Lincoln, Places in the Heart, Norma Rae
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$55 Million
"When I was born, the doctor looked at my mother and said, 'Congratulations! You have an actor!" From Forrest Gump and The Amazing Spider-Man to Sybil, Sally Field is one of the most flexible actors of our lifetime. Field has more awards than she knows what to do with and her work only continues to improve.
As a child-star-turned-celebrated actor, Field has lived a fascinating life. She overcame a rough childhood and a new-career crisis in order to become one of the most well-liked entertainers in the world. Capable of nailing medical dramas, comedies, and emotionally wrought dramas all in equal measure, Field is the type of performer that everyone wants to become.
Early Life
Sally Field was born on November 6, 1946, in Pasadena, CA. Her mother is Margaret Field, a former actress, and her father is Richard Dryden Field, a former officer in the United States army. Only four years after Field was born, her parents would end up getting divorced.
Margaret would quickly move on to start dating a stuntman named Jock Mahoney, whom Field has alleged to have heinously mistreated her during her childhood. Mahoney was possessed of a bad temper, and he demanded obedience from the entire household, frequently fighting with everyone inside of it. Instead of letting her tough home life crush her, Field turned to her life at school as an escape. Field says of the drama department at Birmingham High School, "It just kind of saved me."
During her childhood, Sally would attend Portola Middle School in Van Nuys before going onto Birmingham High School. During high school, Sally was a cheerleader and a drama kid with an affinity for the stage. She went to school with Michael Ovitz, Cindy Williams, and Michael Milken, who are all prominent professionals in their chosen fields, no pun intended.
Due to her mother's career, it only seemed natural that Sally would pursue a career in the arts. Surprising almost nobody, Field began pursuing an acting career as a child. Her early love for the theater combined with her use of the work as an escape from daily life would drive Sally to become the best possible performer that she could be.
A Historic Career Is Born
Field began acting at a professional level when she was only nine-ears-old. Sally would be cast in the sitcom, Gidget (1965) as a surfer girl who was all-in on finding love. Despite her work in the program, Gidget would end up in the can after a single season. Eventually, re-runs would pull ratings up while simultaneously developing Sally's career. ABC saw that Sally had a ton of potential, and they wanted to get her back on television as soon as possible.
With ABC at her back, Sally would end up starring in The Flying Nun (1967) as Sister Bertrille. The show would get three seasons as well as a DVD release. Despite the success of the show, Field had numerous problems with how the project operated. Field hated how she was treated on set because she felt that she wasn't given any respect. It later came out that Sally only took the role because her stepfather demanded that she do the job. According to Sally, Mahoney had told her that passing on the part would mean that she "may never work again." Conversely, Sally said that she loved working on Gidget.
Due to the nature of her early work, Sally ended up being typecast, and she would go years before breaking free from those chains. During this period of her life, Sally was genuinely afraid that she would never be considered a serious performer. Around this point in her life, she and her high school sweetheart-turned-hubby would welcome their first child, Peter Craig. A few years later, Eli Craig would be born. Her relationship with Steven Craig would slowly deteriorate and the two would get divorced in 1975.
In order to try to turn her career around, Field would go on to study at the Actors Studio along with the legendary teacher, Lee Strasberg. Strasberg helped Sally work through her image issues while simultaneously sharpening her talents for future work. The brief respite gave Sally time to come back to herself while also closing the door on her marriage with Steven Craig. After taking some time off, Sally would jump right back into the industry by landing a titular role in the film, Sybil (1976). Field would win the Emmy Award for Best Dramatic Actress in 1977 for her work. Needless to say, Sally Field was here to stay.
With an Emmy Award on her resume, Sally was suddenly a hotter commodity than ever. Rather than spending time typecast in middling projects, she was starting to get cast opposite some of the biggest names of the era. In 1977 alone, Sally worked with Burt Reynolds, Jerry Reed, and Jackie Gleason on the #2 highest-earning film of the year, Smokie and the Bandit. Sally and Burt would grow close to one another on set and the two would begin to date. Their relationship would last just three years. Burt and Sally would share the screen in an additional three films.
In 1984, Field made it to the big leagues with another Oscar win for her work in Places in the Heart. Field is remembered more for her speech than her work in the film. During her Oscar acceptance speech, Field famously gushed, "I can't deny the fact that you like me, right now, you like me!" While Field was actually quoting a line from her work in Norma Rae, which she had also earned an Academy Award for in 1979. The audience missed the connection and the moment was made all the more special for it. Nowadays, Field's speech is considered one of the greatest acceptance speeches in Oscar history.
While Field has spent much of her life working in serious projects, she has never been afraid to flex her silly side. Field starred in the comedy Mrs. Doubtfire (1993) alongside Robin Williams. She also had a large role in the Academy Award-winning film, Tom Hanks (1994). Much of Field's work on the silver screen has been righteously praised, but she has also found success on the small screen, as well. Field would win an Emmy Award for her work on Brothers & Sisters, and she would also score a long-running role in ER.
Despite slowing down in the later years of her career, Field has never allowed the quality of her work to dip. She appeared in both The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) and The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014) as Aunt May. Field also was nominated for an Academy Award for her work in the 2012 biopic, Lincoln where she starred as Mary Todd Lincoln.
Most recently, Field starred in the hit Netflix series Maniac (2018) and she is slated to appear in the new TV series, Dispatches from Elsewhere (2020). Outside of her work in entertainment, Field is an activist for the Rally With Sally for Bone Health campaign in support of osteoporosis treatment. Field has also served on the board of the Vital Voices Global Partnership which is an advocacy group for women's rights all around the globe. Field is also a vocal supporter of gay rights and her youngest son, Sam, is an openly gay man.
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