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 thriller Body Heat, and went on to appear in Empire Magazine cited the film in 1995 when it named her one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in Film History. The New York Times wrote in 2005 that, propelled by her "jaw-dropping Read more...

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 was 1983 comedy 'The Man With Two Brains'. Turner starred in Romancing the Stone with Michael Douglas and Danny DeVito. Demanding film critic Pauline Kael wrote of her performance as writer Joan Wilder, "Turner knows Read more...

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 Read more...