was a
Methodist missionary).
[Star Kathleen Turner focuses on peace during first Israel trip] A diplomat, her father had been imprisoned by the
Japanese for four years during the
Second World War. As a child, Turner lived in
Canada,
Venezuela, the
United Kingdom and was living in
Cuba, at the time Castro came to power. Turner has two brothers and a sister. While attending high school in
London, she was a
gymnast and also took classes at the
Central School of Speech and Drama.
