Sissy Spacek Biography
Summary
"Mary Elizabeth 'Sissy' Spacek" (born December 25, 1949) is an Academy Award-winning American actress and singer.
Biography
Early life
Spacek was born in Quitman, Texas, the daughter of Virginia Frances (née Spilman) and Edwin Arnold Spacek, Sr., a county agricultural agent. Her paternal grandparents, Mary Cervenka and Arnold A. Spacek (who served as Mayor of Granger, Texas in Williamson County), were of Moravian/Czech/Bohemian descent. Spacek's mother was from the Rio Grande Valley of Texas. Spacek was given the nickname Sissy by her older brothers. She was greatly affected by the death of her eighteen-year old brother, Robbie, in 1967. Spacek decided life was too short to waste in college and moved to New York City to pursue acting.
Career
Spacek started out as a country singer, recording one single ('John, You Went Too Far This Time', about John Lennon) under the name 'Rainbo'. With the help of her cousin, actor Rip Torn, she was able to enroll in Lee Strasberg's Actors Studio and then the Lee Strasberg Institute in New York City. Her first credited role was in the 1972 movie "Prime Cut", in which she played a young woman sold into sexual slavery. The first role that brought her notice was the 1973 film "Badlands", where she met art director Jack Fisk, whom she would later marry.
Her breakout role was in 1976's "Carrie", in which she played the title character, an unpopular and emotionally troubled teenager with telekinetic powers. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her work in the film. She won the Oscar in 1980 for "Coal Miner's Daughter", in which she played country music star Loretta Lynn.
She was also nominated for a Grammy Award for her singing on that film's soundtrack album. She made a comeback of sorts in 2001 when she starred as Ruth Fowler in "In the Bedroom", winning extraordinary praise and garnering the New York and Los Angeles Film Critics Awards for Best Actress. She also put out a much sought after country album in the 80's. It has never been put on cd.
Personal life
Spacek married production designer Jack Fisk in 1974. They have two daughters; Schuyler Elizabeth and Madison Fisk. Schuyler Fisk has appeared in several starring film roles. Spacek and her family live on a horse ranch near the city of Charlottesville, Virginia. She is also an ardent crusader for women's rights.
Academy Awards and nominations
1976 - Nominated - Best Actress in a Leading Role - "Carrie"
1980 - Won - Best Actress in a Leading Role - "Coal Miner's Daughter"
1982 - Nominated - Best Actress in a Leading Role - "Missing"
1984 - Nominated - Best Actress in a Leading Role - "The River"
1986 - Nominated - Best Actress in a Leading Role - "Crimes of the Heart"
2001 - Nominated - Best Actress in a Leading Role - "In the Bedroom"
Filmography
"Trash" (1970)
"Prime Cut" (1972)
"The Girls of Huntington House" (1973)
"Ginger in the Morning" (1974)
"Badlands" (1973)
"The Migrants" (1974)
"Katherine" a.k.a. "The Radical" (1975)
"Carrie" (1976) – Academy Award nomination for Best Actress
"3 Women" (1977)
"Welcome to L.A." (1976)
"Verna: U.S.O. Girl" (1978)
"Coal Miner's Daughter" (1980) – Academy Award for Best Actress
"Heart Beat" (1980)
"Raggedy Man" (1981)
"Missing" (1982) – Academy Award nomination for Best Actress
"The Man with Two Brains" (1983)
"The River" (1984) – Academy Award nomination for Best Actress
"Marie" (1985)
"Violets Are Blue" (1986)
"'night, Mother" (1986)
"Crimes of the Heart" (1986) – Academy Award nomination for Best Actress
"The Long Walk Home" (1990)
"Hard Promises" (1991)
"JFK" (1991)
"A Private Matter" (1992)
"A Place for Annie" (1994)
"Trading Mom" (1994)
"The Good Old Boys" (1995)
"The Grass Harp" (1995)
"Streets of Laredo" (1995)
"Beyond the Call" (1996)
"If These Walls Could Talk"
"Affliction" (1997)
"Blast from the Past" (1999)
"The Straight Story" (1999)
"Songs in Ordinary Time" (2000) (TV)
"In the Bedroom" (2001) – Academy Award nomination for Best Actress
"Midwives" (2001)
"Last Call" (2002)
"Tuck Everlasting" (2002)
"A Home at the End of the World" (2004)
"Nine Lives (2005)
"The Ring 2" (2005)
"North Country" (2005)
"An American Haunting" (2006)
"Gray Matters" (2007)
"Hot Rod"
"Lake City" (completed)
"Picture of Hollis Woods" (2007) (TV)
Credit
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article about Sissy Spacek.
