Blessed with boundless energy and charm, Sally Field was perfectly suited for the all-American girl characters that brought her early stardom, although it was her later roles, most often as strong independent women, that brought her lasting critical acclaim. Field broke out as the spunky surfer girl "Gidget" (ABC, 1965-66) and as Sister Betrille in "The Flying Nun" (ABC, 1967-1970) before reinventing herself as a serious actress with an Emmy-winning performance as the schizophrenic "Sybil" (NBC, 1976). Field's popularity rarely waned over the next two decades, helped in large part by a fabled romance with her "Smokey and the Bandit" (1977) co-star Burt Reynolds and Oscar-winning turns as a labor organizer in "Norma Rae" (1979) and as a Depression era single mother trying to save her farm in "Places of the Heart" (1984). She maintained her stature with a string of successful films that included "Steel Magnolias" (1989), "Mrs. Doubtfire" (1993) and "Forrest Gump" (1994). At an age when many actresses' best days were considered behind them, Field lent an aura of dignity and refinement to her role as the matriarch of a dysfunctional family on the drama series "Brothers & Sisters" (ABC, 2006-2011), picking up another Emmy in the process. Continuing to work with the best and the brightest, the actress impressed in such acclaimed projects as Steven Spielberg's historical biopic "Lincoln" (2012). Possessing a unique blend of likability and raw talent, Field's reputation as one of Hollywood's most accomplished leading ladies was well earned.
Born in Pasadena, CA on Nov. 6, 1946, Field's father was U.S. Army Captain Richard Dryden Field, and her mother was Margaret Field, a Paramount contract player best known for the 1951 cult sci-fi movie, "The Man from Planet X" and countless episodic television appearances. The Fields split in 1951, with Margaret Field relocating to her mother's house while trying to make ends meet. In 1953, she married famed stunt man and actor Jock Mahoney, who proved a difficult stepfather to Field and her brother Richard. Field and Mahoney frequently clashed throughout her teenage years, but they did find common ground in acting. Field was a member of her drama club at Birmingham High School in Van Nuys, CA, and the veteran stunt performer encouraged his step-daughter to hone her talent at a summer acting workshop at Columbia Pictures. In 1964, the 18-year-old Field caught the eye of ABC casting agents at an audition, and they offered her the lead role in a new series based on the popular "Gidget" book and movies. The show required its star to have some proficiency at surfing, which Field swore she had. The truth was that she had never been on a board, and needed lessons to simply stand on it in front of rear-projected waves.
The show, which was one of the first regularly scheduled programs for ABC, was crushed in the ratings by CBS' rural juggernaut "The Beverly Hillbillies" (1962-1971) and ceased production at the end of its debut season. Surprisingly, the show's ratings and Field's popularity among young viewers soared during the summer rerun season, but ABC did not renew it. Field then moved on to the short-lived sitcom "Hey Landlord" (NBC, 1966-67), before making her movie debut as a settler in "The Way West" (1967), starring with such heavyweights as Kirk Douglas and Robert Mitchum. She also tried her hand at a pop music career with the 1967 single "Felicidad" and a full album in 1968. That same year, she married Steven Craig, with whom she had two sons. Sensing that young audiences liked the ever-perky Field, ABC brought her back into the TV fold with a new series, "The Flying Nun" (1967-1970), which hinged on the absurd notion that Field's novice nun could become airborne due to her small frame and oversized headgear. Despite a critical drubbing, the show became a hit with viewers; unfortunately, it helped to typecast Field as a lightweight comic actress for several years. The show remained a pop culture touchstone - though mostly as the butt of jokes - for decades after it left the air. Reportedly, ABC even extended an offer to Field to appear in an updated "Flying Nun" TV movie in the 1980s, which she not surprisingly turned down.
As her career progressed, Field appeared mostly in TV movies and series during the early 1970s, including the counterculture drama "Maybe I'll Come Home in the Spring" (1971), in which she starred as a reformed drug addict who clashes with her straight-laced family; the violent "Mongo's Back in Town" (1971) in which Field is the ill-fated girlfriend of hit man Joe Don Baker; and "Home for the Holidays" (1972), a suspenseful thriller with Field as the youngest of three sisters targeted by a killer who wants her family inheritance. Field made a brief return to the sitcom with the dire comedy "The Girl with Something Extra" (NBC, 1973-74), in which she starred as a newly married woman with ESP. Field divorced Craig in 1975, and set out to reinvent herself as a dramatic actress. She starred as the romantic interest for Jeff Bridges and then bodybuilder Arnold Schwarzenegger in Bob Rafelson's little-seen drama, "Stay Hungry" (1976), which featured her sole onscreen nude scene. But the picture that convinced audiences and industry players alike of the depth of Field's talent was the 1976 miniseries "Sybil," in which she starred as a young graduate student whose abusive childhood resulted in a stunning dissociative identity disorder that manifested itself in 16 different personalities. The production won her an Emmy, but more importantly, respect within the film and television community who now looked at her as more than just a flying nun.
During this period, Field became romantically involved with Burt Reynolds, who was on the cusp of becoming one of Hollywood's most popular actors during the 1970s. The pair also made a popular onscreen couple, starting in 1977 with the mega-successful action comedy "Smokey and the Bandit," which landed at the No. 2 spot for top grossing movies of that year. Field and Reynolds' chemistry proved irresistible for moviegoers, so the pair continued to co-star in the comedies "The End" (1978) and "Hooper" (1978), as well as the inevitable "Smokey and the Bandit II" (1980) sequel, all of which proved popular at the box office. Field's stepfather Jock Mahoney appeared briefly in "The End" as a man in a wheelchair, while the character of veteran stuntman Jocko (Brian Keith) in "Hooper" was inspired by Mahoney's life and career.
By the end of the 1970s, Field was finding herself typecast again, this time as Reynolds' arm candy in a string of popular if distinctly middlebrow pictures. She split from Reynolds, professionally and personally, in the early 1980s, in the process breaking Reynolds' heart; years later, he would proclaim her the love his life. Newly single, she took on one of the most challenging roles in her career - that of a Southern textile worker who risks her career and marriage to unionize her factory. The picture was a critical and box office success, providing Field with not only an Academy Award and Golden Globe for Best Actress, but an iconic role that forever banished the lightweight roles of her early career and her onscreen connection as a simple Reynolds co-star. In fact, the American Film Institute ranked Norma Rae Webster 15th on their list of film heroes from 100 years of cinema.
