Janine Turner

Janine Turner (born Janine Loraine Gauntt; December 6, 1962) is an American actress best known for her roles as Maggie O'Connell in the television series Northern Exposure, as Jessie Deighan in the feature film Cliffhanger, and as Katie McCoy in Friday Night Lights. She is an author, public speaker and founder and co-chair of Constituting America 2010. Her parents returned to their native Texas soon after her birth, and Turner grew up in Euless and Fort Worth, Texas.

Career In 1978, the 16-year-old Turner left home to pursue a modeling career with the Wilhelmina Modeling Agency in New York City. She began her acting career in 1980 in Hollywood, appearing in several episodes of Dallas. In October 1981 Turner could be seen in a television commercial for Buf-Puf body sponge. She continued to make guest appearances on television shows throughout the 1980s before landing the role of Laura Templeton on General Hospital.

By 1986, Turner had become frustrated by the quality of the roles she was getting. As she told the Chicago Tribune five years later, "I was always working, but I wanted to do more serious roles and knew that I had the talent. I had to get away from Hollywood." Disregarding her agent's advice, Turner moved to New York in order to hone her craft, studying in Manhattan with Marcia Haufrecht of the Actors Studio. I gained a new respect and appreciation for acting in New York. And I decided that I didn't want to lock myself into roles that portrayed women negatively. I turned a lot of (TV and film) opportunities down because of that. Everyone thought I was crazy. I was really going for broke. I only had eight dollars left and had become very depressed right before I got the part in Northern Exposure.

Janine Turner at the Governor's Ball after the 1992 Emmy Awards Cast as Maggie O'Connell in 1990, Turner's work on Northern Exposure earned her an Emmy nomination in 1993 and three consecutive Golden Globe nominations from 1992 to 1994. Accolades aside, the role itself was a positive experience for Turner, following the "damsel in distress" roles that had all but driven her from Hollywood in the first place. "I've found my ideal character in Maggie," she told the Tribune. "She's smarter and stronger than all the men she meets." Turner's own move from Hollywood to New York was mirrored by Maggie's, from her affluent Grosse Pointe community to the remote fictional backwater of Cicely, Alaska. Turner said about Maggie that "She went against the grain and challenged herself by moving to Alaska." with co-president Cathy Gillespie, aimed at educating American adults and students about the non-partisan relevancy of the U.S. Constitution.

On May 21, 2011, Turner began hosting a live two-hour talk show, The Janine Turner Show, on talk radio station KLIF (AM) in Dallas, and in Houston, KPRC (AM), followed by iHeart Radio until 2013. It was awarded "Best Radio Show in Dallas". A Little Bit Vulnerable: On Hollywood, God, Sobriety, & Politics, Wisdom For Each Day: Inherited From My Great Grandfather, and Artificial Intelligentsia Vs. Primal Sense. Holding Her Head High focuses on single mothers through history, such as Rachel Lavein Fawcett, the abandoned single mother of Alexander Hamilton.

Activism and advocacy In 2006, Turner was appointed a member of the President's Council on Service and Civic Participation. In 2010, Turner launched her public speaking career on the national circuit and became a public inspirational speaker on a plethora of topics, including heart health, sobriety, faith, the Constitution, Turner has written 85 essays on the 85 Federalist Papers, Turner has written a petition, "The Truth Act" – and corresponding white paper, "Long and Little Known: How Incoherent Statutes Harm Liberty & the Rule of Law".

Personal life

Turner has never married. Her daughter, Juliette Turner-Jones, was born in 1997. Turner was once engaged to Alec Baldwin and also dated Troy Aikman, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Mark Grace and Sylvester Stallone. As of 2014, Turner was living on a longhorn cattle ranch outside Dallas with her daughter.

Filmography

Film Year Title Role Notes 1982 Young Doctors in Love Soap Cameos 1986 Knights of the City Brooke Tai-Pan Shevaun Tillman 1988 Monkey Shines Linda Aikman 1989 Steel Magnolias Nancy-Beth Marmillion 1990 The Ambulance Cheryl Turner 1993 Cliffhanger Jessie Deighan 1997 The Curse of Inferno Layla Moanes Leave It to Beaver June Cleaver 2000 Dr. T & the Women Dorothy Chambliss 2004 No Regrets Cheryl Trip in a Summer Dress Mama short film; also director, writer, editor, and executive producer 2006 Miracle Dogs Too Paula Wells direct-to-video The Night of the White Pants Barbara Hagan 2009 Birdie & Bogey Amy Maggie's Passage Jenny Sirron 2015 The Ivy League Farmer Ella Gilbert Solace Elizabeth Clancy 2016 Occupy, Texas Mrs. Thomas 2018 Gosnell: The Trial of America's Biggest Serial Killer Dr. North 2023 Birthright Outlaw Bonnie Beauchamp

Television

Awards and nominations Emmy Award 1993: Nominated, "Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series" – Northern Exposure

Golden Globe Award 1992: Nominated, "Best Performance by an Actress in a TV-Series – Drama" – Northern Exposure 1993: Nominated, "Best Performance by an Actress in a TV-Series – Drama" – Northern Exposure 1994: Nominated, "Best Performance by an Actress in a TV-Series – Drama" – Northern Exposure 1995: Turner Hosted 52nd Annual Golden Globe Awards

Screen Actors Guild Awards 1995: Nominated, "Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series" – Northern Exposure

Young Artist Award 1983: Won, "Best Young Actress in the Daytime Series" – General Hospital