Guinevere Jane Turner is an American actress, screenwriter, and film director. She has written such films as ''

American Psycho ''American Psycho'' is a novel by Bret Easton Ellis, published in 1991. The story is told in the first person by Patrick Bateman, a serial killer and Manhattan investment banker. Alison Kelly of ''The Observer'' notes that while "some countr ...

'' and ''

The Notorious Bettie Page ''The Notorious Bettie Page'' is a 2005 American Biographical film, biographical Drama (film and television), drama film directed by Mary Harron. The screenplay by Harron and Guinevere Turner focuses on 1950s Pin-up model, pinup and fetish model, ...

'' and played the lead role of the

dominatrix A dominatrix (; ) or femdom is a woman who takes the dominant role in BDSM activities. A dominatrix can be of any sexual orientation, but this does not necessarily limit the genders of her submissive partners. Dominatrices are known for inflic ...

Tanya Cheex in '' Preaching to the Perverted''.

Early life

Turner was born in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, and is the oldest of six children. Her paternal grandmother, Elizabeth Hobbs Turner, was a member of the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

in 1944 during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Turner spent the first eleven years of her life as part of the Lyman Family, raised in various communes around the U.S. with over 100 members who were devotees of

Mel Lyman Melvin James Lyman (March 24, 1938 – March 1978) was an American musician and writer, and the founder of the Fort Hill Community, which has been variously described as a family, commune, or cult. Early life Lyman grew up in California and Oreg ...

and who believed they would eventually live on

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never fa ...

. Though Turner acknowledged that the Lyman Family had been portrayed as a cult she argued against using the word to describe them. In accordance with the customs of the Lyman Family, Turner was not raised by her mother, but she and her younger sister were eventually ejected from the Family after their mother chose to leave. Turner considered rejoining the group when she was 18, but eventually chose to attend college.

Career

Turner emerged on the scene with the film ''

Go Fish Go Fish or Fish is a card game usually played by two to five players,
although it can be played wi ...

'', which she co-wrote and co-produced with her then-girlfriend,

Rose Troche Rose Troche (born 1964) is an American film and television director, television producer, and screenwriter. Early life and education Troche was born to Puerto Rican parents and grew up on the north side of Chicago. In an interview she stated, "M ...

. Turner also starred in the film, portraying a young woman named Max whose friends help her find a new girlfriend, Ely, portrayed by VS Brodie. Director

Kevin Smith Kevin Patrick Smith (born August 2, 1970) is an American filmmaker, actor, comedian, comic book writer, author, YouTuber, and podcaster. He came to prominence with the low-budget comedy buddy film ''Clerks'' (1994), which he wrote, directed, co ...

was a fan of the movie, particularly a scene in it wherein, in an imagined sequence, some of a character's friends chastise her for "selling out" and sleeping with a man, and used it as an inspiration for his own take on a similar theme in his own film ''

Chasing Amy ''Chasing Amy'' is a 1997 American romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Kevin Smith and starring Ben Affleck, Joey Lauren Adams, and Jason Lee. The film is about a male comic artist (Affleck) who falls in love with a lesbian woma ...

''. Turner has cameos in both ''Chasing Amy'' and Smith's later film ''

Dogma Dogma is a belief or set of beliefs that is accepted by the members of a group without being questioned or doubted. It may be in the form of an official system of principles or doctrines of a religion, such as Roman Catholicism, Judaism, Islam ...

''. Smith also named

Joey Lauren Adams Joey Lauren Adams (born January 9, 1968) is an American actress and director. Adams starred in ''Chasing Amy'', for which she was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy, and played smaller role ...

' character in Smith's ''

Mallrats ''Mallrats'' is a 1995 American buddy comedy film written and directed by Kevin Smith and starring Jason Lee, Jeremy London, Shannen Doherty, Claire Forlani, Ben Affleck, Jason Mewes, Joey Lauren Adams, Michael Rooker, and Smith as Silent Bob. ...

'' after Turner. Another early film appearance was in

Cheryl Dunye Cheryl Dunye (; born May 13, 1966) is a Liberian-American film director, producer, screenwriter, editor and actress. Dunye's work often concerns themes of race, sexuality, and gender, particularly issues relating to black lesbians. She is known ...

