Sissy Spacek

Mary Elizabeth "Sissy" Spacek (born December 25, 1948) is an American actress and singer. She has received numerous accolades throughout her career spanning over five decades, including an Academy Award, three Golden Globe Awards, and a Screen Actors Guild Award as well as nominations for four British Academy Film Awards, three Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Grammy Award. For her contributions to the film industry, Spacek was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2012.

After attending the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute, Spacek made her feature film debut in Michael Ritchie's Prime Cut (1972). Her performance in Terrence Malick's neo-noir crime drama film Badlands (1973), earned her a nomination for the BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer. Spacek's breakthrough came when she played the role of the abused teen misfit title character with telekinetic powers in Brian De Palma's supernatural horror film Carrie (1976), which earned her first nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress. She then starred in Robert Altman's psychological drama film 3 Women (1977).

Spacek gave a complex performance as country music star Loretta Lynn in Michael Apted's biographical musical film Coal Miner's Daughter (1980). She portrayed Lynn from early adolescent to near middle age and did her own singing, earning her an Academy Award as well as a Golden Globe Award. She received three more Academy Award nominations for her roles in the 1980s: Costa-Gavras' Missing (1982), Mark Rydell's The River (1984) and Bruce Beresford's Crimes of the Heart (1986). Spacek scored another nomination for Todd Field's In the Bedroom in 2001, winning another Golden Globe Award. Other notable films include Oliver Stone's JFK (1991), Tate Taylor's The Help (2011) and David Lowery's The Old Man & the Gun (2018). Spacek remains active, appearing in Sam & Kate in 2022.