Early life

Turner was born Janine Loraine Gauntt in Lincoln, Nebraska, the daughter of Janice Loraine (née Agee), a real estate agent, and Turner Maurice Gauntt, Jr., a pilot for Braniff Airways. Her father is from East Texas, while her mother is from South Texas. She has a brother, Tim, and was raised in Euless, Texas.

Career

In 1978, the fifteen-year-old Turner left home to pursue a modeling career with the Wilhelmina Modeling Agency. She began her acting career in 1980, appearing in several episodes of Dallas. 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 with 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 there 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."

Cast as Maggie O'Connell in 1990, Turner's work on Northern Exposure would earn her an Emmy nomination in 1993 and 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."

After her breakthrough in Northern Exposure, Turner appeared in the action film Cliffhanger opposite Sylvester Stallone. She next appeared as June Cleaver in a film adaptation of television's Leave it to Beaver.

In 2004, Turner wrote and directed Trip in a Summer Dress, a film about a strong-willed mother and her children. In 2006, she appeared in a low budget movie filmed in Dallas, The Night of the White Pants. In 2006, she was appointed a member of the President's Council on Service and Civic Participation. In 2007, she appeared in a promotional video for 'Christoga,' a "Christian form of Yoga", as well as for Jesocise, a Christian type of Jazzercise.

In 2008, Turner's book, Holding Her Head High: Inspiration from 12 Single Mothers Who Championed Their Children and Changed History, was released. The book focuses on single mothers through history, such as Rachel Lavein Fawcett, the abandoned single mother of Alexander Hamilton.

That same year, Turner began an eight-episode run on the NBC television series Friday Night Lights. She portrayed Katie McCoy, mother of a talented high school football quarterback.

On May 21, 2011, Turner began hosting a live two-hour talk show on conservative-oriented talk radio station KLIF (AM) in Dallas.

Turner and her daughter Juliette began an organization called Constituting America aimed at educating Americans about the U.S. Constitution.

Activism and advocacy

In the 2008 election, she campaigned for vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin and expressed her concern for what she perceived as a decidedly liberal bias in the media as a guest on the Fox News Channel show Huckabee on October 25, 2008, and on the CNN show Larry King Live on October 28, 2008. Turner is a frequent contributor to Republican Party candidates and organizations, donating at least $7,000 over the past decade. She spoke at the 2012 Republican National Convention. She has described herself as "socially liberal and fiscally conservative. I'm almost more libertarian," as well as a supporter of the Tea Party.

Personal life

Turner has never married. In 1997, she gave birth to a daughter, Juliette Loraine Gauntt. Turner declined to publicly identify the father, but other sources identify him as Jerry Jones Jr., who was romantically involved with Turner the year Juliette was born. She was once engaged to Alec Baldwin and also dated Troy Aikman, Mikhail Baryshnikov and Sylvester Stallone. She currently lives on a longhorn cattle ranch outside Dallas with her daughter, who is also an actress.

Filmography

Films

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1982	Young Doctors in Love
1986	Knights of the City	Brooke
1986	Tai-Pan	Shevaun Tillman
1988	Monkey Shines	Linda Aikman
1989	Steel Magnolias	Nancy-Beth Marmillion
1990	The Ambulance	Cheryl
1993	Cliffhanger	Jessie Deighan	Nominated - Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actress
1997	The Curse of Inferno	Layla Moanes
1997	Leave It to Beaver	June Cleaver
2000	Dr. T & the Women	Dorothy Chambliss
2004	No Regrets	Cheryl
2004	Trip in a Summer Dress	Mama	Short film
2006	Miracle Dogs Too	Paula Wells	Direct-to-video
2006	The Night of the White Pants	Barbara Hagan
2009	Birdie & Bogey	Amy
2009	Maggie's Passage	Jenny Sirron
2010	Black Widow	Rachel
2011	A Fonder Heart	Nurse Linda
2015	Solace	Elizabeth Clancy	Post-production

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1980-1981	Dallas	Unknown	3 episodes
1981	Mr. Merlin	Unknown	Episode: "All About Sheila"
1981-1982	Behind the Screen	Janie-Claire Willow	Unknown episodes
1982	The Love Boat	Betsy Dunvar	Episode: "The Victims/Man in the Iron Shorts"
1982-1983	General Hospital	Laura Templeton
1983	The Paper Chase	Sondra	Episode: "Birthday Party"
1983	Happy Days	Debbie	Episode: "Where the Guys Are"
1983	Boone	Maggie	Episode: "Words and Music"
1984	The Master	Gina/Teri	Episode: "The Good, the Bad and the Priceless"
1984	Santa Barbara	Hollywood Woman	Episode: "#1.8"
1984	The New Mike Hammer	Christine	Episode: "Bonecrunch"
1985	The A-Team	Theresa Gianni	Episode: "The Big Squeeze"
1985	Knight Rider	Karen Forester	Episode: "KITTnap"
1986-1987	Another World	Patricia Kirkland	2 episodes
1989	Quantum Leap	Michelle	Episode: "Catch a Falling Star"
1990-1995	Northern Exposure	Maggie O'Connell	110 episodes Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Television Series Drama Nominated - Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series Nominated - Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series
1997	Stolen Women: Captured Hearts	Anna Brewster	TV movie
1998	Circle of Deceit	Terry Silva	TV movie
1998	Beauty	Alix Miller	TV movie
1999	Fatal Error	Dr. Samantha Craig	TV movie
1999	A Secret Affair	Vanessa Stewart	TV movie
2000-2002	Strong Medicine	Dr. Dana Stowe	50 episodes
2005	Walker Texas Ranger: Trial by Fire	Ranger Kay Austin	TV movie
2007	Primal Doubt	Jean Harper	TV movie
2008	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Victoria Grall	Episode: "Inconceivable"
2008-2009	Friday Night Lights	Katie McCoy	12 episodes

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

Golden Raspberry Award

• 1994: Nominated, "Worst Supporting Actress" - Cliffhanger

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

Bibliography

• Holding Her Head High: Inspiration from 12 Single Mothers Who Championed Their Children and Changed History. Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson, 2008. ISBN 978-0-7852-2324-5

[ Source: Wikipedia ]