Sissy Spacek facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Sissy Spacek
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![]() Spacek in 2010
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Born |
Mary Elizabeth Spacek
December 25, 1949 Quitman, Texas, U.S.
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Alma mater | Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute |
Occupation |
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Years active | 1968–present |
Spouse(s) | |
Children | 2, including Schuyler Fisk |
Sissy Spacek is a famous American actress, born on Christmas Day, December 25, 1949. She has won many important awards, including an Academy Award (also known as an Oscar) and three Golden Globe Awards. In 2011, she received a special star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Sissy Spacek became well-known after starring in the crime film Badlands (1973). She later won an Oscar for her amazing role as country singer Loretta Lynn in the movie Coal Miner's Daughter (1980). She was also nominated for Oscars for her roles in Carrie (1976), Missing (1982), The River (1984), Crimes of the Heart (1986), and In the Bedroom (2001).
Besides movies, Sissy Spacek has also starred in many TV shows. She was in the Netflix series Bloodline (2015–2017) and the Hulu series Castle Rock (2018). She also appeared in the Amazon Prime Video series Homecoming (2018).
Sissy Spacek is also a talented singer. She sang songs for the Coal Miner's Daughter movie soundtrack. This album became very popular and earned her a Grammy Award nomination. She also released her own music album called Hangin' Up My Heart in 1983.
Contents
Early Life and Dreams
Sissy Spacek was born Mary Elizabeth Spacek in Quitman, Texas. Her father was an agricultural agent. Her family has roots from Czech and German backgrounds. Her mother was of English and Irish descent.
When she was six years old, Sissy performed on stage for the first time in a local talent show. Her brothers always called her "Sissy," which became her famous nickname. She went to Quitman High School.
A very sad event happened in Sissy's life when her 18-year-old brother, Robbie, passed away from leukemia in 1967. Sissy has said this was the most important event of her life. She believes it made her brave and fearless in her acting career. She felt that if she could get through such a big tragedy, nothing else would scare her.
Sissy first wanted to be a singer. She even recorded a song in 1968 under the name Rainbo. But when her music didn't sell well, she decided to try acting. She then joined the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute to learn more about acting.
Acting Career Highlights
Starting Out in Movies
After deciding to focus on acting, Sissy Spacek worked as a model. She also appeared as an extra in a film by Andy Warhol. With help from her cousin, actor Rip Torn, she studied acting in New York.
Her big break came in 1973 with the movie Badlands. This role led to more TV work, including two guest appearances on The Waltons. Sissy has called Badlands the "most incredible" experience of her career. Critics praised her performance. On the set of Badlands, she met Jack Fisk, an art director, whom she married in 1974.
Becoming a Film Star
Sissy Spacek's most famous early role was in the 1976 film Carrie. She played Carrie White, a shy high school student with special powers. Sissy worked hard to get this part. She even showed up to the audition looking messy to fit the character. Her performance was highly praised and earned her an Academy Award for Best Actress nomination.
After Carrie, Sissy continued to impress critics. She starred in 3 Women (1977), where she played a mysterious character. The director, Robert Altman, was very impressed, calling her "one of the top actresses I've ever worked with."
The 1980s started with a huge success for Sissy Spacek. She won an Oscar for her role as country music legend Loretta Lynn in Coal Miner's Daughter (1980). Loretta Lynn herself chose Sissy for the part! Sissy and Beverly D'Angelo, who played Patsy Cline, sang all their own songs in the movie. Critics loved her performance, saying she could look any age on screen. Sissy also received a Grammy Award nomination for the film's soundtrack. She then released her own country album, Hangin' Up My Heart, which had a hit song called "Lonely But Only For You."
Continued Success
Sissy Spacek continued to star in many important films. She was in the political thriller Missing (1982) with Jack Lemmon. She also appeared with Mel Gibson in The River (1984). In Crimes Of The Heart (1986), she starred alongside Diane Keaton and Jessica Lange. She received Oscar nominations for all these roles. She also showed her funny side by voicing a brain in the comedy The Man with Two Brains (1983).
In the 1990s, Sissy had a supporting role in Oliver Stone's JFK (1991). She also appeared in comedies and TV movies. She played Rose Straight in David Lynch's The Straight Story (1999).
The 2000s began with more praise for Sissy Spacek. She starred as Ruth Fowler in In the Bedroom (2001), playing a mother dealing with a difficult situation. Critics called her performance "devastating" and "one of Ms. Spacek's greatest." This role earned her a sixth Oscar nomination for Best Actress.
Expanding Her Roles
In 2002, Sissy Spacek was in the live-action Disney film Tuck Everlasting. That same year, she was nominated for an Primetime Emmy Award for her role as Zelda Fitzgerald in the TV movie Last Call. She also narrated the audiobook for Stephen King's Carrie in 2005 and Harper Lee's famous novel To Kill a Mockingbird in 2006.
In 2011, Sissy Spacek received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She also acted in The Help (2011), which won an award for its cast.
Sissy Spacek has appeared in films nominated for the Best Picture Oscar in four different decades. These include Coal Miner's Daughter (1980), Missing (1982), JFK (1991), In the Bedroom (2001), and The Help (2011).
More recently, she co-starred with Robert Redford in The Old Man & the Gun (2018). She also had main roles in several TV series, like Bloodline, Castle Rock, and Homecoming. In 2022, she acted alongside J.K. Simmons in the science-fiction series Night Sky.
