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