Strong Resilience – Search Strong, feisty, brave and brilliant,
Kathleen Turner is a woman to be reckoned with.
Mary Kathleen Turner (born June 19, 1954) is an American actress renowned for her deep, husky voice and versatile performances across film, television, and stage. She rose to fame with her breakout role in Body Heat (1981) and became a leading star of the 1980s in hits like Romancing the Stone, Prizzi’s Honor, Peggy Sue Got Married, and as the voice of Jessica Rabbit in Who Framed Roger Rabbit. A two-time Golden Globe winner and Oscar nominee, she has also earned two Tony nods for Broadway performances.
One of the most revered actresses of her generation and beyond, she is a woman who goes after what she wants – and gets it. In this memoir, she reveals her astonishing trajectory from struggling New York actress to household name – a result of passionate ambition, powerful instinct and unwavering self-belief.
Kathleen Turner rose to fame with Body Heat, won two Golden Globes for Romancing The Stone and Prizzi’s Honour, and was Oscar nominated for her role in Peggy Sue Got Married. Her theatre credits include Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and The Graduate.
From her first groundbreaking film, Body Heat, to her critically acclaimed performance in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, she has entranced audiences onstage and onscreen for three decades, whilst never failing in her commitment to the causes that she has supported throughout her life, and fighting an ongoing battle against the devastating pain of rheumatoid arthritis.
Kathleen Turner is an unstoppable force of nature with a lesson for women everywhere: if you don’t believe in yourself, how can you expect anyone else to?
They called her a drunk. She was dying—and chose silence over her career.
Kathleen Turner woke up one morning and couldn’t move her fingers. Each joint locked rigid. Pain radiated like broken glass grinding beneath her skin.
She was thirty-eight years old. A Hollywood icon at the peak of her power.
The 1980s had been hers—Body Heat made her a star, Romancing the Stone showcased her brilliance, Peggy Sue Got Married earned her an Oscar nomination. She was the sultry voice behind Jessica Rabbit. Gorgeous. Commanding. Seemingly invincible.
Then her body turned against her.
For an entire year, she suffered alone. Convinced herself it would pass. Gritted through film sets while her joints screamed. Until the day she couldn’t turn a doorknob. Couldn’t lift her head without agony.
Doctor after doctor missed it. Finally, the diagnosis arrived: rheumatoid arthritis. Her immune system was destroying her own body. Progressive. No cure.
“You’ll likely end up in a wheelchair,” they told her.
High-dose steroids kept her mobile—but transformed her appearance. Her face swelled. Her body changed dramatically. And Hollywood, which worships youth and beauty above all else, noticed immediately.
The rumors began. She let herself go. She’s drinking. What a shame.
Kathleen made an impossible choice: stay silent.
“They would hire someone with a drinking problem,” she later revealed, “but not someone with an unexplained disease.”
So when tabloids said she was out of control, she took the hit. When casting directors stopped calling, she bore it quietly. Eventually, drowning in relentless pain with nowhere to turn, she did drink—briefly numbing suffering that never ended.
The mid-1990s nearly broke her. Some mornings she couldn’t rise from bed. Walking became torture. Twelve surgeries across twelve years tried to save her deteriorating joints. Medications fogged her mind. At her darkest moment, she considered giving up entirely.
But Kathleen Turner doesn’t surrender.
She found better physicians. Discovered Pilates. Clawed her way back to movement.
By 2005, she had managed her disease into submission.
Then she did something extraordinary.
March 20, 2005: Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? opened on Broadway with Turner as Martha—three hours of raw, physically demanding, emotionally devastating theater. Critics wondered if she had the stamina.
Opening night silenced every doubt.
She was magnificent. She didn’t conceal her illness—she channeled years of suffering into searing art. The production ran for months, transferred to London’s West End, and toured nationwide. “Performing,” she explained, “gives me energy I cannot find anywhere else.”
In 2008, she published Send Yourself Roses—finally revealing everything. The diagnosis. The medications. The drinking. The cruelty of an industry that valued appearance over humanity. She became a powerful advocate for the Arthritis Foundation. By 2006, her rheumatoid arthritis entered remission.
Today, at seventy, Kathleen Turner still acts. She appeared in 2024’s The Long Game. She uses a wheelchair or cane for extended events—not as defeat, but as wisdom, honoring a body that survived decades of war.
Her voice—deeper, weathered, utterly iconic—remains unmistakable.
Her story matters because she refused invisibility. She proved that strength isn’t looking thirty at fifty. Strength is showing up when your body is breaking. Strength is speaking the truth when silence would be easier.
The woman they labeled a drunk was fighting for survival.
The woman they said abandoned herself was enduring silent agony.
And when she finally spoke, she told the whole truth.
Kathleen Turner taught us that resilience isn’t measured in beauty or youth. It’s measured in courage, honesty, and the refusal to disappear—even when the world cannot comprehend your pain. Kathleen Turner – Wikipedia
I have suffered this horrific disease for over 30 years now, struck down at 27. It is a silent, invisible battle. Because we still show up and fight like HELL to be well enough to work, no one thinks it could possibly be as big a deal as it is. It is.
