Sissy Spacek facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Sissy Spacek
Spacek in 2010
Born	Mary Elizabeth Spacek (1949-12-25) December 25, 1949 (age 75) Quitman, Texas, U.S.
Alma mater	Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute
Occupation	Actress singer
Years active	1968–present
Spouse(s)	Jack Fisk ​ (m. 1974)​
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.

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 in 2011

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

Spacek at the Get Low premiere in 2009

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
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

Music Videos

Music Albums

Sissy Spacek has also released music. Here are her albums and singles:

Albums

Singles

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