Sissy Spacek
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
1975
The View
1997
The Merv Griffin Show
1962
Great Performances
1971
The Waltons
1972
Les Rendez-vous du dimanche
1975
Big Love
2006
The Rookies
1972
Off Camera with Sam Jones
2014
Film '72
1971
The Oscars
1953
Castle Rock
2018
Filmography
Saturday Night Live
as Self - Host · 1975
The View
as Self · 1997
The Merv Griffin Show
as Self · 1962
Great Performances
as Verna Vane · 1971
The Waltons
· 1972
Les Rendez-vous du dimanche
as Self · 1975
Big Love
as Marilyn Densham · 2006
The Rookies
· 1972
Off Camera with Sam Jones
as Self · 2014
Film '72
as Self · 1971
The Oscars
as Self · 1953
Castle Rock
as Ruth Deaver · 2018
Dying for Sex
as Gail · 2025
The Help
as Missus Walters · 2011
Bloodline
as Sally Rayburn · 2015
Homecoming
as Ellen Bergman · 2018
Die My Love
as Pam · 2025
Carrie
as Carrie · 1976
Seitenblicke
as self · 1987
GQ Presents: Iconic Characters
as Self · 2018
Blast from the Past
as Helen · 1999
The Rosie O'Donnell Show
as Self - Guest · 1996
The Ring Two
as Evelyn · 2005
JFK
as Liz Garrison · 1991
Night Sky
as Irene York · 2022
Four Christmases
as Paula · 2008
North Country
as Alice Aimes · 2005
The Straight Story
as Rose · 1999
Hallmark Hall of Fame
as Susan Lansing · 1951
Shelley Duvall's Bedtime Stories
as Narrator (voice) · 1992
Hot Rod
as Marie Powell · 2007
Badlands
as Holly Sargis · 1973
The Rage: Carrie 2
as Carrie White (archive footage) (uncredited) · 1999
The Old Man & the Gun
as Jewel · 2018
In the Bedroom
as Ruth Fowler · 2001
If These Walls Could Talk
as Barbara Barrows · 1996
Tuck Everlasting
as Mae Tuck · 2002
3 Women
as Mildred "Pinky" Rose · 1977
Streets of Laredo
as Lorena · 1995
The Long Walk Home
as Miriam Thompson · 1990
Deadfall
as June · 2012
The Catch
· 2027
Coal Miner's Daughter
as Loretta Lynn · 1980
The Man with Two Brains
as Anne Uumellmahaye (uncredited) (voice) · 1983
An American Haunting
as Lucy Bell · 2005
Nine Lives
as Ruth · 2005
Affliction
as Margie Fogg · 1998
The Grass Harp
as Verena Talbo · 1996
Marie: A True Story
as Marie Ragghianti · 1985
A Night at the Movies: The Horrors of Stephen King
as Self (archive footage) · 2011
A Home at the End of the World
as Alice Glover · 2004
Crimes of the Heart
as Babe Magrath · 1986
Inside the Actors Studio
as Self · 1994
A Decade Under the Influence
as Self · 2003
Get Low
as Mattie Darrow · 2010
The River
as Mae Garvey · 1984
Sam & Kate
as Tina · 2022
'night, Mother
as Jessie Cates · 1986
Missing
as Beth Horman · 1982
Acting 'Carrie'
as Self · 2001
Lake City
as Maggie · 2008
Gray Matters
as Dr. Sydney · 2007
Heart Beat
as Carolyn Cassady · 1980
Pictures of Hollis Woods
as Josie Cahill · 2007
Last Call
as Zelda Fitzgerald · 2002
Prime Cut
as Poppy · 1972
Welcome to L.A.
as Linda Murray · 1976
The Good Old Boys
as Spring Renfro · 1995
Thomas Jefferson: A View from the Mountain
as Martha Jefferson Randolph (voice) · 1995
Henry Fonda for President
as Self (archive footage) · 2025
Trading Mom
as Mommy / Mama / Mom / Natasha · 1994
A Place for Annie
as Susan Lansing · 1994
HyperNormalisation
as Self (archive footage) · 2016
Beyond JFK: The Question of Conspiracy
as Self · 1993
Violets Are Blue
as Augusta "Gussie" Sawyer · 1986
Beyond the Call
as Pam O'Brien · 1996
Rosy-Fingered Dawn: A Film on Terrence Malick
as Self · 2002
Ginger in the Morning
as Ginger Brown · 1974
The Girls of Huntington House
as Sara · 1973
Rolling Stone Magazine: The 10th Anniversary
as Self · 1977
Voices That Care
as Self - Choir Member · 1991
Visualizing 'Carrie'
as Self (archive footage) · 2001
Songs In Ordinary Time
as Marie Fermoyle · 2000
Raggedy Man
as Nita · 1981
Hard Promises
as Christine Ann Coalter · 1992
Love Letter to Texas
as Narrator · 2026
Loretta Lynn: Still a Mountain Girl
as Self / Loretta Lynn · 2016
The Migrants
as Wanda Trimpin · 1974
Katherine
as Katherine Alman · 1975
A Woman in the Sun
Appalachia: A History of Mountains and People
· 2009
Midwives
as Sibyl Danforth · 2001
Absence of Malick
as Self · 2003
Without Getting Killed or Caught
as Narrator / Voice of Susanna Clark (voice) · 2021
A Private Matter
as Sherri Finkbine · 1992
Verna: USO Girl
as Verna Vane · 1978
Making Badlands
as Self · 2013
River of Gold
as Narrator · 2016
Fonda on Fonda
as Self - The 53rd Annual Academy Awards (archive footage) · 1992
The Talking Eggs
as Narrator (voice) · 1991