Kate Capshaw

Kathleen Sue Spielberg (née Nail; born November 3, 1953), known professionally as Kate Capshaw, is an American retired actress, producer and painter. She is best known for her portrayal of Willie Scott in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, directed by her eventual husband, Steven Spielberg. She subsequently starred in Dreamscape (1984), Power (1986), SpaceCamp (1986), Black Rain (1989), Love Affair (1994), Just Cause (1995), The Locusts (1997), and The Love Letter (1999). Her portraiture work, including The Picture Maker, has been shown in the National Portrait Gallery and the Pérez Art Museum Miami.

Early life Capshaw was born Kathleen Sue Nail, the daughter of airline employee Edwin L. Nail (1933–1998) who was of Irish descent, and Beverly (née Simon; 1933–2013).

She married marketing manager Robert Capshaw in January 1976 and they had one child, Jessica Capshaw, before divorcing in 1980. She kept the surname Capshaw, which she used for her professional name upon becoming an actress.

Career

Capshaw moved to New York City to pursue her dream of acting, landing her first role on the soap opera The Edge of Night. After auditioning for a small role in A Little Sex, she was offered the role of the leading lady, which is when she asked for a dismissal from The Edge of Night. She starred in Dreamscape in 1984, and afterwards was directed by her then-boyfriend Armyan Bernstein in Windy City.

Capshaw met film director and future husband Steven Spielberg upon winning the female lead as Willie Scott in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984), a prequel to Spielberg's Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981). Capshaw starred opposite Harrison Ford, who played Indiana Jones. In addition, she appeared as Andie Bergstrom, an appealing and stern yet frustrated camp instructor in the 1986 film SpaceCamp, opposite Richard Gere and Gene Hackman in Power (1986), and starred as Susanna McKaskel in The Quick and The Dead (1987) with Sam Elliott. Capshaw also starred in the spy film/romance Her Secret Life.

Capshaw had roles in several films throughout the late 1980s into the 1990s. She starred alongside Michael Douglas and Andy García in Black Rain (1989), Sean Connery and Laurence Fishburne in Just Cause (1995), and Warren Beatty and Annette Bening in Love Affair (1994). She was also featured in the 1997 film The Alarmist with David Arquette and Stanley Tucci. In 1999, she starred in and produced The Love Letter.

In 2001, Capshaw starred in the television film A Girl Thing with Stockard Channing, Rebecca De Mornay and Elle Macpherson. It is her last acting role to date.

Painting practice In 2009, Capshaw began studying visual arts, including drawing, painting, and portraiture. She focused on painting portraits of homeless youth, and in 2019, three of her works were selected as finalists in the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery's (NPG) Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition. These portraits were included in the exhibition The Outwin 2019: American Portraiture Today.

In 2024, Capshaw held a solo exhibition titled Kate Capshaw: Exclusive Tonsorial Services at the Pérez Art Museum Miami. The work was inspired by conversations with Sergei (Sirj) Grant, a local barber and community leader involved in financial education and youth advocacy in Miami-Dade County.

In 2022, the NPG commissioned Capshaw to a paint a portrait of Spielberg; accompanying the portrait is film of Spielberg's early work, curated by Capshaw, that is projected beside the portrait. The Picture Maker entered the NPG's permanent collection after it was presented at the Portrait of a Nation gala in November 2025, where Spielberg was a 2025 Portrait of a Nation honoree.

In 2026, a portrait which Capshaw painted of former Obama Administration White House chef Tafari Campbell was included in the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago, Illinois.

Personal life During the production of the film Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984), Capshaw became close to director Steven Spielberg, whom she later married. Originally an Episcopalian, she converted to Judaism before marrying Spielberg on October 12, 1991. They were married in both a civil ceremony and an Orthodox ceremony.

There are seven children in the Spielberg–Capshaw family.

Jessica Capshaw – daughter from Capshaw's previous marriage to Robert Capshaw Max Samuel Spielberg – son from Spielberg's previous marriage to actress Amy Irving Theo Spielberg – son adopted by Capshaw before her marriage to Spielberg, who later also adopted him Sasha Spielberg Sawyer Spielberg Mikaela George Spielberg – adopted with Steven Spielberg Destry Spielberg

Filmography Film Year Title Role Note 1982 A Little Sex Katherine Harrison 1984 Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom Willie Scott 1984 Best Defense Laura Cooper 1984 Dreamscape Jane DeVries 1984 Windy City Emily Reubens 1986 Power Sydney Betterman 1986 SpaceCamp Andie Bergstrom 1987 The Quick and the Dead Susanna McKaskel 1988 Private Affairs Brunetta 1989 Black Rain Joyce 1990 Love at Large Mrs. Ellen McGraw 1991 My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys Jolie Meadows 1994 Love Affair Lynn Weaver 1995 Just Cause Laurie Prentiss Armstrong 1995 How to Make an American Quilt Sally Dodd 1997 The Locusts Delilah Ashford Potts 1997 The Alarmist Gale Ancona 1999 The Love Letter Helen MacFarquhar Also producer

Television Year Title Role Notes 1981 The Edge of Night Jinx Avery Mallory #1 TV series 1982 Missing Children: A Mother's Story Elaine Rogers TV film 1987 The Quick and the Dead Susanna McKaskel TV film 1987 Her Secret Life Annie TV film 1988 Internal Affairs Joanna Gates TV film 1993 Black Tie Affair Margo Cody TV series; 13 episodes 1994 Next Door Karen Coler TV film 1996 Duke of Groove Rebecka Short film 2001 A Girl Thing Casey Montgomery TV film 2001 Due East Becky Purdue TV film