Kathleen Turner quotes: lessons and reflections from the actress.
“Life, it’s a journey. We’re just going to keep finding all kinds of things; to keep learning, exploring, growing and developing. I think that’s what we’re here for.”
“Your power lies in your choices. It would be worse to make a choice that you would be haunted by for the rest of your life, one which you would be compromised by, than working another couple of months as a waiter. Be prepared for it.”
“Risk is the willingness to fail.”
“You can’t grow if you don’t take risks. I have to be willing to risk failure because, of course, I want to know how far I can go.”
“Learning seems to be the study of life.”
“Fearlessness at 20 springs from not knowing challenges lie ahead. Fearlessness at 50 comes from having wrestled with life’s challenges and learned from them.”
“It never occurred to me that I couldn’t change things that needed changing or couldn’t have what I wanted if I worked hard enough and was good enough.”
“If my ego was out of whack and I believed I could carry anything off, that would be a stupid risk. But so far there’s been no reason not to try anything.”
“I like to take chances.”
“I’m attracted to risky projects because it may be something I haven’t done. It’s better to do something you don’t know how to do.”
“The best role is always ahead.”
“There’s something so muffled about the way you experience things. It’s as if you were trying to slip through life unchanged.”
“Everyone must find a capacity in which they can serve, because we all benefit from society.”
“I have a brother who’s a psychologist. He says three-quarters of the world are born feeling that they will be affected by the world; one quarter are born knowing that they will affect the world.”
“I don’t see anything wrong with technology as long as it doesn’t interfere with your life. I love the new technology in terms of giving access to doing more independent work.”
“My father was a diplomatic officer. As a diplomat’s daughter, you have to learn to present yourself very early on.”
“I feel different, better, about my personal life as well as my professional life. So much confidence comes simply because I have reached this very good age. Women my age today are forging new ground. Society stops defining us by our reproductive capacity, sexual attractiveness, or other traditional measures, so we become liberated from stereotype. We are freed to grow into our full selves.”
“I’m very practical. What I’m reaching for is individualism for women. Women are responsible for creating their own roles.”
“There are still women who are not living their own lives, but living through their men or their children.”
“There’s a power to the relationships between women that we don’t examine as much as we should.”
“It never occurred to me to not work. I never thought of someone supporting me. And, no one has ever supported me, I’m proud to say.”
“I always thought the point was to have a bigger life, to meet more people.”
“Being a sex symbol has to do with an attitude, not looks. Most men think it’s looks, most women know otherwise.”
“I’m not bad, I’m just drawn that way.”
“The older I get, the less I suffer fools gladly.”
“I think my mission is to become the greatest human I can. I know that sounds pompous, but what else do we have?”
“When I go to the grocery store, I allow an extra 10 or 15 minutes, because people are going to stop me and say, ‘I like your work.’ It’s quite nice. You’d like to be walking around New York and having people calling out from cars, ‘Looking good, Turner.’ It’s not a bad life at all. Not to stop and not to take that moment to look at that person and say, ‘Thank you,’ might hurt their feelings. Why? Because I didn’t want to take five seconds? How ridiculous. My advice is, stop, and take time to do whatever is needed.”
“You must cherish everyone. All it takes to have a good quality of life is a little time to give everyone who asks for it. It’s the few moments that make the difference.”
“It’s fascinating how all of us, everyday, rely, at some point, to some extent, for some reason, on faith in our life. Whether it’s God or not, or ‘Please help me!'”
“It begins and ends with money.”
“I don’t believe in simply accumulating money, but I have the luxury to say that, because I have enough for all my needs.”
“I’ve always envisioned a stage career. With film, I loved learning how to do it and the possibilities are extraordinary. The stage has always been my primary focus. As a woman, there are just better roles.”
“I admit that luck is a big part of every actor’s career; the other thing that drives me forward is rage. I suppose there was a feeling of loss. Rheumatoid arthritis hit in my late 30s—the last of my years in which Hollywood would consider me a sexually appealing leading lady. The hardest part was that so much of my confidence was based on my physicality. If I didn’t have that, who was I?”
“I’m a tree now where the trunk is strong enough, and the roots are deep enough, that I can branch out in any direction: teaching, acting, my cabaret endeavor. And I’m getting stronger all the time. So let’s find out what I can do.”
“I believe in myself, so I don’t care what other people think about me. I’ve been acting professionally for 41 years. I think my ability to maintain a career for that long has a little something to do with quality, don’t you think?”
“I want people to like me. They don’t have to always like my characters, you understand.”
“No, I don’t look like I did 30 years ago. Get over it.”
“If it’s interesting, I’ll give it a shot. I’m not afraid of anything.”
“I have health. I have a wonderful support system. I have the admiration of millions of strangers, which I do not underestimate.”
“I had my share of great and crazy times.”
“I am very happy, actually. With my work, with my personal life. I have no desire to screw up.”
“I’m an icon. I am. And honestly, you know, they like strong women.”
Related: Danny DeVito quotes.
