Sissy Spacek
American actress, Oscar-nominated for *Carrie* (1976).
Mary Elizabeth "Sissy" Spacek, born on Christmas Day 1949 in Quitman, Texas, is an American actress and singer whose career has spanned more than five decades. She has won an Academy Award, three Golden Globe Awards, and a Screen Actors Guild Award, with additional nominations for four BAFTA Film Awards, three Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Grammy Award. In 2011, she received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Her father was a county agricultural agent, and her mother was of English and Irish descent. Her father’s ancestry was three-quarters Czech Moravian and one-quarter Sudeten-German; his sister was the mother of actor Rip Torn, Spacek’s first cousin. Nicknamed “Sissy” by her brothers, she first performed onstage at age six in a local talent show. The death of her 19-year-old brother Robbie from leukemia in 1967 profoundly shaped her, making her fearless in her acting. Initially pursuing singing, she recorded a 1968 single as Rainbo, but after poor sales she shifted to acting, training at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute. She worked as a photographic model and an extra at Andy Warhol’s Factory before her credited film debut in *Prime Cut* (1972). Her breakthrough came in Terrence Malick’s *Badlands* (1973), playing a 15-year-old narrator and girlfriend of a serial killer, a role that earned a BAFTA nomination for Most Promising Newcomer. On that set, she met art director Jack Fisk, whom she married in 1974. Her performance as the telekinetic teen in Brian De Palma’s *Carrie* (1976) brought her first Academy Award nomination. She later won the Oscar for portraying Loretta Lynn in *Coal Miner’s Daughter* (1980), doing her own singing, and earned three more Best Actress nominations in the 1980s for *Missing*, *The River*, and *Crimes of the Heart*. A later nomination came for *In the Bedroom* (2001). Her television work includes Emmy-nominated roles in *The Good Old Boys*, *Last Call*, and *Big Love*, as well as series *Bloodline*, *Castle Rock*, and *Homecoming*. She also released a debut studio album, *Hangin’ Up My Heart*, in 1983.
- field
- Actress
- nationality
- American
- known_for
- Starring role in Carrie (1976)
Verified Timeline
Lore & Background
Sissy Spacek was persuaded by her husband, Jack Fisk, to audition for the title role of Carrie White in Brian De Palma's *Carrie* (1976). Fisk then convinced De Palma to let her audition, and she read for all of the parts. De Palma's first choice for the role was Betsy Slade. Determined to land the leading role, Spacek backed out of a television commercial she was scheduled to film, rubbed Vaseline into her hair, left her face unwashed, and arrived for her screen test clad in a sailor dress which her mother had made her in the seventh grade, with the hem cut off, and was given the part. For the final scene of the film, in which Sue Snell reaches toward Carrie's grave, Spacek insisted on using her own hand rather than a stunt double, so she was positioned under the rocks and gravel. De Palma explained that crew members 'had to bury her.' Spacek received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in *Carrie* at the 49th Academy Awards.
Reader's Guide
Sissy Spacek's role as Carrie White in Brian De Palma's 1976 film *Carrie* is a defining performance in horror cinema. The film was based on Stephen King's first published novel, and Spacek's portrayal of the shy, bullied teenage girl who develops telekinesis and wreaks vengeance on her tormentors earned her critical acclaim. Her audition story—backing out of a commercial, applying Vaseline to her hair, and wearing a cut-off sailor dress from seventh grade—demonstrates her commitment to the character. During filming, Spacek insisted on performing the final scene's hand-grabbing moment herself, allowing herself to be buried under rocks and gravel. The film was theatrically released on November 3, 1976, by United Artists, and became critically and commercially successful, grossing over $33.8 million against its $1.8 million budget. Spacek's performance earned her a nomination for Best Actress at the 49th Academy Awards, and the film is widely cited as one of the best adaptations of King's novel.
Did You Know?
- Spacek backed out of a television commercial she was scheduled to film in order to audition for the role of Carrie White.
- For her screen test, Spacek rubbed Vaseline into her hair, left her face unwashed, and wore a sailor dress her mother made her in the seventh grade, with the hem cut off.
- Spacek insisted on using her own hand for the final scene, allowing herself to be buried under rocks and gravel; De Palma said crew members 'had to bury her.'
- Spacek's husband, Jack Fisk, convinced Brian De Palma to let her audition for the role of Carrie.
- Spacek received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress at the 49th Academy Awards for her performance in *Carrie*.
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