Kate Capshaw

Acting

Kate Capshaw

Born 1953-11-03 · Fort Worth, Texas, USA

Kathleen Sue Spielberg (born November 3, 1953), known professionally as Kate Capshaw, is an American actress and painter with a multifaceted career that traverses action-adventure classics, heartwarming comedies, and artistic pursuits. Born in Texas, Capshaw embarked on an unexpected path: initially, she pursued a career in education, earning a Master's degree in Learning Disabilities and teaching special education. However, her artistic heart yearned for a different stage. Driven by this passion, she moved to New York and delved into acting, landing a role in the soap opera "The Edge of Night." Fate and Hollywood intervened in 1984 when Capshaw, after beating out 120 actresses, landed the pivotal role of Willie Scott in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. This action-adventure blockbuster, directed by Steven Spielberg, not only catapulted her to international fame but also sparked a personal connection that led to their marriage in 1991. Capshaw's career thrived in the 80s and 90s, showcasing her dramatic and comedic chops in films like Dreamscape, Black Rain, Love Affair, and Just Cause. She explored lighter roles in SpaceCamp and The Love Letter, proving her versatility. Beyond acting, Capshaw is a devoted mother to seven children, including actress Jessica Capshaw, and co-parent to adopted children with Spielberg. She has actively supported various charities, highlighting her dedication to humanitarian causes.

Acting credits

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom poster
7.3

After arriving in India, Indiana Jones is asked by a desperate village to find a mystical stone. He agrees – and stumbles upon a secret cult plotting a terrible plan in the catacombs of an ancient palace.

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

1984

Black Rain poster
6.6

Two New York cops get involved in a gang war between members of the Yakuza, the Japanese Mafia. They arrest one of their killers and are ordered to escort him back to Japan. However, in Japan he manages to escape, and as they try to track him down, they get deeper and deeper into the Japanese Mafia scene and they have to learn that they can only win by playing the game—the Japanese way.

Black Rain

1989

Marty, Life Is Short poster
7.9

Martin Short looks back on a life fueled by joy in this documentary with classic clips, fresh interviews and star-studded, never-before-seen home movies.

Marty, Life Is Short

2026

SNL50: The Homecoming Concert poster
6.8

Live from Radio City Music Hall, witness the concert of a lifetime with a star-studded lineup bringing together legendary Saturday Night Live hall-of-famers, iconic guests and surprise musical performances.

SNL50: The Homecoming Concert

2025

Music by John Williams poster
8.0

His unforgettable scores are an essential part of some of the most beloved movies of our time, over a career that spans decades. See and hear maestro John Williams' own story, with insights from filmmakers, musicians, and others he has inspired, complete with rare behind-the-scenes looks at the making of movie history.

Music by John Williams

2024

Timeless Heroes: Indiana Jones and Harrison Ford poster
7.7

An in-depth look at an incredible moment in film history when Steven Spielberg and George Lucas assembled an amazing creative team to collaborate on another cinematic benchmark featuring never-before-seen footage and interviews with Spielberg, Lucas, Harrison Ford, Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall, James Mangold, and many others as well.

Timeless Heroes: Indiana Jones and Harrison Ford

2023

Just Cause poster
6.3

A Harvard professor is lured back into the courtroom after twenty-five years to take the case of a young black man condemned to death for the horrific murder of a child.

Just Cause

1995

Dreamscape poster
6.1

In order to diagnose the psychic traumas suffered by his patients, Dr. Paul Novotny gets young Alex Gardner to enter their dreams.

Dreamscape

1984

Best Defense poster
4.3

An engineer fails to get the bugs out of a tank before an Army officer has to use it in Kuwait.

Best Defense

1984

The Quick and the Dead poster
6.4

In 1876 Wyoming, the gun is the only law. And for Duncan and Suzanna McKaskel, newly arrived settlers beset by outlaws, rugged frontiersman Con Vallian is the only hope.

The Quick and the Dead

1987

Love Affair poster
5.5

Ex-football star Mike Gambril meets Terry McKay on a flight to Sydney, which is forced to land on a small atoll. They become romantic on board a ship sent to take them to a larger island. They agree to meet in New York three months later to see if the attraction is real. One shows up but the other doesn't. However, a chance meeting brings them together again.