's 1996 independent film ''

The Watermelon Woman ''The Watermelon Woman'' is a 1996 American romantic comedy-drama film written, directed, and edited by Cheryl Dunye. It stars Dunye as Cheryl, a young black lesbian working a day job in a video store while trying to make a film about a black act ...

''. Turner and ''

I Shot Andy Warhol ''I Shot Andy Warhol'' is a 1996 biographical drama film about the life of Valerie Solanas and her relationship with the artist Andy Warhol. The film marked the feature film directorial debut of Canadian director Mary Harron. The film stars Lil ...

'' director

Mary Harron Mary Harron (born January 12, 1953) is a Canadian filmmaker and screenwriter, and former entertainment critic. She gained recognition for her role in writing and directing several independent films, including ''I Shot Andy Warhol'' (1996), ''Ame ...

wrote the screenplay for the

film version A film adaptation is the transfer of a work or story, in whole or in part, to a feature film. Although often considered a type of derivative work, film adaptation has been conceptualized recently by academic scholars such as Robert Stam as a dia ...

Bret Easton Ellis Bret Easton Ellis (born March 7, 1964) is an American author, screenwriter, short-story writer, and director. Ellis was first regarded as one of the so-called literary Brat Pack and is a self-proclaimed satirist whose trademark technique, as a w ...

' ''

'', which Harron directed. Turner has a brief cameo in the film, in which she delivers the in-joke, "I'm not a

lesbian A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...

!". There is also a line about attending

Sarah Lawrence College Sarah Lawrence College is a Private university, private liberal arts college in Yonkers, New York. The college models its approach to education after the Supervision system, Oxford/Cambridge system of one-on-one student-faculty tutorials. Sara ...

, Turner's real-life alma mater. A writer and story editor for the first two seasons of ''

The L Word ''The L Word'' is a television drama that aired on Showtime from January 18, 2004 to March 8, 2009. The series follows the lives of a group of lesbian and bisexual women who live in West Hollywood, California. The premise originated with Ilene Ch ...

'', Turner also made several guest appearances on the show as

Alice Pieszecki Alice Elisabeth Pieszecki is a fictional bisexual character on the Showtime television network series ''The L Word'', and the sequel series ''L Word: Generation Q'', shown nationally in the United States. She is played by American actress Leis ...

's screenwriter ex-girlfriend, Gabby. In 2005, Turner wrote the script for ''

BloodRayne ''BloodRayne'' is a media franchise that originated with an action-adventure video game series originally developed by Terminal Reality and published by Majesco Entertainment which began with the game of the same name in 2002. The franchise ...

''. It was nominated for a

Golden Raspberry Award The Golden Raspberry Awards (also known as the Razzies and Razzie Awards) is a parody award show honoring the worst of cinematic under-achievements. Co-founded by UCLA film graduates and film industry veterans John J. B. Wilson and Mo Murphy, ...

for Worst Screenplay in 2006. In the documentary ''Tales from the Script'', she stated in an interview that director

Uwe Boll Uwe Boll (; born June 22, 1965) is a German filmmaker. He came to prominence during the 2000s for his adaptations of video game franchises which often starred international stars like Jason Statham, Burt Reynolds, Ray Liotta, Christian Slater, E ...

only used about 25% of her screenplay. In 2005, she co-wrote the script for ''

'' with Mary Harron, who directed the film. Turner and Harron collaborated again as screenwriter and director, respectively, on the 2018 film '' Charlie Says''. Turner's first foray into web television was the 2008 online drama series, ''FEED'', directed by Mel Robertson, launched on

AfterEllen.com AfterEllen (also known as AfterEllen.com) is an American culture website founded in 2002, with a focus on entertainment, interviews, reviews, and news of interest to the lesbian and bisexual women's community. The site covers pop culture and lifes ...

. In 2014 she appeared alongside

Nayo Wallace Nayo Kamilah Wallace is an American actress. She is best known for her roles on ''Speed Racer'' as Minx, scientist and girlfriend to Racer X and on the Hub Network's '' Care Bears: Welcome to Care-a-Lot'' as the voice of '' Harmony Bear'' from ...

