Sally Field

Actor

Sally Field has twice won Best Actress Oscars: for Norma Rae (1979) and for Places In the Heart (1984, with John Malkovich). Despite these heavyweight credits, she has never quite shaken the spunky-but-naive persona she established in the 1960s TV series Gidget and The Flying Nun (in which she played a young novice whose outfit absurdly gave her the ability to fly). She expanded her range in the 1970s, appearing with Jeff Bridges in the drama Stay Hungry (1976, with Arnold Schwarzenegger) and getting raves for her performance as a young woman with multiple personality disorder in the TV movie Sybil (1976). Her success in the 1980s allowed her to produce movies, including Steel Magnolias (1989) and Dying Young (1991), both starring Julia Roberts. In the late '90s Field was still appearing in the movies and spending time behind the camera, directing two TV movies and the theatrical release of Beautiful (2000). She also found work in television, including a recurring role on E.R. and a short-lived series, The Court (2002). Fields joined the cast of the TV drama series Brothers & Sisters in 2006, (along with Calista Flockhart and Rob Lowe) and earned an Emmy for best actress in a dramatic series.

Sally's response to winning her second Oscar for Places in the Heart is now the stuff of pop legend. Read about it in our loop Oscar Night Gaffes.