Janine Turner

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.^[6] 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.”^[5]

After her breakthrough in Northern Exposure, Turner appeared in the action film Cliffhanger opposite Sylvester Stallone. She next appeared as June Cleaver in a Leave It to Beaver film adaptation of television’s original Leave it to Beaver, then in Stolen Women: Captured Hearts, and Dr. T & the Women with Richard Gere. She also appeared in No Regrets and numerous movies of the week.

In 2004, Turner wrote, produced, and directed the award-winning 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, with Tom Wilkinson. In 2007, she co-wrote, co-produced, and starred in Christoga, a Christian Yoga DVD,^[7] Turner also co-wrote and produced an album, Mockingbird Hill, in which both she and her daughter Juliette sang.

In 2008, Turner began a 12-episode run on the NBC television series Friday Night Lights. She portrayed Katie McCoy, mother of a talented high school football quarterback.

In 2015, Turner portrayed the wife of Anthony Hopkins’ character in Solace.