Love Affair

1994

How to Make an American Quilt poster
6.4

Soon-to-be-wed graduate student Finn Dodd develops cold feet when she suspects her fiancé is cheating on her. In order to clear her head, Finn visits her grandmother, Hy, and great aunt, Glady Joe Cleary, in Grasse, Calif. There, Finn learns that Hy and Glady Joe are members of a group of passionate quilters, and over the course of her visit she is regaled with tales of love and life by women who have collected rich experiences and much wisdom.

How to Make an American Quilt

1995

Indiana Jones: The Search for the Lost Golden Age poster
7.8

Hawaii, May 1977. After the success of Star Wars, George Lucas and Steven Spielberg meet to find a new project to work on together, the former as producer, the latter as director. The story of how the charismatic archaeologist Indiana Jones was born and how his first adventure, released in 1981, triumphed at box offices around the world.

Indiana Jones: The Search for the Lost Golden Age

2021

The Love Letter poster
5.2

In the sleepy New England town of Loblolly By The Sea, a letter has arrived that is going to wake things up. It is a love letter - ardent, sensual... and unsigned. As the letter falls into different hands, residents of the small town to eye one another with renewed interest - wondering who it's for and who it's from. Determined to find the letter's author, Helen MacFarquhar begins a quest that will open her life to a new chapter involving two decidedly different men: George, an old friend from her past, and Johnny, a young man very much in her present. Unexpectedly, one mysterious love note has the power to unlock some startling secrets, leaving a trail of wonderful surprises as it turns an entire town upside down.

The Love Letter

1999

Power poster
5.9

Pete St. John is a powerful and successful political consultant, with clients spread around the country. When his long-time friend and client Ohio senator Sam Hastings decides to quit politics, he is rapidly drafted to help with the campaign of the man destined to succeed him, unknown and mysterious businessman Jerome Cade...

Power

1986

SpaceCamp poster
5.9

Andie Bergstrom, an astronaut eagerly awaiting her first trip to space, runs a summer camp for teenagers with her NASA-employed husband, Zach. One night during an engine test, Andie and four teenage campers are accidentally shot into space. Together, the group -- which includes Kathryn, a pilot-in-training, and Tish, a ditz with a perfect memory -- must work together to operate the spacecraft and return home.

SpaceCamp

1986

The Alarmist poster
4.5

Young Tommy Hudler decides to become a security systems salesman, and is an instant success. Everything seems to be going great until he discovers there's more to this business and his boss Heinrich than he previously suspected.

The Alarmist

1998

Everything Is Copy poster
7.4

A candid portrait of writer/director Nora Ephron, directed by her son, journalist Jacob Bernstein.

Everything Is Copy

2015

A Little Sex poster
3.6

Michael and Katherine have enjoyed a long relationship together even before they tie the knot. But Michael does not hide the fact he's a womanizer and sex addict, cheating on Katherine during their pre-married relationship. Because Katherine is genuinely in love with him, she is willing to overlook this and believes that perhaps marriage will change things.

A Little Sex

1982

The Making of 'Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom' poster
7.6

A documentary following the various stages in the production of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984).

The Making of 'Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom'

1984

Black Rain: Making The Film poster
7.3

A documentary on the making of the film, Black Rain, which actually encompasses 4 parts, Production, Filming, The Script and Cast, Post-Production

Black Rain: Making The Film

2006

Indiana Jones: Making the Trilogy poster
7.9

George Lucas and Steven Spielberg tell the struggles and the passion for making the Indiana Jones Trilogy.

Indiana Jones: Making the Trilogy

2003

Love at Large poster
5.0

Inept private investigator Harry Dobbs meets vampish new client Miss Dolan, who wants him to follow her abusive lover. But Dobbs sets about tailing a different person entirely – a mysterious character leading a double life. Harry, however, discovers that he himself is being followed by a distaff gumshoe.

Love at Large

1990

Internal Affairs poster
8.0

A skilled police detective in a case involving the strange, sadistic murder of a young prostitute who has been killed in exactly the same fashion as a young nightclub singer in Saigon during the Vietnam War. At the same time, the detective attempts to ferret out corruption in the police ranks.

Internal Affairs

1988