The last time we covered Kathleen Turner was about five years ago when she was promoting her memoir, Send Yourself Roses. Kathleen is at a point where she does not GAF and in her memoir she talked smack about costars Burt Reynolds, Nicolas Cage and Anthony Perkins, among others. She was sued by Cage in the UK for libel for claims she made about him in that memoir (that he was often drunk, that he once stole a chihuahua) and she was ordered to apologize and make a donation to charity. (It’s not like Cage is known for lawfulness and sobriety, but that was prior to his arrest for a drunken domestic disturbance.) Turner also revealed that she struggled with alcoholism up until 2006, to cope with the pain of rheumatoid arthritis.
Anyway Kathleen Turner speaks the truth as far as I’m concerned. She lives in New York and works primarily on stage now. She’s about to star on stage in Bertolt Brecht’s Mother Courage and Her Children, which runs from January to March, and she’s in the upcoming Dumb and Dumber to.
Turner is 60 and she’s not jacked and pulled, she’s not wearing wigs or extensions and she’s not showing her tatas well into old age like Sophia Loren. So she’s a rarity in Hollywood and she’s not apologetic about it. Turner realizes that her bombshell days are in the past and she’s fine with it. She told Closer Weekly that she hasn’t tried to stop time, basically:
Once a sex symbol to men everywhere, legendary actress Kathleen Turner is turning 60 next year and tells Closer Weekly that she’s made peace with getting older.
“I don’t look like I did 30 years ago. Get over it!” Kathleen, who once burned up the screen in “Body Heat” jokes.
“I’m going to be 60 next year. Sixty! And even I say to myself, ‘Okay, we can’t pretend anymore here.’ ”
Kathleen admits it isn’t always easy staying confident around fans who remember her a certain way.
“One thing I get really tired of is people coming up to me and saying, [in a patronizing voice] ‘Oh, you look gooooood!’ One day I got so fed up I said, ‘I thank you. And I really wish I met you before so I could say the same for you.’ ”
But with a vibrant career and exciting new roles ahead, Kathleen is embracing her next chapter.
“You have to get to that place as a woman where you know your worth isn’t dependent on [looks].”
The 59-year-old actress is set to play Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels’ love interest in next fall’s “Dumb and Dumber To” and will soon star in the anti-war play “Mother Courage and Her Children.”
“I’m proud to have such a vibrant career. Acting’s never gotten tired for me.”
Turner is focused on her career and that’s refreshing to see. She’s also like “this is who I am” and she hasn’t shied from the spotlight. She’s a talented actress, I’m glad to have a chance to cover her. Bedhead also wanted me to mention that Turner was excellent on Californication, I guess she had a guest role in 2009.
photo credit: WENN.com
I’ve always liked her, and loved her even more for playing Chandler’s dad, “Helena Handbasket”.
She was so wonderful in that role! I’ve always liked her, too. I hope she gets all the juicy parts for older women whose FACES MOVE! (Plus she is still damn sexy; you can see it in her face. Rowr!)
Ditto.
On a different note, the voice never ages and hers is spectacular. She’ll never be topped on that voice.
I think she looks perfectly lovely for a woman of 60. She shouldn’t feel the need the justify how she looks. But then, that’s the nature of the beast when it comes to Hollywood. Good looks are never good enough.
She does not look lovely for a woman of 60. As a woman who surpasses her age, may I say this. She is fat. Her face is still pretty, but, folks, one need not develop into fatness at 60, as if it were inevitable. It is not – but – too much booze (her nemesis) and unhealthy eating habits will lead you to the chub.
Sassy,
The article said that she has rheumatoid arthiritis. If this is true then she´s probably taking a heap of medication that makes it difficult for her to control her weight, and gives her that ¨puffy¨ look. Not everyone can control their weight through exercise and food choices. (And, having arthritis might make exercising quite difficult).
And, yes, she was AWESOME as Chandler´s dad. I just love her, and her unique voice.
Sassy, are you Maria Kang by any chance??
Like button @Pandy. LIKE BUTTON!
Sassy, She addressed the issue of her ‘drunkeness’ years ago. She is on medication for her arthritis which made her disoriented and when she appeared in public, people assumed she was drunk. Her illness was a private matter at this point. The public shaming over this issue became so vitriolic that she had to speak out and reveal her illness.
