Slowed by disease
Turner remained an A-list film star leading lady until the early nineties when rheumatoid arthritis seriously restricted her activities. She was diagnosed in 1992, after suffering "unbearable" pain for about a year. By the time she was diagnosed, she "could hardly turn her head or walk, and was told she would end up in a wheelchair".
As the disease worsened, her career slid -- though Turner has also blamed her age, stating "when I was forty the roles started slowing down, I started getting offers to play mothers and grandmothers..." She appeared in the low-budget House of Cards, experienced moderate success with John Waters' Serial Mom, had supporting roles in A Simple Wish, The Real Blonde, and Sofia Coppola's acclaimed The Virgin Suicides.
More about Kathleen Turner (From Wikipedia)
Body Heat
In 1978, Turner made her television debut in the NBC daytime soap The Doctors as the second Nola Dancy Aldrich. She made her film debut in 1981 as the ruthless Matty Walker in the read more...
Eighties Stardom
After Body Heat, Turner steered away from femme fatale roles to 'prevent typecasting' and because the femme fatale roles had a 'shelflife', consequently her first project after this read more...
Slowed By Disease
Turner remained an A-list film star leading lady until the early nineties when rheumatoid arthritis seriously restricted her activities. She was diagnosed in 1992, after suffering read more...
Television
Despite drug therapy to help her condition, the disease progressed for about eight years. Then, thanks to newly-available treatments, her arthritis went into remission. She was seen read more...
Voice Actress
In the same year, she voiced the role of "Constance" in the animated film Monster House. She has also recently been doing radio commercial voice-overs for Lay's potato chips. Turner read more...
Stage Career
In recent years, Turner has found renewed success on stage. After 1990s roles in Broadway productions of Indiscretions and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (for which she earned a Tony Award read more...
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 read more...
Turner married New York City real estate entrepreneur Jay Weiss in 1984; their daughter, Rachel Ann Weiss was born on October 14, 1987. Turner was born into a Methodist family and read more...