Turner along with her younger sister, Kim, spent most of their childhood living in Cape Town, with their mother.

[3] Three months after her father's murder, the family fled to Britain due to threats of being banned.

Turner completed her education in Britain and the United States, graduating from Oxford University and Tisch School of the Arts.

[1] Turner then moved to Los Angeles, where she now lives with her two children, and directed episodes of The Big C, Emily Owens, M.D., The Carrie Diaries and 9-1-1.

Turner is also a novelist and has authored the novels Heartland, Southern Cross and Home Is Where You Find It.