Kathleen Turner was born June 19, 1954 in Springfield, Missouri, to Patsy (Magee) and Allen Richard Turner, a U.S. Foreign Service officer. She graduated from American School in London in 1972. After the death of her father, the Turner family moved back to the United States where Kathleen later enrolled at Missouri State University for two years, and earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) in 1977. Kathleen made her film debut in Body Heat (1981), her role as the relentless Matty Waker brought her astronomical success, and is remembered as one of the sexiest roles in film history. After her initial success, Kathleen continued to flourish with performances in The Man with Two Brains (1983), Romancing the Stone (1984), The Jewel of the Nile (1985), Prizzi's Honor (1985), Peggy Sue Got Married (1986), The War of the Roses (1989), and Serial Mom (1994).