Oh Sassy. The woman is dealing with a painful disease, and probably medication to treat that, and still is out there working in TV, films, and doing 8 shows a week on Broadway, and you’re criticizing her for gaining a few pounds? Come on.
She’s a fantastic actress! I loved when she played Chandler’s dad on Friends. Absolutely hilarious.
BOOM! You will eat what this hot Opinionated bitch serves you! *mike drop*
Lord, I love your comemments! *Day made!*
^_^ kisses!
No kidding. QQ, you are the mistress of the one liner!
Best comment all week. Maybe even all month. *bows in admiration*
+1,000
AMEN SISTAH!
ha, awesome!
And you will LIKE it!!
Hell, you’ll LOVE it!
I LOVE IT!!
Lordy, I hope I look this good when I am 60!
I will take it now at the age of 40, thanks!
Me too!
I’ll <3 her forever because of Serial Mom.
I loved her in that movie too. And I only wish I could be in NY to see her star in Brecht’s Mother Courage. It is an amazing role for any actress who knows what they’re doing and I know she will kick a** on stage.
That role was amazing. It could have been so cheesy but the way she played it was fantastic!
“Are those…Pussy Willows?” To this day I will never forget that scene. This movie was everything to me in High School. She was so awesome in that movie.
No one expects Kathleen Turner to look the way she did in Body Heat,which was released in 1981. That’s ridiculous.
R u kidding me? How many comments/photos on this site alone that compares Angelina Jolie now at 38 years old to her Gia/Laura Croft days when she was 21-23 years old. I’m sure when she’s up in her 40 s they’ll be doing the same.
I never thought Kathleen Turner was a great beauty but she had great sex appeal. She looks great!
Oh man, june, you’ve shamed me. *hangs head*
For real.
I’m one on those whose compared the Ange’s cosmetic facial surgeries to her youthful appearance. I’m not going to do that anymore.
“You have to get to that place as a woman where you know your worth isn’t dependent on [looks].”
Wise words, indeed.
Very. I admire her for getting to that place, instead of tormenting herself. It’s going to happen, so you might as well make peace with it.
Very true. Wise words indeed — especially since Hollywood is obsessed with stalling time and ruining their faces as a result.
Yep. You might get an extra 5 years with surgery, but at the risk of looking like an alien, frozen in shock. Age naturally and you might not work from 40-50 but after that you’ll have the pick of those roles as you’ll be one of the few actresses around who actually look human!
Excellent advice! Words to live by.
Beautiful then. Beautiful now.
I totally agree. Her looks, her voice, her attitude….she is simply stunning.
Who said that “aging is not for the weak of heart” or something close to that? At any rate that person hit the nail on the head. I like that she has never been under the knife, has gained weight and more than likely can’t lose it but still wears her age well. All the decade numbers after 30 get a bit scarier as time marches on. I love her truthfulness if nothing else and I’ve always found her to be a very good actress. Anyone remember War of the Roses? What a great movie.
Yep, I love War of the Roses! And I love KT’s attitude on aging. Good for her. She still looks fabulous as far as I’m concerned.
I loved War of the Roses! It was twisted and hilarious. Kathleen Turner is still lovely and worthy of admiration for her honesty.
It’s one of my all-time favorite movies. I watch it at least 2 or 3 times every year.
Great movie! Romancing The Stone was always my other favorite. She and Michael Douglas were great together, and I’d love to see them do something new. She looks fabulous.
You probably mean Bette Davis. She said “Old age is not for sissies”.
It may be a very truthful comment, but it is also a very, very depressing one.
And I for one have never quite seen the attraction of NOT being a “sissy”. 😉
Be “strong” – and life will see to it that you get burdens to carry.
That’s how it works in my bitter experience.
I think I know what you mean, Mel. Somehow you have to let people help you when you need it. Otherwise, if you never show any ‘weakness’, you may be expected to carry a debilitating load you (or anyone really) cannot possibly carry in a healthy way.
I think she looks great, tho! Who wants to be a sex symbol forever?
Me.
And me. 🙂
How about Best in Age Group?
I’d rather be a love symbol or a listening symbol, or maybe be reincarnated as a cymbal.
All I know is that I don’t want to try to catch a train that’s left the station; I’d rather take a slow boat to china. – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49wLAmd2INs
People age, and she has done so BEAUTIFULLY. Still just as gorgeous as ever.
RA is the most serious, crippling form of arthritis. It can cause organ damage and many other problems beyond pain and stiffness. The strong medications to manage the disease have dangerous side effects as well.
