Kathleen Turner's then-and-now transformation as Michael Douglas reveals their secret love affair

Kathleen broke onto the scene in 1981 when she made her film debut in the thriller Body Heat. The actress starred as Matty Walker in the film, and made such an impression that over 10 years after it premiered, she was named one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in Film History.

Of the breakout role, Kathleen told The Guardian in 2018: "Body Heat was a blessing because 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 nearly four decades after that film I'm still referred to as a sexual icon. I got over that a long time ago."

The actress met Michael Douglas in 1984 on the set of Romancing the Stone. Unbeknownst to the cast and crew, the two started their love affair. In his memoir, Michael revisits the period when he and Kathleen were filming the adventure comedy in Mexico. He was separated from his first wife, Diandra Douglas, although they remained legally married.

"We found each other first as friends, then as co-stars, and finally as lovers," he writes in an excerpt published by People. "Like every other guy in the world at the time, I was knocked sideways by Kathleen…"

While Kathleen starred in a string of dramatic roles, she was also quite the funny woman. She hosted Saturday Night Live twice, alongside musical guests John Waite and Billy Joel. Kathleen played up her iconic voice, by lip-syncing to the high-pitched, squeaky voice of then cast member Victoria Jackson.

In 1984, Kathleen tied the knot with real estate entrepreneur Jay Weiss. The two met just as she wrapped filming for Romancing the Stone. "He found me an apartment, and to thank him I took him to lunch," she told People in 1986. They married a year later, in 1984. "He's all the man I want — and all I can handle."

After 23 years of marriage, Kathleen and Jay divorced, but the actress still calls him her best friend.

Kathleen and Jay welcomed their daughter Rachel in 1987. Like her mom, Rachel is creative. She studied music at Hampshire College and is a singer/songwriter who released an album, Dear Love, in 2012.

She often joins her mom on the red carpet. In 2017, Rachel attended the Ms. Foundation for Women 2017 Gloria Awards Gala with Kathleen. 

In her late 30s, Kathleen was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, an autoimmune disease that causes pain and inflammation in the joints. As her illness was treated with chemotherapy and steroids, her appearance had changed and gossip began that she was drinking too much alcohol. In 2002, she checked into rehab to give up drinking, "for my husband, my child and my career," she told the New York Times.

"It was incredibly stupid," the actress told The Guardian in 2023. "I had this thing in my head where I thought: 'I'm not taking pain pills — they are addictive and dangerous.' But it was OK to have that second or third vodka." But, Kathleen decided to make a change for Rachel. "I thought: 'I am wasting my entire day with my daughter, with my husband, because I'd close myself down and drink.'"

Kathleen continued to act after her heyday of the 1980s, starring in The Kominsky Method alongside Michael, as well as 2022's The Estate with Anna Faris.