Sally Field Through The Years: From Sitcom Star To Oscar Wins, Iconic Roles, Love With Burt Reynolds, And More

Sally Field has played many different roles throughout her career, from fun-loving surfer girls to strong First Ladies. Steven Spielberg, who directed her in Lincoln, praised her for overcoming Hollywood’s typecasting, saying, “She dared this town to typecast her, and then simply broke through every dogmatic barrier … to great roles in great films and television.”

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Field started on TV sitcoms, starring in Gidget (1965-66) and The Flying Nun (1967-70). However, she felt trapped by these roles and said she had to “claw [her] way out” of the sitcom world. Despite the early struggles, she went on to win two Oscars for Norma Rae (1980) and Places in the Heart (1985), and three Emmys, including one for her role in Sybil (1977). She described that role as a turning point in her career.

In her personal life, Field has three sons: Peter and Eli from her first marriage to Steven Craig, and Sam from her second marriage to Alan Greisman. She also had a well-known relationship with Burt Reynolds, though she later said he “was just not good for [her] in any way.”

“The three things I’m most proud of in my life are my sons,” Field said in 2020.

#1. 1965

Field began her career playing a fun-loving, boy-crazy surfer girl in Gidget.

#2. 1968

The Absence of Malice actress married her high school sweetheart, Steven Craig.

#3. 1969

Field and Craig welcomed their son, Peter, shortly after their marriage.

#4. 1972

The couple grew their family with the birth of their second son, Eli.

#5. 1975

The Heroes star and her first husband divorced after several years of marriage.

#6. 1976

The Tony nominee started dating Burt Reynolds after meeting him on the set of their film Smokey and the Bandit.

#7. 1977

Field earned an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie for her role in Sybil. This role helped her overcome the typecasting from her sitcom days.

#8. 1979

Field played the titular union organizer in Norma Rae and won the Oscar for Best Actress for her performance the following year.

#9. 1980

The Kiss Me Goodbye star and her Hooper costar, Burt Reynolds, eventually parted ways. In her 2018 memoir In Pieces, Field opened up about the relationship, describing Reynolds as “controlling” and noting that while the romance had moments of love and care, it was “really complicated and hurtful to me.”

#10. 1984

Field married for the second time, exchanging vows with Alan Greisman.

#11. 1985

Field won another Best Actress Oscar for Places in the Heart in 1984, and her acceptance speech has become iconic and widely parodied.

During the ceremony, she said, “I haven’t had an orthodox career. And I’ve wanted more than anything to have your respect. The first time I didn’t feel it, but this time I feel it. And I can’t deny the fact that you like me, right now, you like me!” This moment often gets misquoted as “You like me, you really really like me!”

Field responded to critics of her speech in a Variety interview, saying, “A lot of people didn’t have a clue of what they were talking about. They didn’t know what it is to be a performer and have your nose and your ears and your legs out there to be ridiculed and criticized. They don’t know what that feels like. They’re not in the arena. They’re handing out the deodorant in the stands.”

#12. 1987

The actress and Alan Greisman welcomed their son, Sam.

#13. 1989

Field portrayed the matriarch M’Lynn in Steel Magnolias, a role that earned her a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress.

#14. 1994

While portraying Tom Hanks’ mother in Forrest Gump, the director of The Christmas Tree shared valuable insights.

#15. 1994

Field and Greisman divorced after ten years of marriage.

#16. 2001

The Murphy’s Romance star won an Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series for her recurring role as Maggie on ER.

#17. 2007

Field earned another Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for her role on Brothers & Sisters.

#18. 2012

The The Court alum played Mary Todd Lincoln in Lincoln, earning nominations for Best Supporting Actress at both the Oscars and the Golden Globes.

#19. 2018

The Amazing Spider-Man actress appeared in the Netflix miniseries Maniac.

#20. 2018

Field opened up about being sexually abused by her stepfather, Jock Mahoney, until she was 14, in her memoir In Pieces.

“I felt both a child, helpless, and not a child. Powerful. This was power. And I owned it. But I wanted to be a child — and yet,” she wrote.

#21. 2023

Field was honored with the 2023 Screen Actors Guild Lifetime Achievement Award, recognizing her for “outstanding achievement in fostering the finest ideals of the acting profession.”