I’m glad she is still able to work and hasn’t given in to a bunch of plastic surgery.
RA is a horrible disease. I have it and have been in somewhat of a remission for five years with medication but have had to take prednisone on occasion and it is horrible stuff. Kathleen has the “moonface” that is typical of prednisone and other strong steroids but I love her attitude. She rocks.
I sincerely hope your near-remission continues. RA is a horrible disease that the general public does not seem to understand (including the fact that children can suffer from it).
She’s amazing. More women should act this way! Love it, love her!
She is beautiful & has become my hero today! Im 8 years behind her and yeah this f’d up society of making women feel like they need to look a certain way when aging can really play head games. And yes you do have moments where you have to really accept that you are not what you were at 25, 30 or hell even 40 & that your worth on this earth is not your looks. It is a sad reality that we have to even have that convo with ourselves.
i think my first movie of hers I saw was Romancing the Stone she was funny, tough & yes very beautiful then and she is now just an older version of her youth as am I.
‘that your worth on this earth is not your looks. It is a sad reality that we have to even have that convo with ourselves’
PREACH!!!!
I see the world from behind my eyes…like I’m in a spaceship and looking out the window. I don’t really see the craft that I’m in, I’m looking out. The craft that I’m using is just what other people see.
From my vantage, the world is filled with hatters and lovers, based in large, by how my spaceship looks. But in my mind, this is the ship that moves me from here to there, and finds comfort in clean white sheets, yummy food, and the great outdoors. That is my experience in my beloved ship.
All the silly people who look at the outside of my ship, and makes a judgement of hate/love, are just looking out from the tiny ship that is theirs. It is not a ship’s appearance that makes for a true judgement. Everyone should be celebrating the joy that comes with being in such a marvelous machine, that is really our very best friend, because it serves our well-being if we use it’s extraordinary wonderfulness.
The way I see it, it’s my body, and I use it for my pleasure, and I care for it because I love the joy it brings to me. Who cares what anyone thinks about it…they are not in flight time with me!
And you all know it; there will always be people who are haters and lovers, no matter how you try to look. It’s just more sad for those that cannot see that they can fly!
That is so beautiful, wolfpup. I love your ridiculously eloquent way with words.
I’ve always said “You are the captain of your starship”, so I wholeheartedly agree. You’re a palate cleanser after the bad taste left in my mouth from so many haters disguising themselves from themselves as lovers. THANK YOU!
@wolfpup, that might have been one of the best and most beautiful things I have ever read on this site. Really, anywhere. More people should embrace their spaceship.
Thanks for that.
She’s STILL hot—she’s a very good looking woman. She was in Prizzi’s Honor w/Jack Nicholson and Angelica Huston, right? She was his wife, that he killed at the end?
Happy belated birthday my dear! Did not see you on here yesterday to send you good wishes.
happy late birthday, hope it was a good one!
I’m still full from dinner, and my aunt and uncle are here–came early (from New York)!!!
i love her! She has one of those voices that can stop the traffic. She’s fierce.
OMG I loved her on Californication! That woman is hilarious and inappropriate.
It’s a bit disappointing that she needs to defend herself and that she’s in the minority in terms of ageing gracefully, but more power to her. It must be difficult to put your faith in your talent (despite having exceptional amounts of it) when people insist on attributing your career to your appearance, fair play to her.
LOVED her in War of the Roses. Amazing lady.
Love this woman!
Have always loved her voice. Romancing the Stone was a favorite of mine when I was a kid. And The Man With Two Brains was pretty funny.
I love Romancing the Stone! Such a fun movie, although I never got around to seeing Jewel of the Nile (though I heard she was basically bullied into making it by Michael Douglas, and that it’s not very good).
LOVED her in The Virgin Suicides! Heartbreaking performance.
Love the concept.
Serial Mom, she was just bonkers and brilliant in that film.
I hope the Nicole Kidmans of the world take a look at her and see what their faces are NOT going to look like at 60.
With her voice and personality she’ll always be sexy. Besides she has a truly beautiful face.
Well good for her! There are a dime a dozen of svelte beauties out there but Kathleen has no need to be one of them cause she has true talent, reason why she is still working as the accomplished actress that she is.
“her memoir she talked smack about costars Burt Reynolds, Nicolas Cage and Anthony Perkins,among others”.
