
Person
Sissy Spacek
Acting · Born 1949-12-25 · Quitman, Texas, USA
Biography
Mary Elizabeth 'Sissy' 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, she 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. She 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), she won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of Loretta Lynn in the biographical musical film Coal Miner's Daughter (1980). Her 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). She 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 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.
Known for

Saturday Night Live
Self - Host

The View
Self

The Waltons
1972

Great Performances
Verna Vane

The Merv Griffin Show
Self

Big Love
Marilyn Densham

Les Rendez-vous du dimanche
Self

The Oscars
Self

Castle Rock
Ruth Deaver

The Rookies
1972
Filmography
- 2027The Catch
- 2026Love Letter to TexasNarrator
- 2025Die My LovePam
- 2025Dying for SexGail
- 2025Henry Fonda for PresidentSelf (archive footage)
- 2022Sam & KateTina
- 2022Night SkyIrene York
- 2021Without Getting Killed or CaughtNarrator / Voice of Susanna Clark (voice)
- 2018HomecomingEllen Bergman
- 2018The Old Man & the GunJewel
- 2018Castle RockRuth Deaver
- 2018GQ Presents: Iconic CharactersSelf
- 2016HyperNormalisationSelf (archive footage)
- 2016River of GoldNarrator
- 2016Loretta Lynn: Still a Mountain GirlSelf / Loretta Lynn
- 2015BloodlineSally Rayburn
- 2014Off Camera with Sam JonesSelf
- 2013Making BadlandsSelf
- 2012DeadfallJune
- 2011The HelpMissus Walters
- 2010Get LowMattie Darrow
- 2009Appalachia: A History of Mountains and People
- 2008Four ChristmasesPaula
- 2008Lake CityMaggie
- 2007Pictures of Hollis WoodsJosie Cahill
- 2007Hot RodMarie Powell
- 2007Gray MattersDr. Sydney
- 2006Big LoveMarilyn Densham
- 2005Nine LivesRuth
- 2005An American HauntingLucy Bell
- 2005The Ring TwoEvelyn
- 2005North CountryAlice Aimes
- 2004A Home at the End of the WorldAlice Glover
- 2003Absence of MalickSelf
- 2003A Decade Under the InfluenceSelf
- 2002Tuck EverlastingMae Tuck
- 2002Rosy-Fingered Dawn: A Film on Terrence MalickSelf
- 2002Last CallZelda Fitzgerald
- 2001In the BedroomRuth Fowler
- 2001Acting 'Carrie'Self
- 2001Visualizing 'Carrie'Self (archive footage)
- 2001MidwivesSibyl Danforth
- 2000Songs In Ordinary TimeMarie Fermoyle
- 1999The Straight StoryRose
- 1999The Rage: Carrie 2Carrie White (archive footage) (uncredited)
- 1999Blast from the PastHelen
- 1998AfflictionMargie Fogg
- 1997Eye of GodThanks
- 1997The ViewSelf
- 1996The Grass HarpVerena Talbo
- 1996If These Walls Could TalkBarbara Barrows
- 1996Beyond the CallPam O'Brien
- 1996The Rosie O'Donnell ShowSelf - Guest
- 1995Streets of LaredoLorena
- 1995Thomas Jefferson: A View from the MountainMartha Jefferson Randolph (voice)
- 1995The Good Old BoysSpring Renfro
- 1994Inside the Actors StudioSelf
- 1994A Place for AnnieSusan Lansing
- 1994Trading MomMommy / Mama / Mom / Natasha
- 1993Beyond JFK: The Question of ConspiracySelf
- 1992A Private MatterSherri Finkbine
- 1992Shelley Duvall's Bedtime StoriesNarrator (voice)
- 1992Hard PromisesChristine Ann Coalter
- 1992Fonda on FondaSelf - The 53rd Annual Academy Awards (archive footage)
- 1991JFKLiz Garrison
- 1991The Talking EggsNarrator (voice)
- 1991Voices That CareSelf - Choir Member
- 1990The Long Walk HomeMiriam Thompson
- 1987Seitenblickeself
- 1986Crimes of the HeartBabe Magrath
- 1986'night, MotherJessie Cates
- 1986Violets Are BlueAugusta "Gussie" Sawyer
- 1985Marie: A True StoryMarie Ragghianti
- 1984The RiverMae Garvey
- 1983The Man with Two BrainsAnne Uumellmahaye (uncredited) (voice)
- 1982MissingBeth Horman
- 1981Raggedy ManNita
- 1980Heart BeatCarolyn Cassady
- 1980Coal Miner's DaughterLoretta Lynn
- 1978Verna: USO GirlVerna Vane
- 1977Rolling Stone Magazine: The 10th AnniversarySelf
- 1977Death GameSet Dresser
- 19773 WomenMildred "Pinky" Rose
- 1976Welcome to L.A.Linda Murray
- 1976CarrieCarrie
- 1975Saturday Night LiveSelf - Host
- 1975KatherineKatherine Alman
- 1975Les Rendez-vous du dimancheSelf
- 1974Phantom of the ParadiseSet Dresser
- 1974Ginger in the MorningGinger Brown
- 1974The MigrantsWanda Trimpin
- 1974BadlandsHolly Sargis
- 1973The Girls of Huntington HouseSara
- 1972The Waltons
- 1972The Rookies
- 1972Prime CutPoppy
- 1971Film '72Self
- 1971Great PerformancesVerna Vane
- 1962The Merv Griffin ShowSelf
- 1953The OscarsSelf
- 1951Hallmark Hall of FameSusan Lansing
- —A Woman in the Sun
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