At nearly 60 now I work full time because I have to and frankly want to be productive. I ride my horses as often as body and schedule will allow. I have pushed my body through marathons, triathlons, multi-day races and mountain climbs. Always suffering, never giving up and sometimes screaming inside how hard just getting out of bed is. Life has been very hard. Very. And yet it’s mine, these are my cards. I choose how to play them.
It’s a very sad and frustrating event to acquire a chronic disease such as arthritis and others. People suddenly think you become lazy and reclusive. And really people that are stricken with these chronic illnesses are just trying to figure out what is wrong with them. I’ve been called names like lazy, lost cause, he’s just an old drunk, trying to get out of work, and many other insults and hurtful labels, because I have Psoriatic Arthritis which took over 15 years to diagnose. Even after that it’s a shot in the dark to try to find the right medicine. The one thing I’ve learned is healthy people do not have any idea what a chronically ill person is going through. It’s sad that they jump to conclusions like, they are just a drunk, or they let themselves go, or they are just not trying. If you have a friend or relative that is suddenly not around like they used to be, they probably have some kind of chronic illness, people don’t just stop living life, something happened to them and they need your support.
Incredibly beautiful lady. No one knows the struggles people face behind the smiles. Humans are cruel. I hope she knows her worth is far more than what Appears on the outside. She was truly stunning.. I wish she and others were appreciated for their beauty through the ages.
So many beautiful women have disappeared from acting… Sharon Stone, Ashley Judd, Kim Bassinger, Michelle Pfiefer, Meg Ryan, Melanie Griffith , Diane Lane just to name a few . its sad Hollywood doesn’t see the true beauty in women isn’t just their exterior but the way people connected to them
My wife Sandy (God rest her soul) died from complications of Loops Arthritis. The woman I loved with all my heart and soul passed after just 15 years of a good marriage. I was devastated, it’s something you get through but you will live with that loss all your life because you really never get over it. Still you move on with your life and just remember the love and the good times you had together.
I suffered from crippling Rheumatoid Arthritis. It ravaged my entire body. I drastically changed my diet and got some relief, but the sweetness of one banana would set me off for three weeks of agony. Eventually, I found a Functional Medicine practitioner and knew enough to ask for a GI Map (fecal exam). It came back positive for a bacteria called Prevotella and a parasite. Five days on an antiparasitic and three weeks on a sulphur based antibiotic and my body has been pain free for 10 years now. I do not eat processed food and am so glad to see what President Trump and Robert F Kennedy Jr are doing.
Hiding in plain sight.. silence 
because no one in the medical profession will acknowledge your illness. I too was afraid to be labeled as someone who was drinking because my mobility had been depleted by Crestor, a medication prescribed by my doctor, death for cholesterol. To this day ten years later I’m still recovering my mobility refusing to stop or use a walker. I know your suffering it’s real and it’s lonely. We are strong women and we fight because we were given no choice.
I was diagnosed at age 51 with severe, progressive RA and osteoporosis. I’m now age 75 and thankful for medications discovered over 30 years ago that have helped slow down the progression of this incurable disease. Even though I have all seven markers of RA, and am losing bones at a rapid rate, I’m still dancing at nightclubs and not senior centers! 
The best thing she could do for herself now is to wean off whatever meds she’s taking, yes they’re doing more harm than good, and implement a Carnivore diet, a way of eating, which would reduce and eventually eliminate all the extreme inflammation that’s going on in her body. It would in fact cure her. Healthy, unprocessed, clean meats!!! And Get off the steroids.
There are thousands of cases where this has worked.
“Strong” is a poignant song by London Grammar,
that explores themes of emotional vulnerability and resilience, highlighting the contrast between perceived strength and inner turmoil.
Song Background
Release Date: “Strong” was released as a digital download in the United Kingdom on September 1, 2013. It is part of their debut album, If You Wait.
Chart Performance: The song peaked at number 16 on the UK Singles Chart and reached the top ten in Australia, showcasing its popularity and resonance with listeners.
Themes and Meaning
Emotional Distress: The song delves into the emotional struggles of a woman grappling with feelings of abandonment and the complexities of love. The lyrics reflect a deep sense of vulnerability, as the protagonist navigates her relationship with a partner who is emotionally distant.
Strength vs. Vulnerability: A central theme in “Strong” is the juxtaposition of strength and vulnerability. The lyrics suggest that outward appearances can be deceiving, as the protagonist acknowledges her internal struggles despite seeming strong to others. This is encapsulated in the repeated lines, “Yeah, I might seem so strong… I’ve never been so wrong,” which highlight the conflict between self-perception and reality.
Lyrics Analysis
The lyrics pose thought-provoking questions about empathy and emotional response, using powerful imagery such as a lion’s roar and a child’s cry to illustrate the spectrum of human emotion. The song invites listeners to reflect on their own experiences of strength and vulnerability, emphasizing that both are essential aspects of the human condition.
Conclusion
“Strong” by London Grammar is not just a song about resilience; it is a profound exploration of the complexities of human emotions, urging listeners to confront their vulnerabilities while recognizing the strength that can emerge from them. The haunting melody and evocative lyrics make it a standout track that resonates deeply with many. For those interested in experiencing the song, it is available on various music platforms and can be viewed on YouTube