Please, tell me Michael Douglas isn’t one of them. I always thought they had amazing chemistry ang imagined them in good terms behind the scenes.I’d be so disappointed to learn they couldn’t stand each other.
Hi Manta, I did cover her comments on Michael Douglas in ’08 when her memoir came out. They had a sort-of affair on the set of Romancing The Stone in that Douglas was married but separated from his last wife, Diandra Luker, at the time. I haven’t read her full book but as far as I know she said nice things about him.
Thanks, it’s a nice thing to hear that.
I’m sure she was dishing on Cage because he has also talked smack about her so, gloves are off! She strikes me as someone who says what’s on her mind with no BS. I like that in anyone. I can also see how being a no BS person that she would tire of all of the butt kissing in Hollywood. She was so beautiful when she was young. I like what she says about letting that go as you get older…you change and grow into something beyond your looks and that’s so true. That doesn’t mean that you don’t still look damn good for your age however. I admire women like Helen Mirren and Julianne Moore who are aging gracefully but are still so gorgeous! I believe sexiness is something that is beyond age. Kathleen Turner is talented and intelligent and I’m sure that’s why she is a vibrant and successful actress at 60. And I hope she keeps saying what’s on her mind!
She’s fantastic and has made so many great movies. Romancing the Stone! One of my favorite movies ever. And Peggy Sue Got Married, which I haven’t watched in years but loved as a teenager.
I guess I will be a minority of one here: I think she looks bad. 60 is not that old “today” and I have many friends/relatives that age or older who look very fit, very attractive and youthful without the aid of surgeries, injections, treatments, you name it. I think Turner looks frumpy and unkempt. There is no reason that at her age she still cannot be slender and soigne. I always think of the model Carmen, who at 70 something is just one of the most elegant women around. Or my mother.
No reason she cannot be slender?? As noted above by several commenters with the same disease that she mentioned (RA), steroids are often used to treat it. WHICH CAUSE YOU TO GAIN WEIGHT. Maybe she, you know, would rather live pain free than not take meds so she can fit your ideal standard of “slender and soigne.”
Thank you! In addition to medication side effects, RA wrecks the joints. She may not be able to exercise or even worry about her appearance due to the daily struggle of a debilitating, chronic disease.
My mother has had RA for 45 years. She is slender, but in part because it takes her six hours to eat her main meal of the day, among other daily challenges. From her jaws to her toes, this disease wreaks havoc.
There are probably lots of reasons she can’t be slender and soigne.
And, yes, Carmen is beautiful. But she is and always has been a model, a genetic anomaly.
I’ve always liked her, and loved her work–she’s feisty and not insecure and I hope to be like her when I turn 60.
Love it!!!
rheumatoid arthritis is serious, my bestie has suffered w/this since her 20’s…swollen joints and excruciating pain..she’s right, she is who she is and not what folks “think” she should be..
she did not go the Goldie Hawn route w/all of the surgeries and droopy eye lids & botched lip jobs, she still is an attractive woman.
One if my most favorite things about Kathleen, is her hair.
She always had amazing hair. Or what I refer to as… great movie star hair. Big soft waves with highlights. What moves well, when you walk. Love it!
But I have to say movie wise… it was “War of the Roses” that she made with Douglas, that I enjoyed the most. Yet I always have enjoyed “When Peggy Sue got married”. Even if Cage decided to use that odd voice in it.
Though, I bet Jessica Rabbit would never have been as brilliant, if not voiced by Miss Turner.
Love her. And admire her. When I think of a true “broad” I think of her (and I mean that as a compliment).
Really nice to see someone who isn’t terrified of aging and turning into a paraffin witch in Hollywood. Que raro!!
To me, her appearance is not the shocker, it’s her voice. She sounds as though she is a heavy duty chain smoker. I almost didn’t recognise her because of her voice [ when she appeared in small roles recently].
I was with her until the snark comment re folks approaching her- face it, the majority of folks coming to see her on B’way are the folks that remember her from Body Heat and the movies with Micheal Douglas. She was crazy beautiful in those movies. No need to not so subtlety insult those folks paying to see her perform.
That being said, she is a talented actress, and good for her for work ethic.
I will always remember how she said she honed her “voice” by putting pencil erasers between her back teeth. Never heard of that before she talked about it.
Love her even more
A classy/classic true Hollywood actress!
She has always had great talent and presence – and that lasts forever.