Field, Sally (1946-…), is an actress who moved from perky roles in television comedies to serious roles in motion pictures. Field won the 1979 and 1984 Academy Awards as best actress for her performances in Norma Rae (1979) and Places in the Heart (1984).
Sally Margaret Field was born in Pasadena, California, on Nov. 6, 1946. She gained her first recognition playing a pert teen-ager in the television series “Gidget” (1965-1966) and a bubbly young nun in “The Flying Nun” (1967-1970). She also appeared in the series “Alias Smith and Jones” (1971-1973), “The Girl with Something Extra” (1973-1974), and “Brothers & Sisters,” for which she won an Emmy Award for best actress in 2007.
While she was appearing on television, Field also built her movie career, starting with The Way West (1967). She won praise as a serious actress with her portrayal of a mentally disturbed woman with multiple personalities in the television movie Sybil (1976). Field’s other films includeSmokey and the Bandit (1977); Hooper (1978); Absence of Malice (1981); Murphy’s Romance (1985); Punchline (1988); Steel Magnolias (1989); Soapdish (1991); Mrs. Doubtfire (1993); Forrest Gump (1994); The Amazing Spider-Man and its sequel, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014); Lincoln (2012), in which she portrayed First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln; and Hello, My Name Is Doris (2015). Field wrote the memoir In Pieces (2018).
