Kathleen Sue Spielberg (''

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth ...

'' Nail; born November 3, 1953), known professionally as Kate Capshaw, is an American retired actress. She is best known for her portrayal of Willie Scott, an American nightclub singer and performer in ''

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom ''Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom'' is a 1984 American action-adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg. It is the second installment in the ''Indiana Jones'' franchise, and a prequel to the 1981 film '' Raiders of the Lost Ark'', f ...

'' (1984), directed by eventual husband

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Spi ...

. Since then, she starred in '' Dreamscape'' (1984), '' Power'' (1986), '' SpaceCamp'' (1986), '' Black Rain'' (1989), '' Love Affair'' (1994), ''

Just Cause Just Cause may refer to: * Just cause (employment law), a common standard in United States labor arbitration, and a reason for termination of employment. * ''Just Cause'' (film), a 1995 legal thriller starring Sean Connery * ''Just Cause'' (TV se ...

'' (1995), and '' The Love Letter'' (1999). Her portraiture work has been shown in the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery.

Early life

Capshaw was born Kathleen Sue Nail in

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is the List of cities in Texas by population, fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the List of United States cities by population, 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, T ...

, the daughter of Beverley Sue (

Simon), a travel agent and beautician, and Edwin Leon Nail, an airline employee. She moved to St. Louis, Missouri, at the age of five, and graduated from Hazelwood Senior High School in 1972. Capshaw earned a degree in education from the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus University of Missouri System. MU was founded ...

, where she was a member of Alpha Delta Pi. She taught Special Education at Southern Boone High School in Ashland, Missouri, and Rock Bridge High School in Columbia, Missouri. She married marketing manager Robert Capshaw in January 1976 and they had one child, Jessica Capshaw, before eventually divorcing in 1980. However, 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 A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

'' 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''. She met film director and future husband

upon winning the female lead as Willie Scott in ''

'' (1984), a

prequel A prequel is a literary, dramatic or cinematic work whose story precedes that of a previous work, by focusing on events that occur before the original narrative. A prequel is a work that forms part of a backstory to the preceding work. The term ...

to Spielberg's '' Raiders of the Lost Ark'' (1981). Capshaw starred opposite

Harrison Ford Harrison Ford (born July 13, 1942) is an American actor. His films have grossed more than $5.4billion in North America and more than $9.3billion worldwide, making him the seventh-highest-grossing actor in North America. He is the recipient o ...

, 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 Richard Tiffany Gere ( ; born August 31, 1949) is an American actor. He began in films in the 1970s, playing a supporting role in '' Looking for Mr. Goodbar'' (1977) and a starring role in '' Days of Heaven'' (1978). He came to prominence with ...

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 ''

'' (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, she starred in the Showtime Cable Network TV Movie ''A Girl Thing'', with

Stockard Channing Stockard Channing (born Susan Antonia Williams Stockard; February 13, 1944) is an American actress. She is known for playing Betty Rizzo in the film '' Grease'' (1978) and First Lady Abbey Bartlet in the NBC television series '' The West Wing' ...

Rebecca De Mornay Rebecca De Mornay (born Rebecca Jane Pearch; August 29, 1959) is an American actress and producer. Her breakthrough film role came in 1983, when she starred as Lana in ''Risky Business''. She is known for her role as Debby Huston in the Neil S ...

and Elle Macpherson. She retired from acting after her final screen appearance in the 2001 TV movie, ''Due East''.

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 Conversion to Judaism ( he, גיור, ''giyur'') is the process by which non-Jews adopt the Jewish religion and become members of the Jewish ethnoreligious community. It thus resembles both conversion to other religions and naturalization. ...

before marrying Spielberg on October 12, 1991. The two 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 Theo is a given name and a hypocorism. Greek origin Many names beginning with the root "Theo-" derive from the Ancient Greek word ''theos'' (''θεός''), which means god, for example: *Feminine names: Thea, Theodora, Theodosia, Theophania, ...

– son adopted by Capshaw before her marriage to Spielberg, who later also adopted him * Sasha Rebecca Spielberg *Sawyer Avery Spielberg *Mikaela George – adopted with Steven Spielberg *Destry Allyn Spielberg Capshaw endorsed Democratic U.S. President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...

for re-election in 2012. Capshaw has severe

ophidiophobia Ophidiophobia (or ophiophobia) is a particular type of specific phobia, the irrational fear of snakes. It is sometimes called by a more general term, herpetophobia, fear of reptiles. The word comes from the Greek words "ophis" (), snake, and "phobi ...

, which she discovered on the set of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and led to a scene with her and a snake being cut from the movie by Steven Spielberg.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Capshaw, Kate 21st-century American actresses 20th-century American actresses Actresses from St. Louis Actresses from Texas American feminists American film actresses American soap opera actresses American television actresses Converts to Judaism from Protestantism Jewish American actresses Living people People from Fort Worth, Texas University of Missouri alumni Family of Steven Spielberg 1953 births