CINEFILER

Sissy Spacek

Born
December 25, 1949
Mary Elizabeth Spacek (born December 25, 1949) is an American actress and singer. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, three Golden Globe Awards, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and nominations for four British Academy Film Awards, three Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Grammy Award. Spacek was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2011. Born and raised in Texas, Spacek initially aspired to a career as a recording artist. In 1968, at age 18, she recorded a single, "John, You Went Too Far This Time," under the name Rainbo. Spacek began her professional acting career in the early 1970s, making her debut as an extra in Andy Warhol's Women in Revolt (1971). Her breakout role came with Terrence Malick's influential crime film Badlands (1973), which earned her a nomination for the British Academy Film Award for Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles. She rose to international prominence with her portrayal of Carrie White in Brian De Palma's horror film Carrie (1976), for which she received her first nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress. After appearing in the acclaimed films Welcome to L.A. (1976) and Robert Altman's 3 Women (1977), Spacek won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of Loretta Lynn in the biographical musical film Coal Miner's Daughter (1980). Spacek's other Oscar-nominated roles include Missing (1982), The River (1984), Crimes of the Heart (1986), and In the Bedroom (2001). Her other prominent films include Raggedy Man (1981), JFK (1991), Affliction (1997), The Straight Story (1999), Tuck Everlasting (2002), Nine Lives (2005), North Country (2005), Four Christmases (2008), Get Low (2010), The Help (2011), and The Old Man & the Gun (2018). She received Primetime Emmy Award nominations for the television films The Good Old Boys (1995) and Last Call (2002), and for her guest role on the HBO drama series Big Love (2011). She portrayed matriarch Sally Rayburn on the Netflix drama thriller series Bloodline (2015–2017), Ruth Deaver on the Hulu psychological horror series Castle Rock (2018), and Ellen Bergman on the Amazon Prime Video psychological thriller series Homecoming (2018). Spacek has also ventured into music, and recorded vocals for the soundtrack album of Coal Miner's Daughter, which peaked at number two on the Billboard Top Country Albums Chart and garnered her a nomination for the Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance. She also released a studio album, Hangin' Up My Heart (1983), which was critically well-received and peaked at number 17 on Billboard Top Country Albums chart.
Golden Globe Awards
Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama
Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
Known For
The Help
(2011)
Missus Walters
Carrie
(1976)
Carrie White
Badlands
(1974)
Holly Sargis
JFK
(1991)
Liz Garrison
Hot Rod
(2007)
Marie Powell
Deadfall
(2012)
June
The Straight Story
(1999)
Rose
Blast from the Past
(1999)
Helen
The Ring Two
(2005)
Evelyn
North Country
(2005)
Alice Aimes
Four Christmases
(2008)
Paula
The Rage: Carrie 2
(1999)
Carrie White (archive footage) (uncredited)
De Palma
(2016)
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Tuck Everlasting
(2002)
Mae Tuck
The Old Man & the Gun
(2018)
Jewel
3 Women
(1977)
Mildred "Pinky" Rose
Full Filmography
Acting
Prime Cut
(1972)
Poppy
Ginger in the Morning
(1973)
Ginger Brown
The Girls of Huntington House
(1973)
Sara
Badlands
(1974)
Holly Sargis
The Migrants
(1974)
Wanda Trimpin
Katherine
(1975)
Katherine Alman
Carrie
(1976)
Carrie White
Welcome to L.A.
(1976)
Linda Murray
3 Women
(1977)
Mildred "Pinky" Rose
Rolling Stone Magazine: The 10th Anniversary
(1977)
Self
Coal Miner's Daughter
(1980)
Loretta Lynn
Heart Beat
(1980)
Carolyn Cassady
Raggedy Man
(1981)
Nita
Missing
(1982)
Beth Horman
The Man with Two Brains
(1983)
Anne Uumellmahaye (uncredited) (voice)
The River
(1984)
Mae Garvey
Marie
(1985)
Marie Ragghianti
'night, Mother
(1986)
Jessie Cates
Crimes of the Heart
(1986)
Babe Magrath
Violets are Blue
(1986)
Augusta "Gussie" Sawyer
The Long Walk Home
(1990)
Miriam Thompson
JFK
(1991)
Liz Garrison
Voices That Care
(1991)
Self - Choir Member
A Private Matter
(1992)
Sherri Finkbine
Hard Promises
(1992)
Christine Ann Coalter
Fonda on Fonda
(1992)
Self - The 53rd Annual Academy Awards (archive footage)
Beyond JFK: The Question of Conspiracy
(1993)
Self
Trading Mom
(1994)
Mommy / Mama / Mom / Natasha
A Place for Annie
(1994)
Susan Lansing
The Grass Harp
(1995)
Verena Talbo
The Good Old Boys
(1995)
Spring Renfro
If These Walls Could Talk
(1996)
Barbara Barrows
Beyond the Call
(1996)
Pam O'Brien
Affliction
(1998)
Margie Fogg
The Straight Story
(1999)
Rose
Blast from the Past
(1999)
Helen
The Rage: Carrie 2
(1999)
Carrie White (archive footage) (uncredited)
Songs In Ordinary Time
(2000)
Marie Fermoyle
In the Bedroom
(2001)
Ruth Fowler
Midwives
(2001)
Sibyl Danforth
Acting 'Carrie'
(2001)
Self
Visualizing 'Carrie'
(2001)
Self (archive footage)
Tuck Everlasting
(2002)
Mae Tuck
Last Call
(2002)
Zelda Fitzgerald
Rosy-Fingered Dawn: A Film on Terrence Malick
(2002)
Self
Absence of Malick
(2003)
Self
A Decade Under the Influence
(2003)
Self
A Home at the End of the World
(2004)
Alice Glover
An American Haunting
(2005)
Lucy Bell
The Ring Two
(2005)
Evelyn
North Country
(2005)
Alice Aimes
Nine Lives
(2005)
Ruth
Gray Matters
(2006)
Dr. Sydney
Hot Rod
(2007)
Marie Powell
Pictures of Hollis Woods
(2007)
Josie Cahill
Four Christmases
(2008)
Paula
Lake City
(2008)
Maggie
Get Low
(2010)
Mattie Darrow
The Help
(2011)
Missus Walters
Deadfall
(2012)
June
Making 'Badlands'
(2013)
Self
And the Oscar Goes To...
(2014)
Self (archive footage)
Loretta Lynn: Still a Mountain Girl
(2016)
Self / Loretta Lynn
River of Gold
(2016)
Narrator
De Palma
(2016)
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
HyperNormalisation
(2016)
Self (archive footage)
The Old Man & the Gun
(2018)
Jewel
LCD Soundsystem: Oh Baby
(2019)
Wife
Without Getting Killed or Caught
(2021)
Narrator / Voice of Susanna Clark (voice)
Sam & Kate
(2022)
Tina
Art
Data provided by TMDB