File this one under "I can't believe this hasn't been noded yet."
Sally Field (
1946-) is an actress whom many are tempted to dismiss as simply the excessively perky star of sentimental films headed straight to the
Lifetime network after their cinematic debut. But it's a shame to dismiss her, because she's a great actress whose talents are underutilized because of the dearth of decent roles for women in
Hollywood films.
She is the daughter of actress
Margaret Field and the stepdaughter of actor and
stuntman Jock Mahoney. She took an interest in acting early, and skipped college in favor of an acting workshop at Columbia Studios. In
1965, success came early as she beat out hundreds of young actresses for the coveted lead in the infamous
sitcom Gidget, based on the popular film.
Gidget lasted only one season, but made Field a teen favorite. As a result, she landed the lead in
The Flying Nun in
1967.
After the cancellation of
The Flying Nun, which ran for three seasons, she returned to her acting studies and desperately attempted to shed her perky image with roles like a
junkie in
Maybe I'll Come Home in the Spring (
1970) and a nude scene in
Stay Hungry (
1975). She finally succeeded with her stunning performance in the
TV movie Sybil (
1976), playing an abused woman with
multiple personality disorder.
She soon had career image problems again. Because of her lengthy relationship with
Burt Reynolds and a number of bad films that featured the couple together (*cough*
Smokey and the Bandit *cough*), she became known as "Burt Reynolds' girlfriend" in the public mind. She ditched the Reynolds stigma in
1979 with her role as a
union organizer in
Norma Rae, which snagged her an
Academy Award for
Best Actress, her first.
Her second
Oscar came with
1984's
Places in the Heart, where Field played a widow determined to keep the family farm. The movie, which is great, is overshadowed by Field's speech at the Academy Awards ceremony, where she blurted out "
You like me! You really like me!", a line forever to be remembered by stand-up comedians and talk show hosts.
Notable films after this include
Punchline (
1988), the sentimental
Steel Magnolias (
1989), the overwrought but compelling drama
Not Without My Daughter (
1990), the very funny
soap opera parody Soapdish (
1991),
Mrs. Doubtfire (
1993), and
Forrest Gump (
1994).