Sissy Spacek Biography

SISSY SPACEK

Date of Birth: December 25, 1949

Sissy Spacek was among the most popular female stars of the late '70s and the '80s. The Texas born and raised Spacek originally aspired to become a singer and got her start singing at coffee houses in Greenwich Village, New York. In addition, Spacek recorded back up vocals on television commercials. Billing herself as "Rainbo," Spacek also cut a single, "Johnny, You Went Too Far This Time."

Spacek turned to acting and enrolled at the Lee Strasberg Theatrical Institute to train in the dramatic arts. Her official film debut was in Prime Cut, but technically it was actually Andy Warhol's Trash. A year later, she played a love-struck teen in an episode of the family television drama The Waltons.

Spacek's first crack at stardom came when she played a teenage accomplice to ruthless cross-country killer Martin Sheen in Badlands (1973). The role earned her critical acclaim. Her breakthrough role, however, was that of a troubled, shy teenage girl with telekinetic powers in the adaptation of Stephen King's novel Carrie (1976). She earned an Oscar nomination for her performance and in 1978, she was listed as one of twelve "Promising New Actors of 1976" in John Willis' Screen World.

She finally won the golden statuette in one of her best known roles, The Coal Miner's Daughter (1980). In the role as country singer Loretta Lynn, she was able to show off her excellent singing abilities.

In 1981, Spacek starred in Raggedy Man, directed by her husband Jack Fisk. Spacek's career remained in high gear through the mid-'80s with such memorable turns in her Oscar nominated Missing (1982), The River (1984) and Crimes of the Heart (1986), winning her second Golden Globe for the latter. She returned once more at the turn of the century with yet another Golden Globe-winning/Oscar-nominated performance in In the Bedroom (2001).

In 1987, Spacek withdrew from acting to concentrate on raising her kids, Schuyler and Madison, on a horse ranch in Northern Virginia, returning only occasionally to feature films. She gradually has taken on more work as they have grown older, in films such as Tuck Everlasting (2002), An American Haunting (2006) and Get Low (2010). Roles in the Oscar-winning film The Help (2011) and the thriller Deadfall (2012) followed.

In 2015, Sissy was cast as the matriarch of a troubled family on the Netflix drama series Bloodline, playing the mother of Kyle Chandler, Ben Mendelsohn and Linda Cardellini. The series was a hit and enjoyed three seasons.

Sissy followed that up by playing the mother of Julia Roberts' character on the first season of Amazon Prime Video's popular series, Homecoming in 2018.

On the big screen, she played the role of Jewel in The Old Man & the Gun (2018), starring Robert Redford.

Filmography:

Deadfall (2012)
The Help (2011)
Get Low (2010)
Four Christmases (2008)
Lake City (2008)
Hot Rod (2007)
Gray Matters (2006)
An American Haunting (2006)
North Country (2005)
Nine Lives (2005)
The Ring Two (2005)
A Home at the End of the World (2004)
Tuck Everlasting (2002)
In the Bedroom (2001)
The Straight Story (1999)
The Rage: Carrie 2 (1999) (archive footage)
Blast from the Past (1999)
Affliction (1997)
The Grass Harp (1995)
Trading Mom (1994)
JFK (1991)
Hard Promises (1991)
The Long Walk Home (1990)
'Night Mother (1986)
Crimes of the Heart (1986)
Violets Are Blue... (1986)
Marie (1985)
The River (1984)
The Man with Two Brains (1983) (voice) (uncredited)
Raggedy Man (1981)
Coal Miner's Daughter (1980)
Heart Beat (1980)
3 Women (1977)
Welcome to L.A. (1977)
Carrie (1976)
Badlands (1973)
Ginger in the Morning (1973)
Prime Cut (1972)