MY LIFE IN 10 Pictures

BOLD AND brash, Mary Kathleen Turner burst onto the scene in the ’80s to become one of the sexiest and most acclaimed actresses of her generation.

And she was buoyed through it all by a confidence she received from her childhood. “My parents made me feel sure that hard times would have a happy ending,” Kathleen shared. “So I was very secure, despite the fact that my father’s job in the U.S. diplomatic service took us to Canada, Cuba, Venezuela and Britain.” And that self-assuredness helped the distinctly husky-voiced star get through more tough times — most notably the rheumatoid arthritis that almost cost Kathleen her career and led her to drink. “I abused alcohol because it’s a great painkiller,” she explained. But, Kathleen, who turns 70 on June 19, emerged on the other end with a new outlook on life. “I think that as you get older, you learn more tolerance, and you don’t take things as personally. When you’re younger, everything is about you, and this is no longer necessarily true. I rather enjoy that.”

1 1981 HEATING UP “Body Heat was a blessing,” revealed Kathleen of her steamy film debut with William Hurt. “I went straight to being a leading actor, and I didn’t have to suffer any of this predatory male behavior like many young actresses. It doesn’t frustrate me that four decades after that film I’m still referred to as a sexual icon. I got over that a long time ago.”

2 1984 HEART OF STONE