Sally Field, who celebrated her 76th birthday on November 6, is one of the most beloved actresses in Hollywood – her illustrious career spans six decades and is showing no signs of stopping anytime soon. When she’s not entertaining us in front of the camera, she stays busy with activism and philanthropy.
Field was born in 1946 in Pasadena, California to actress Margaret Field and World War II veteran Richard Dryden Field. Her parents divorced at the age of four and her mother later married actor and stuntman Jock Mahoney – who allegedly sexually abused Field as a child, according to her memoir.
She attended Birmingham High School around the same time she started her acting career. Her first role came as an extra in the 1962 film Moon Pilot, but she caught her first real break when she joined the main cast of Gidget in 1965 – she was 18-19 years old. The show didn’t last long, but it put her on the map.
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Sally Field continued to build upon her early success with her role in the 1967 western The Way West and the 1967-70 TV show The Flying Nun. She was starting to receive a lot of calls from Hollywood in the 1970s and started to receive national recognition for her roles by 1980 – when her career really blew up.
She not only won an Emmy for her work in Sybil (1977), but she won seven Best Actress awards for her role in Norma Rae (1979) – including a Golden Globe Award, Oscar, National Society of Film Critics Award, New York Film Critics Circle Award, and more. It was the biggest project of her career at the time.
Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Field ‘wowed’ us with her performances in Places in My Heart, Steel Magnolias, Forrest Gump, Mrs. Doubtfire, Murphy’s Romance, Soapdish, Absence of Malice. Since 2000, her career has been highlighted by roles in ER, Lincoln, Brothers & Sisters, and Hello, My Name Is Doris.
Away from the camera, Sally Field started the Rally with Sally for Bone Health after being diagnosed with osteoporosis in 2005. She has always been vocal about women’s rights (serving on the board of Vital Voices Global Partnership), gay rights (her son is gay), and climate change (involvement in protests).
Sally Field Teams Up With Tom Brady and Other Hollywood Legends in New Movie
Sally Field hasn’t made an appearance in film since 2017, but that’s about to change on December 2, 2022 with the release of Spoiler Alert – a biographical romantic drama film. She also played Jessie Buss for nine episodes in Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty, which released in March and May.
Perhaps most exciting is her latest project with Tom Brady, which is set to be released in February 2023. The film, which is titled 80 for Brady, is a sports comedy film that follows four older friends – one of whom is played by Field – who take a road trip to watch Brady play in the Super Bowl. It’s expected to be funny.
In addition to cameos by former New England Patriots’ teammates Rob Gronkowski, Danny Amendola and Julian Edelman, the film also stars Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda, and Rita Moreno as the other three senior friends. Sara Gilbert, Glynn Turman, Bob Balaban, and Ron Funches also have appearances.
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The film is inspired by a true story, which should add to the entertaining nature of the road trip. It’s directed by Kyle Marvin, who co-wrote the script with Michael Covino, and is being made by Paramount Pictures and Endeavor Content. The release is still four months away, but it’s totally worth waiting for.