Rarely Seen Kathleen Turner Unrecognizable As She Struggles To Walk With Cane

Five months after getting spotted at the screening of Maestro in Manhattan, Body Heat star Kathleen Turner was seen out and about in the same city around Chinatown’s Canal Street; however, she was struggling to walk with a cane. The actress, who turns 70 in June, appeared to be alone as she moved carefully in black sneakers, a long trench coat, and a cross-body bag.

Kathleen looked unrecognizably different from her screen goddess self, who worked with Danny DeVito, Matthew Perry, and Michael Douglas. She has had a successful Hollywood career with multiple awards, including two Golden Globes for Best Actress for 1984’s Romancing The Stone and the following year’s Prizzi’s Honor. The mother of one also earned an Oscar nod in 1987 and two Tony Award nominations for the Broadway productions of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

What disease does Kathleen Turner have?

At the peak of her career in the mid-80s, Kathleen was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, an autoimmune disease that affects the joints and organs. She was on the set for the comedy film Serial Mom when she noticed her feet were swelling and had to get it checked. “I couldn’t walk. I couldn’t hold a glass. The only way I could go up and down stairs was on my butt, pushing myself,” she once said of her condition. “The pain is very bad because there’s no way to sit, lie, or stand that allows you to escape it. People don’t understand because it’s not life-threatening. It will not kill me, but it kills your life.”

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The actress struggled with going about her daily activities because of her movement difficulty, and this led to a plummet in her budding career as she had to give up lead roles. However, Kathleen refused to back down. “I wouldn’t accept it. I am a very stubborn woman. I got back to full strength, as full as I would ever be again. They told me I would be in a wheelchair for the rest of my life. Now, that was almost 30 years ago. And I look at what I’ve done in 30 years, and I think: ‘Well, go to hell!’” she explained. Sadly, most of her medication caused her to gain weight, which further subjected her to public scrutiny about her bodily changes.

Shortly after her diagnosis, rumors began to fly about Kathleen becoming an alcoholic. While she was furious about the “complete betrayal,” she refused to share the tragic news about her condition for fear of losing gigs. “It was self-defense not to discuss this mysterious disease. They would hire drunks or even drug addicts all the time,” she had admitted. “Better to be quiet and let them think whatever the hell they wanted to. But it hurt a lot.”

Like a self-fulfilling prophecy, Kathleen soon turned to drinking to ease her pain, however, she was quick to stop in her tracks as well. “It was incredibly stupid. 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,” the Peggy Sue Got Married star told The Guardian. “I thought: ‘I am wasting my entire day with my daughter, with my husband, because I’d close myself down and drink.”

By 2002, Kathleen took accountability and checked into rehab even though it felt out of place for her. “I’m not an alcoholic, but I am an abuser of drink. So, I stopped drinking for a couple of years. I don’t imagine I’ll ever drink like that again. But then I don’t have that amount of pain, either,” she’d noted. With determination, Kathleen focused on theater, where she had a better chance of getting work. She played Mrs Robinson in a West End production of The Graduate and did her one-woman cabaret show, Finding My Voice.

What movie made Kathleen Turner famous?

Body Heat threw Kathleen into the spotlight as a legendary actress and more popularly as a sex symbol— however, she would rather fans drop that reputation already. “‘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,” she told The Guardian years ago. “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.” She also spoke about working alongside her co-star, Michael Douglas, who reportedly competed with Warren Beatty and Jack Nicholson to “get me.” She also admitted to her feelings for Douglas since filming Romancing The Stone, and the actor “was separated from his first wife, Diandra, at the time. There was a great chemistry between Michael Douglas and me. But I can’t imagine I’d have had the career I have if I’d been Mrs Douglas. Not that he ever proposed, let’s not go wild!”

Although sickness chipped away at Kathleen’s fan-given identity as eye candy, she still remained relevant to the industry. “You have to get to that place as a woman where you know your worth isn’t dependent on looks. I’m proud to have such a vibrant career. Acting’s never gotten tired for me,” she told Closer Weekly ahead of filming the comedy Dumb and Dumber To a decade ago.

The screen icon echoed a similar thought in an older interview, disclosing her focus to be on getting better. “All that stuff about having good looks and being sexy took a secondary position to just being able to walk without pain,” she had said. Not recluding into misery, Kathleen— who has a theater degree from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), teaches in various U.S. institutions and spends time reading. She also enjoys poker nights with friends amid a sushi and bourbon feast. “I don’t lack interests. I would like to be more active physically,” she noted. ” But at the moment, I’m having a bad flare-up.”

Kathleen is giddy about turning 70 soon but fears a possible retirement as well. “Part of me goes: Jesus, do I get to stop working at some point? On the other hand, I can’t imagine not working. So there you go,” she confessed.