
Sissy Spacek
Acting
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.
Born: December 25, 1949 · Quitman, Texas, USA
Filmography (75)

Die My Love
2025

Dying for Sex
2025

Sam & Kate
2022

Night Sky
2022

Homecoming
2018

The Old Man & the Gun
2018

Castle Rock
2018

GQ Presents: Iconic Characters
2018

HyperNormalisation
2016

Bloodline
2015

Off Camera with Sam Jones
2014

Deadfall
2012

The Help
2011

Get Low
2010

Four Christmases
2008

Lake City
2008

Pictures of Hollis Woods
2007

Hot Rod
2007

Gray Matters
2007

Big Love
2006

Nine Lives
2005

An American Haunting
2005

The Ring Two
2005

North Country
2005

A Home at the End of the World
2004

A Decade Under the Influence
2003

Tuck Everlasting
2002

Last Call
2002

In the Bedroom
2001

Midwives
2001

The Straight Story
1999

The Rage: Carrie 2
1999

Blast from the Past
1999

Affliction
1998

Eye of God
1997

The View
1997

The Grass Harp
1996

If These Walls Could Talk
1996

The Rosie O'Donnell Show
1996

Streets of Laredo
1995

The Good Old Boys
1995

Inside the Actors Studio
1994

A Place for Annie
1994

Trading Mom
1994

Beyond JFK: The Question of Conspiracy
1993

Hard Promises
1992

JFK
1991

The Long Walk Home
1990

Crimes of the Heart
1986

'night, Mother
1986

Violets are Blue
1986

Marie: A True Story
1985

The River
1984

The Man with Two Brains
1983

Missing
1982

Raggedy Man
1981

Heart Beat
1980

Coal Miner's Daughter
1980

Death Game
1977

3 Women
1977

Welcome to L.A.
1976

Carrie
1976

Saturday Night Live
1975

Katherine
1975

Les Rendez-vous du dimanche
1975

Phantom of the Paradise
1974

The Migrants
1974

Badlands
1974

The Waltons
1972

The Rookies
1972

Prime Cut
1972

Great Performances
1971

The Merv Griffin Show
1962

The Oscars
1953

Hallmark Hall of Fame
1951
