Kathleen Turner Had Many Downs in Life, but Rose Like a Phoenix From the Ashes

Kathleen Turner had a stellar movie career, and her roles are still remembered and adored by thousands. But she had to give up on her acting work in 1992, when she was diagnosed with crippling arthritis and was told she might never walk again. She’s been through a lot of pain and loss, and her life may seem a constant struggle, but she rose like a phoenix from the ashes and keeps motivating a lot of people today.

The illness changed Kathleen’s appearance, but she coped with it brilliantly.

1992 became a crucial year for Kathleen Turner. She was diagnosed with arthritis that from then on started literally ruining her body.

She changed many doctors, and with time it became impossible for her to even wear heels. This was her personal tragedy, as she’s always been an actress who always wanted to do her own stunts. But Kathleen never gave up and reinvented herself in her forties becoming a stage actor. She won a huge public love for her performances in Cat On A Hot Tin Roof on Broadway and The Graduate in London.

When the ravaging effects of arthritis and medications caused her to bloat and gain weight, her looks were the last thing that bothered her. Her main concern at that time was about surviving. People were cruel to her and even accused her of having bad habits.

After she passed out while in one of the rehearsals in 2002, she finally admitted her problems, finished the show’s run and then went to rehab.

Kathleen remains faithful to herself and says “no” to surgeries and Botox.

Kathleen Turner is a huge fan of natural beauty. She openly speaks that she has never tried to change herself to be attractive for others. She’s never had Botox or plastic surgeries.

In her interview, she says, “No one is sexy if they don’t like themselves. I don’t care how they look. When High Definition photography came out on film everybody thought they looked fat and the Botox craze started. It’s destructive. You see a perfectly good actor who suddenly can’t move their forehead or their eyebrows. How do you act without eyebrows? I can’t.”

She’s never been a fan of diets either. Once, a producer sent her a box of diet food, and she turned it back.

“I taped the box up and sent it back to his office. It contained diet salad dressing, diet potato chips. I like to enjoy life. I like food. I don’t want to spend 15 hours of my day wondering how I look. For some people, men and women, that’s their primary focus and that’s so boring,” says Kathleen.

She didn’t tell anyone she was sick with the arthritis for a very long time. “I fear being vulnerable in people’s eyes. I’ve trained myself so that now when somebody says, ’I’m going to help you,’ I say ’Yes’ and make myself think of what they can do. My automatic response in the past was ’No.’”

If you are looking for another portion of inspiration, you may want to find out about these celebs who’ve never had any cosmetic surgeries, but still look awesome as years go by. Their example may be a real-life ode to a natural look.