Biography

Sally Field

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Overview

Born
November 6, 1946 · Pasadena, California, USA
Birth name
Sally Margaret Field
Height
5′ 2″ (1.57 m)

Mini bio

Sally Margaret Field was born November 6, 1946 in Pasadena, California, to actress Margaret Field (née Morlan) and salesman Richard Dryden Field. Her parents divorced in 1950 and her mother then married stuntman Jock Mahoney, and they had a daughter, Princess O'Mahoney. She also has a brother, Richard Field. Sally attended Birmingham High School in Van Nuys, California.

Her acting career began in 1965, when she landed the role of Frances Elizabeth 'Gidget' Lawrence in Gidget (1965); it was canceled after only one season because of bad ratings. She went on to star in The Flying Nun (1967), which ran for three seasons. She also appeared in her first film in 1967, The Way West (1967) opposite Kirk Douglas. In the next few years she appeared in numerous TV movies and TV shows such as Maybe I'll Come Home in the Spring (1971), Marriage: Year One (1971), The Girl with Something Extra (1973), and Sybil (1976). In 1977 she starred alongside then-boyfriend Burt Reynolds in the box office hit Smokey and the Bandit (1977), which led to a less successful sequel in 1980. In 1979 she starred in the popular film Norma Rae (1979) and she received her first Oscar for that role.

In the years that followed she starred in films such as Absence of Malice (1981), Kiss Me Goodbye (1982), Places in the Heart (1984) (she received her second Oscar for her role), Murphy's Romance (1985), Punchline (1988) and Steel Magnolias (1989). In 1993 she starred alongside Robin Williams and Pierce Brosnan in the popular comedy Mrs. Doubtfire (1993). A year after, she played the role of Tom Hanks character's mother (even though she's only ten years older than he is in real life) in Forrest Gump (1994). The film was a huge commercial success and won six Academy awards.

Since then she has appeared in TV movies and miniseries such as A Woman of Independent Means (1995), Merry Christmas, George Bailey (1997), From the Earth to the Moon (1998) and David Copperfield (2000). In 2000 she appeared in the film Where the Heart Is (2000) with Natalie Portman and Ashley Judd, and in 2003 she starred alongside Reese Witherspoon in Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde (2003). She also appeared in 12 episodes of ER (1994) from 2000 to 2006. From 2006 to 2011, she played the role of matriarch Nora Walker in the hit television show Brothers & Sisters (2006), which earned her an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series. Getting back into film, she earned her third Oscar nomination for Lincoln (2012) and played Aunt May in The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) and its blockbuster sequel.

Sally has been married twice, first to Steven Craig from 1968 to 1973. They had two sons together, Peter Craig and Eli Craig. Her second marriage was to film producer Alan Greisman from 1984 to 1994. They had one son together, Samuel Greisman. Between marriages, from 1976 to 1980, she was in a relationship with Burt Reynolds.
- IMDb mini biography by: A.G.

Family

Spouses
Children
Parents
Relatives

Trademarks

Strong-willed mothers who try to make a better life for their children
Natural brunette hair

Trivia

Dated Burt Reynolds for 4 years, but she refused his marriage proposals and eventually they broke up. He still (2018) says she's the love of his life.
While filming the scene in Norma Rae (1979) where she is dragged out to the police car, she struggled and kicked so hard that she broke the rib of one of the men playing a police officer.
In 1988, she survived the crash of her private airplane with no injuries. The plane lost power on take-off and skidded into some parked airplanes on the tarmac.
Considers her on-screen kiss with James Garner as the best kiss she ever had.
In Punchline (1988), she plays Tom Hanks' love interest. In Forrest Gump (1994), they play mother and son.

Quotes

My agent said, "You aren't good enough for movies." I said, "You're fired."
When I was born, the doctor looked at my mother and said, "Congratulations, you have an actor!"
[upon accepting her 1985 Best Actress Oscar] This means so much more to me this time, I don't know why. I think the first time I hardly felt it because it was all too new. But I want to say "Thank you" to you. I haven't had an orthodox career. And I've wanted more than anything to have your respect. The first time I didn't feel it. But this time I feel it. And I can't deny the fact that you like me . . . right now . . . you like me. Thank you.
My country is still so repressed. Our idea of what is sexual is blonde hair, long legs, 22 years old. It has nothing to do with humour, intelligence, warmth, everything to do with teeth and cleavage.
Norma Rae (1979) is inspirational because it's the type of film where one person can be heard.