Born 1949 (age 76) · Quitman, Texas, USA
Appears in 100 titles

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

The Help
8.2
The Help
2011
as Missus Walters
Carrie
7.3
Carrie
1976
as Carrie
The Ring Two
5.8
The Ring Two
2005
as Evelyn
JFK
7.6
JFK
1991
as Liz Garrison
The Straight Story
7.7
The Straight Story
1999
as Rose
The Old Man & the Gun
6.5
The Old Man & the Gun
2018
as Jewel
Badlands
7.5
Badlands
1974
as Holly Sargis
Four Christmases
5.8
Four Christmases
2008
as Paula
Blast from the Past
6.8
Blast from the Past
1999
as Helen
Hot Rod
6.4
Hot Rod
2007
as Marie Powell
North Country
7.2
North Country
2005
as Alice Aimes
Deadfall
6.0
Deadfall
2012
as June
An American Haunting
5.5
An American Haunting
2005
as Lucy Bell
Die My Love
6.2
Die My Love
2025
as Pam
Tuck Everlasting
6.7
Tuck Everlasting
2002
as Mae Tuck
The Man with Two Brains
6.2
The Man with Two Brains
1983
as Anne Uumellmahaye (uncredited) (voice)
The Rage: Carrie 2
5.6
The Rage: Carrie 2
1999
as Carrie White (archive footage) (uncredited)
Missing
7.2
Missing
1982
as Beth Horman
In the Bedroom
6.9
In the Bedroom
2001
as Ruth Fowler
3 Women
7.1
3 Women
1977
as Mildred "Pinky" Rose