Sissy Spacek

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Academy Awards
Sissy Spacek

Born	December 25, 1949 (age 57) Quitman, Texas
Notable roles	Poppy in Prime Cut (1972) Holly Sargis in Badlands (1973) Carrie White in Carrie (1976) Loretta Webb/Lynn in Coal Miner's Daughter (1980) Marie Ragghianti in Marie (1985) Ruth Fowler in In the Bedroom (2001)

Academy Award for Best Actress (1980) for Coal Miner's Daughter

Mary Elizabeth "Sissy" Spacek (born December 25, 1949) is an Academy Award-winning American actress and singer.

1 Biography
2 Academy Award and nominations
3 Filmography
4 Footnotes
5 External links

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life

Spacek was born in Quitman, Texas to Edwin Arnold Spacek and Virginia Spilman. Her paternal grandparents, Mary Cervenka and Arnold A. Spacek, who served as Mayor of Granger, Texas in Williamson County, were of Moravian/Czech/Bohemian descent.^[1] Spacek's mother was from the Rio Grande Valley of Texas. Spacek's great-uncle, Rudolph Spacek of Fayetteville, served five terms in the Texas State Legislature in the 1940s with a perfect attendance record, never missing a vote. Her mother's brother, Wade Spilman, once served as the Speaker of the House in the Texas State Legislature. Spacek was given the nickname Sissy by her older brothers. She was greatly affected by the death of her eighteen-year old brother, Robbie, in 1967. Spacek decided life was too short to waste in college and moved to New York City to pursue acting.

[edit] Career

Spacek started out as a country singer, recording one single ("John, You Went Too Far This Time", about John Lennon) under the name "Rainbo". With the help of her cousin, actor Rip Torn, she was able to enroll in Lee Strasberg's Actors Studio and then the Lee Strasberg Institute in New York City. Her first credited role was in the 1972 movie Prime Cut, in which she played a young woman sold into white slavery.

The first role that brought her notice was the 1973 film Badlands, where she met art director Jack Fisk, whom she would later marry.

Her breakout role was in Carrie, in 1976, in which she played the title character, an emotionally troubled teenager with telekinetic powers. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her work in the film. She eventually won the Oscar in 1980 for Coal Miner's Daughter, in which she played country music star Loretta Lynn.

She was also nominated for a Grammy Award for her singing on that film's soundtrack album. She made a comeback of sorts in 2001 when she starred as Ruth Fowler in In the Bedroom, winning extraordinary praise and garnering the New York and Los Angeles Film Critics Awards for Best Actress. She lost the Oscar to Halle Berry that year.

[edit] Personal life

Spacek married production designer Jack Fisk in 1974. They have two daughters; Schuyler Elizabeth and Virginia Madison. Schuyler Fisk has appeared in several starring film roles. Spacek and her family live on a horse ranch near the city of Charlottesville, Virginia. She is also an ardent crusader for women's rights.

[edit] Academy Award and nominations

1976 - Nominated - Best Actress in a Leading Role - Carrie
1980 - Won - Best Actress in a Leading Role - Coal Miner's Daughter
1982 - Nominated - Best Actress in a Leading Role - Missing
1984 - Nominated - Best Actress in a Leading Role - The River
1986 - Nominated - Best Actress in a Leading Role - Crimes of the Heart
2001 - Nominated - Best Actress in a Leading Role - In the Bedroom

Awards
Preceded by Sally Field for Norma Rae	Academy Award for Best Actress 1980 for Coal Miner's Daughter	Succeeded by Katharine Hepburn for On Golden Pond
Preceded by Julia Roberts for Erin Brockovich	Golden Globe - Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama for In The Bedroom 2002	Succeeded by Nicole Kidman for The Hours