Personal Life
Sissy Spacek married production designer and art director Jack Fisk in 1974. They met while working on the movie Badlands. They have two daughters: Schuyler Fisk, born in 1982, and Madison Fisk, born in 1988. Schuyler has followed her mother's path as both an actress and a singer. In 1982, Sissy and her family moved to a farm near Charlottesville, Virginia.
Filmography
Film Roles
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
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1972 | Prime Cut | Poppy | Film debut |
1973 | Badlands | Holly Sargis | |
1974 | Ginger in the Morning | Ginger | |
1976 | Carrie | Carrie White | |
Welcome to L.A. | Linda Murray | ||
1977 | 3 Women | Pinky Rose | |
1980 | Coal Miner's Daughter | Loretta Lynn | |
Heart Beat | Carolyn Cassady | ||
1981 | Raggedy Man | Nita Longley | |
1982 | Missing | Beth Horman | |
1983 | The Man with Two Brains | Anne Uumellmahaye (voice) | Uncredited |
1984 | The River | Mae Garvey | |
1985 | Marie | Marie Ragghianti | |
1986 | Violets Are Blue | Augusta "Gussie" Sawyer | |
'night, Mother | Jessie Cates | ||
Crimes of the Heart | Babe Magrath Botrelle | ||
1990 | The Long Walk Home | Miriam Thompson | |
1991 | Hard Promises | Christine Ann Coalter | |
JFK | Liz Garrison | ||
1994 | Trading Mom | Mrs. Martin and various roles | |
1995 | The Grass Harp | Verena Talbo | |
1997 | Affliction | Margie Fogg | |
1999 | Blast from the Past | Helen Thomas Webber | |
The Straight Story | Rose "Rosie" Straight | ||
2001 | In the Bedroom | Ruth Fowler | |
Midwives | Sibyl Danforth | ||
2002 | Tuck Everlasting | Mae Tuck | |
2004 | A Home at the End of the World | Alice Glover | |
2005 | Nine Lives | Ruth | |
The Ring Two | Evelyn Borden (née Osorio) | ||
North Country | Alice Aimes | ||
An American Haunting | Lucy Bell | ||
2007 | Gray Matters | Sydney | |
Hot Rod | Marie Powell | ||
Pictures of Hollis Woods | Josie Cahill | ||
2008 | Lake City | Maggie | |
Four Christmases | Paula | ||
2009 | Get Low | Mattie Darrow | |
2011 | The Help | Mrs. Walters | |
2012 | Deadfall | June Mills | |
2016 | River of Gold | Narrator (voice) | Documentary |
2018 | The Old Man & the Gun | Jewel | |
2022 | Sam & Kate | Tina | |
TBA | Die, My Love ![]() |
Post-production |
Television Roles
Year | Title | Notes | Notes |
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1973 | Love, American Style | Teri | Episode: "Love and the Older Lover" |
The Girls of Huntington House | Sara | Television film | |
The Waltons | Sarah Jane Simmonds | Episodes: "The Townie", "The Odyssey" | |
The Rookies | Barbara Tabnor | Episode: "Sound of Silence" | |
1974 | The Migrants | Wanda Trimpin | Television film |
1975 | Katherine | Katherine Alman | |
1978 | Verna: USO Girl | Verna Vane | |
1992 | A Private Matter | Sherri Finkbine | |
Shelley Duvall's Bedtime Stories | Narrator | Season 1 Episode 4 | |
1994 | A Place for Annie | Susan Lansing | Television film |
1995 | The Good Old Boys | Spring Renfro | |
Streets of Laredo | Lorena Parker | 3 episodes | |
1996 | Beyond the Call | Pam O'Brien | Television film |
If These Walls Could Talk | Barbara Barrows | Television film; segment: "1974" | |
2000 | Songs in Ordinary Time | Marie Fermoyle | Television film |
2002 | Last Call | Zelda Fitzgerald | |
2009 | Appalachia: A History of Mountains and People | Narrator (voice) | 4 episodes |
2010 | Gimme Shelter | Adrienne Nourse | Pilot |
2010–2011 | Big Love | Marilyn Densham | 5 episodes |
2015–2017 | Bloodline | Sally Rayburn | 33 episodes |
2018 | Castle Rock | Ruth Deaver | 8 episodes |
Homecoming | Ellen Bergman | 6 episodes | |
2022 | Night Sky | Irene York | 8 episodes |
TBA | Dying for ... | Gail | Upcoming miniseries |
Music Videos
Year | Title | Artist | Notes |
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2018 | Oh Baby | LCD Soundsystem |
Music Albums
Sissy Spacek has also released music. Here are her albums and singles:
Albums
Year | Album | US Country | Label |
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1983 | Hangin' Up My Heart | 17 | Atlantic |
Singles
Year | Single | Chart positions | Album | ||
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US Country | US Bubbling | CAN Country | |||
1980 | "Coal Miner's Daughter" | 24 | — | 7 | Coal Miner's Daughter (Soundtrack) |
"Back in Baby's Arms" | — | — | 71 | ||
1983 | "Lonely but Only for You" | 15 | 10 | 13 | Hangin' Up My Heart |
1984 | "If I Can Just Get Through the Night" | 57 | — | 41 | |
"If You Could Only See Me Now" | 79 | — | — |
Awards and Nominations
To see a full list of awards Sissy Spacek has won or been nominated for, check out: List of awards and nominations received by Sissy Spacek.
Images for kids
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Spacek with Barack Obama in 2012, at an event
See Also
In Spanish: Sissy Spacek para niños
- List of actors with Academy Award nominations
- List of actors with two or more Academy Award nominations in acting categories
- List of stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
- List of actors with Hollywood Walk of Fame motion picture stars