http://lebeauleblog.com/2011/07/04/what-the-hell-happened-to-kathleen- turner/
She started her career as the 80′s answer to a femme fatale. She became an international sex symbol. She could do action, drama and comedy and even voiced Jessica Rabbit. And then she dropped out of sight. No longer a sex symbol, she is best known to some TV viewers as Chandler Bings cross-dressing dad on Friends. What the hell happened?
http://lebeauleblog.com/2011/07/04/what-the-hell-happened-to-kathleen-turner/10/
So what the hell happened?
In her prime, Turner had a reputation for being “difficult”. The New York Times once referred to her as a “certifiable diva”. Turner herself admitted that she had developed into “not a very kind person”. If Turner thought someone was full of *beep* she’d call them out on it. That sort of behavior is admired when a man does it. But it’s less acceptable in Hollywood when an actress speaks her mind.
Obviously, Turner’s disease was a major obstacle. Even now, rheumatoid arthritis is a crippling disease. But in the early 90’s, the disease was not well-understood. So much so that Turner felt the need to keep her disease a secret in order to avoid losing work. According to Turner, it was better to be thought of as an alcoholic than a sick person.
The disease and her treatments changed her appearance. In addition to everything else the disease took from her, it robbed Turner of her movie star looks. Since no one knew about the disease, people assumed that Turner had merely let herself go. Leading roles in movies disappeared almost immediately.
But in spite of these obstacles, Turner has remained a working actress for nearly four decades. Cinema’s loss was the theater’s gain. Today, Turner works primarily as a stage actress while occasionally appearing in TV shows and movies. According to Turner, she’s getting more work today than she was a decade ago:
I’m edging now into that territory where a lot of us have been winnowed out. The competition’s getting smaller. Maybe there’ll be more movies because they can be a lot of fun. And I could still do my stage work too, so it’s a nice balance. I could never see myself committing to a TV series for years on end, but I like to pop in and do little characters.
Back in the late 90s I saw her walking her small dogs in Venice Beach. She was clearly drunk and I saw her barf in the alley way.
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Yeah, she was very sexy in Body Heat.
She does get a rough time for her change in appearance, yet she's one of the few who have a legitimate excuse. Having to take steroids to alleviate symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis really damaged her feminine beauty, then when you factor in the depression and alcoholism to self-medicate over her health issues and you get the drastic change.
Steroids, alcoholism and depression is an awful combo for trying to remain a beautiful Woman. A death sentence even.
Your point about Male actors is true.
Whether or not she would've had the durability of a Julianne Moore is questionable, even if her looks hadn't taken a nosedive into one of the ports potties at Coachella. As fun as she was to look at, KT was only an okay actress at best
shareKathleen Turner was everywhere in the 1980s and early 90s, the Jennifer Lawrence of her era. Then, she got ill and it was over.
https://www.reddit.com/r/movies/comments/14fbpoi/kathleen_turner_was_everywhere_in_the_1980s_and/
It's such a sad story because I grew up in the 80s and she was a mega movie star back then. That voice, the sex appeal, the fact she was such a versatile actress, from action to comedy to drama, she was accomplished in everything. I loved her performances in Peggy Sue Got Married and The War of the Roses, so good in those movies.
Then she got sick and the medication she needed to take care of her health made her gain a lot of weight which meant she was no longer "hot" and the roles evaporated. She did a couple of decent movies, best being Serial Mom and The Virgin Suicides as well as a successful run on the West End with The Graduate but her hey day was over.
It always surprises me how you can be huge in one year and then a nobody the next. Katherine Heigl is another example, she was the Julia Roberts of the 2000s, then she got mouthy, she was over.