Jordan Karlesson
Sally Field recently guested on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, where she talked about her new movie Spoiler Alert. But the actor — a Hall of Fame, if there ever was one — has a handful of additional roles up her sleeve.
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That’s made all the more impressive because Sally Field just turned 76 years young and already has a career — and personal life — that would make just about anyone envious. Oh, and she has three sons to boot.
Let’s get up close and personal with one of the most decorated and celebrated American actors of all time.
Sally Field’s Legendary Career
Gidget.
The Flying Nun.
Sybil.
Norma Rae.
Most actors beg for one role with which their name will always be associated. Sally Field has at least four.
One of the most decorated actors in history, she has amassed two Oscars, three Emmys, two Golden Globes, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a Cannes Film Festival Award — not to mention two Tony Award nominations.
Almost 60 years ago, Sally Field started her TV career with a starring role as the titular character on Gidget. That gig lasted until 1966, the year after which she starred in another wildly successful TV comedy — The Flying Nun — until 1970.
Later in the decade — in 1976, to be precise — Field reappeared on the small screen as the namesake character in Sybil.
The ensuing years were even more lucrative for the actor, she won Academy Awards for Best Actress two times: for Norma Rae in 1979 and Places in the Heart in 1984. She also lodged herself in the collective mind of the mainstream public with prominent roles in Smokey and the Bandit II, Steels Magnolias, Mrs. Doubtfire, and Forrest Gump.
Field continued collecting praise with her TV, film, and stage roles on ER, Lincoln, The Amazing Spider-Man and its sequel, and The Glass Menagerie.
What Ms. Field Is Cooking Now
It would seem that Sally Field ended her career with the huge recognition she gained with a Kennedy Center Honor in 2019. But she continues to plow ahead with further roles.
She returned to episode TV in 2018 courtesy of the Netflix miniseries Maniac, then starred in Dispatches From Elsewhere two years later on AMC.
Sally Field also rekindled her big-screen career with a co-starring role in 80 for Brady, which will also feature her colleagues Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, and Rita Moreno. Revolving around football superstar Tom Brady, the comedy 80 for Brady is due for theatrical release on February 3.
Field told Colbert that she doesn’t stop to reflect much on her career.
“Someday I will, maybe, when I’m on the porch, drooling in a cup,” she joked. But that’s not stopping the rest of us for taking pause that the legendary actor already has one of the most impressive resumes in Hollywood and continues to build on it.
The Family of Sally Field
Sally Field’s most familiar lover is probably Burt Reynolds. They were in a relationship from 1976 to 1980, a period during which they co-starred in Smokey and the Bandit and its sequel, The End, and Hooper.
Contrary to a belief held by some, however, they never married. To the contrary, Field’s two spouses were Steven Craig, who was her husband from 1968 to 1975; and Alan Greisman, who served in the same capacity from 1984 until 1994.
She had two sons with Craig: novelist/screenwriter Peter Craig and actor/director Eli Craig. Sally Field also had a son with Greisman: Sam.
One of the most significant events in Sally Field’s personal life occurred when she and three of her family members were injured in an accident involving a private plane owned by Merv Griffin. They all survived, fortunately.
