Janine Turner (born Janine Loraine Gauntt; December 6, 1962) is an American actress best known for her roles as Maggie O'Connell in the television series Northern Exposure, as Jessie Deighan in the feature film Cliffhanger, and as Katie McCoy in Friday Night Lights.

She continued to make guest appearances on television shows throughout the 1980s before landing the role of Laura Templeton on General Hospital.

Disregarding her agent's advice, Turner moved to New York in order to hone her craft, studying in Manhattan with Marcia Haufrecht of the Actors Studio.

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.

"[5] After her breakthrough in Northern Exposure, Turner appeared in the action film Cliffhanger opposite Sylvester Stallone.

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.

[6] Turner is the author of four books, Holding Her Head High: Inspiration from 12 Single Mothers Who Championed Their Children and Changed History,[6]A Little Bit Vulnerable: On Hollywood, God, Sobriety, & Politics, Wisdom For Each Day: Inherited From My Great Grandfather, and Artificial Intelligentsia Vs. Primal Sense.

[9] Turner has written a petition, "The Truth Act"[10] – and corresponding white paper, "Long and Little Known: How Incoherent Statutes Harm Liberty & the Rule of Law".

[11] Turner was once engaged to Alec Baldwin and also dated Troy Aikman, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Mark Grace and Sylvester Stallone.