Candis Cayne Candis Cayne (born August 29, 1971) is an American actress and performance artist. Cayne performed in New York City nightclubs in drag since the 1990s, and came out as transgender in 1996; Cayne came to national attention in 2007 for portraying ...

and

Cathy DeBuono Cathy DeBuono is an American actress and practicing psychotherapist. Biography DeBuono was born on March 20, 1970, in Yonkers, New York, and raised in Bronxville. In her teens and early 20s, DeBuono was an athlete, playing volleyball while a ...

in Jane Clark's horror comedy film '' Crazy Bitches''. Turner has directed several short films, such as ''The Hummer'' and ''Hung'', which have appeared in many international film festivals.

Personal life

Turner is openly lesbian.

Filmography

Film

*1994: ''

Go Fish Go Fish or Fish is a card game usually played by two to five players,
although it can be played wi ...

'' (writer, actress) *1996: ''

'' (actress) *1997: ''

'' (actress) *1997: '' Latin Boys Go to Hell'' (actress) *1997: '' Preaching to the Perverted'' (actress) *1998: ''

Dante's View Dante's View is a viewpoint terrace at height, on the north side of Coffin Peak, along the crest of the Black Mountains, overlooking Death Valley. Dante's View is about south of Furnace Creek in Death Valley National Park. Viewpoint From the ...

'' (actress) *1999: ''

'' (actress) *2000: ''

'' (writer, actress) *2001: ''

The Fluffer ''The Fluffer'', a 2001 American independent film, is a triangular story of obsessive love set against the backdrop of the adult video industry. The film was written by Wash West and co-directed by West and his husband Richard Glatzer.Gary M. Kr ...

'' (actress) *2001: ''Spare Me'' (short film, writer-director) *2002: ''

Pipe Dream Pipe dream may refer to: Music * ''Pipe Dream'' (John Williamson album), 1997, or the titular song * ''Pipedream'' (Alan Hull album), 1973 * ''Pipe Dreams'' (Murray Head album), 1995 * "Pipe Dreams" (Nelly Furtado song), 2016 * ''Pipe Dream ...

'' (actress) *2002: '' Stray Dogs'' (actress) *2004: ''Hummer'' (Short film, writer-director-actress) *2005: ''Dani and Alice'' (actress) *2005: ''

'' (writer) *2005: ''Hung'' (short film, writer-director-actress) *2005: ''

'' (writer) *2005: ''Beyond Lovely'' (short film, actress) *2006: ''A Lez in Wonderland'' (''Broute-minou à

Palm Springs Palm Springs (Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Riverside County by land ...

'') (short film, actress) *2007: ''

Itty Bitty Titty Committee ''Itty Bitty Titty Committee'' is a feminist lesbian comedy film directed by Jamie Babbit. It was released on September 28, 2007. It follows the political awakening of Anna, a young, mild-mannered lesbian A lesbian is a Homosexuality, h ...

'' (actress) *2008: ''Late'' (short film, writer-director) *2008: ''Little Mutinies'' (short film, actress) *2008: ''Quiet Please'' (short film, director) *2008: ''She Likes Girls 3'' (video, director) *2010: ''The Owls'' (short film, actress) *2012: ''

Breaking the Girls ''Breaking the Girls'' is a 2012 American crime thriller film directed by Jamie Babbit and starring Agnes Bruckner and Madeline Zima. Plot Two college women, Sara and Alex, make a twisted agreement after stress in their personal lives: they will ...

'' (writer) *2013: '' Who's Afraid of Vagina Wolf?'' (actress) *2014: '' Crazy Bitches'' (actress) *2016: '' Superpowerless'' (actress) *2017: ''Post-Apocalyptic Potluck'' (short film, writer-director) *2018: '' Charlie Says'' (writer) *2020: '' I Am Fear'' (actress) *2022: ''

Candy Land ''Candy Land'' (also ''Candyland'') is a simple racing board game published by Hasbro. The game requires no reading and minimal counting skills, making it suitable for young children. No strategy is involved as players are never required to ma ...

'' (actress) *TBA: ''Saint Clare'' (writer)

Television

*2004–2005: ''

'' (TV series, writer) *2016: ''Sugar'' (web series, director, episode: Chapter 5)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Turner, Guinevere Living people American film actresses American television actresses American television writers American women film directors American lesbian actresses Lesbian artists American lesbian writers LGBT film directors LGBT screenwriters American women television writers LGBT people from Massachusetts Screenwriters from Massachusetts Actresses from Boston Actresses from Massachusetts Writers from Boston Sarah Lawrence College alumni MacDowell Colony fellows Lambda Literary Award for Drama winners 21st-century American women Year of birth missing (living people)