Kathleen Turner, born Mary Kathleen Turner on June 19, 1954, in Springfield, Missouri, is an American actress known for her distinctive deep, husky voice and her roles in both film and television.

She is the daughter of Patsy (Magee) and Allen Richard Turner, a U.S. Foreign Service officer, and spent her early years living in various countries due to her father's job. Kathleen Turner attended Southwest Missouri State University for two years before transferring to the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, where she earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1977.

Kathleen Turner made her film debut in the 1981 neo-noir thriller "Body Heat," where she played the seductive and manipulative Matty Walker, a role that established her as a sex symbol.

She continued to work steadily throughout the 1980s, appearing in films such as "Romancing the Stone" (1984), "Prizzi's Honor" (1985), and "The War of the Roses" (1989). For her performance in "Peggy Sue Got Married" (1986), she received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress.

In addition to her film work, she has also had a successful career on stage, earning two Tony Award nominations for her performances in "The Graduate" (2002) and "High" (2010). She has lent her voice to animated characters, including Jessica Rabbit in "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" (1988) and Constance in "Monster House" (2006).

Kathleen Turner has also appeared in television shows such as "Californication," "The Kominsky Method," and "Friends," where she played Chandler Bing's cross-dressing father, Charles Bing.

Her career was impacted by rheumatoid arthritis, which she was diagnosed with in the early 1990s.