Kate Capshaw

Kathleen Sue Spielberg (née Nail; born November 3, 1953),^[1] known professionally as Kate Capshaw, is an American former actress and painter. She is best known for her portrayal of Willie Scott, an American nightclub singer and performer in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984), directed by her eventual husband Steven Spielberg. Since then, she starred in Dreamscape (1984), Power (1986), SpaceCamp (1986), Black Rain (1989), Love Affair (1994), Just Cause (1995), The Locusts (1997), and The Love Letter (1999). Her portraiture work has been shown in the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery and the Pérez Art Museum Miami.^[2][3][4]

Kate Capshaw
Capshaw in January 1984
Born	Kathleen Sue Nail (1953-11-03) November 3, 1953 (age 71) Fort Worth, Texas, U.S.
Alma mater	University of Missouri
Occupations	Actress producer painter
Years active	1981–2001
Spouses	Robert Capshaw ​ ​ (m. 1976; div. 1980)​ Steven Spielberg ​ (m. 1991)​
Children	6, including Jessica, Destry, and Sasha
Relatives	Arnold Spielberg (father-in-law)

Early life

Capshaw was born Kathleen Sue Nail, the daughter of Edwin L. Nail, an airline employee.^[5]

She married marketing manager Robert Capshaw in January 1976 and they had one child, Jessica Capshaw, before divorcing in 1980.^[6] She kept the surname Capshaw, which she used for her professional name upon becoming an actress.

Career

Capshaw in June 1984

Capshaw moved to New York City to pursue her dream of acting, landing her first role on the soap opera 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.^[7]

She met film director and future husband Steven Spielberg upon winning the female lead as Willie Scott in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984), a prequel to Spielberg's Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981). Capshaw starred opposite Harrison Ford, 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 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.^[8]

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 Just Cause (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 made-for-cable film A Girl Thing,^[9] with Stockard Channing, Rebecca De Mornay and Elle Macpherson.^[10] It is her last acting role to date.

Painting practice

In 2009, Capshaw began her art studies—drawing, painting, and portraiture. She turned her interest to portraits of young people experiencing homelessness. In March 2019, three of these portraits were selected as finalists in the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery's prestigious juried triennial: the Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition. Following their selection, the portraits debuted in the exhibition The Outwin 2019: American Portraiture Today.^[11][12]

Her solo presentation Kate Capshaw: Exclusive Tonsorial Services at the Pérez Art Museum Miami, Florida, in 2024, derives from conversations with Miami Dade community leader Sergei (Sirj) Grant, a barber and entrepreneur, working towards financial education and justice for the local youth.^[13]

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 before marrying Spielberg on October 12, 1991.^[14][15] They were married in both a civil ceremony and an Orthodox ceremony.^[16]

There are 7 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 – son adopted by Capshaw before her marriage to Spielberg, who later also adopted him^[17]
• Sasha Rebecca Spielberg
• Sawyer Spielberg
• Mikaela George Spielberg – adopted with Steven Spielberg^[18]
• Destry Spielberg^[19]

On April 28, 2023, Capshaw along with Michelle Obama made a surprise appearance on stage during Bruce Springsteen's show in Barcelona where they provided backing vocals and tambourine on the song "Glory Days".^[20]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Note
1982	A Little Sex	Katherine Harrison
1984	Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom	Willie Scott
1984	Best Defense	Laura Cooper
1984	Dreamscape	Jane DeVries
1984	Windy City	Emily Reubens
1986	Power	Sydney Betterman
1986	SpaceCamp	Andie Bergstrom
1987	The Quick and the Dead	Susanna McKaskel
1988	Private Affairs	Brunetta
1989	Black Rain	Joyce
1990	Love at Large	Mrs. Ellen McGraw
1991	My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys	Jolie Meadows
1994	Love Affair	Lynn Weaver
1995	Just Cause	Laurie Prentiss Armstrong
1995	How to Make an American Quilt	Sally Dodd
1997	The Locusts	Delilah Ashford Potts
1997	The Alarmist	Gale Ancona
1999	The Love Letter	Helen MacFarquhar	Also producer

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1981	The Edge of Night	Jinx Avery Mallory #1	TV series
1982	Missing Children: A Mother's Story	Elaine Rogers	TV film
1987	The Quick and the Dead	Susanna McKaskel	TV film
1987	Her Secret Life	Annie	TV film
1988	Internal Affairs	Joanna Gates	TV film
1993	Black Tie Affair	Margo Cody	TV series; 13 episodes
1994	Next Door	Karen Coler	TV film
1996	Duke of Groove	Rebecka	Short film
2001	A Girl Thing	Casey Montgomery	TV film
2001	Due East	Becky Purdue	TV film