Mini Biography
Sally Margaret Field was born in 1946 in Pasadena, California, to actress Margaret Field and salesman Richard Dryden Field. Her parents divorced in 1950 and her mother then married stuntman Jock Mahoney, and they had a daughter, Princess O'Mahoney. She also has a brother, Richard Field. Sally attended Birmingham High School in Van Nuys, California.
Her acting career began in 1965, when she landed the role of Frances Elizabeth 'Gidget' Lawrence in "Gidget" (1965); it was canceled after only one season because of bad ratings. She went on to star in "The Flying Nun" (1967), which ran for three seasons. She also appeared in her first film in 1967, The Way West (1967) opposite Kirk Douglas. In the next few years she appeared in numerous TV movies and TV shows such as Maybe I'll Come Home in the Spring (1971) (TV), Marriage: Year One (1971) (TV), "The Girl with Something Extra" (1973), and Sybil (1976) (TV). In 1977 she starred alongside Burt Reynolds in the box office hit Smokey and the Bandit (1977), which led to a less successful sequel in 1980. In 1979 she starred in the popular film Norma Rae (1979) and she received her first Oscar for that role.
In the years that followed she starred in films such as Absence of Malice (1981), Kiss Me Goodbye (1982), Places in the Heart (1984) (she received her second Oscar for her role), Murphy's Romance (1985), Punchline (1988) and Steel Magnolias (1989). In 1993 she starred alongside Robin Williams and Pierce Brosnan in the popular comedy Mrs. Doubtfire (1993). A year after, she played the role of Tom Hanks character's mother (even though she's only ten years older than he is in real life) in the film Forrest Gump (1994). The film was a huge commercial success and won six Academy awards.
Since then she has appeared in TV movies and miniseries such as "A Woman of Independent Means" (1995), Merry Christmas, George Bailey (1997) (TV), "From the Earth to the Moon" (1998) and David Copperfield (2000) (TV). In 2000 she appeared in the film Where the Heart Is (2000) with Natalie Portman and Ashley Judd, and in 2003 she starred alongside Reese Witherspoon in Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde (2003). She also appeared in 12 episodes of "ER" (1994) from 2000 to 2006. In recent years she has played the role of matriarch Nora Walker in the hit television show "Brothers & Sisters" (2006), which earned her an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series in 2007.
Sally has been married twice, first to Steven Craig from 1968 to 1975. They had two sons together, Peter Craig and Eli Craig. Her second marriage was to film producer Alan Greisman from 1984 to 1993. They had one son together, Samuel Greisman (born December 2, 1987).
Filmography
2014 The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (filming)
Aunt May
2012 Lincoln
Mary Todd Lincoln
2012 The Amazing Spider-Man
Aunt May
2006-2011 Brothers & Sisters (TV series)
Nora Walker
2008 The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning (video)
Marina Del Ray (voice)
2007 Brothers & Sisters: Family Album (TV movie)
Nora Walker (also archive footage)
2006 Two Weeks
Anita Bergman
2000-2006 ER (TV series)
Maggie Wyczenski
2005 Conviction (TV movie)
2003 Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde
Rep. Victoria Rudd
2002 The Court (TV series)
Justice Kate Nolan
2001 Say It Isn't So
Valdine Wingfield
2000 David Copperfield (TV movie)
Aunt Betsey Trotwood
2000 Where the Heart Is
Mama Lil
1999 A Cooler Climate (TV movie)
Iris
1998 From the Earth to the Moon (TV mini-series)
Trudy Cooper
1998 Murphy Brown (TV series)
Secretary #91, Kathleen Dubek
1997 Merry Christmas, George Bailey (TV movie)
Mrs. Bailey/Narrator
1997 King of the Hill (TV series)
Junie Harper
1996 Homeward Bound 2: Lost in San Francisco
Sassy (voice)
1996 Eye for an Eye
Karen McCann
1995 A Woman of Independent Means (TV mini-series)
Bess Alcott Steed Garner
1994 Forrest Gump
Mrs. Gump
1993 Mrs. Doubtfire
Miranda Hillard
1993 Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey
Sassy (voice)
1991 Soapdish
Celeste Talbert / Maggie
1991 Not Without My Daughter
Betty Mahmoody
1989 Steel Magnolias
M'Lynn Eatenton
1988 Punchline
Lilah Krytsick
1987 Surrender
Daisy Morgan
1985 Murphy's Romance
Emma Moriarty
1984 Places in the Heart
Edna Spalding
1982 Kiss Me Goodbye
Kay
1981 All the Way Home (TV movie)
Mary Follet
1981 Absence of Malice
Megan
1981 Back Roads
Amy Post
1980 Smokey and the Bandit II
Carrie
1979 Beyond the Poseidon Adventure
Celeste Whitman
1979 Norma Rae
Norma Rae
1978 Hooper
Gwen
1978 The End
Mary Ellen
1977 Heroes
Carol Bell
1977 Smokey and the Bandit
Carrie
1976 Sybil (TV movie)
Sybil
1976 Bridger (TV movie)
Jennifer Melford
1976 Stay Hungry
Mary Tate Farnsworth
1973-1974 The Girl with Something Extra (TV series)
Sally Burton
1973 Rod Serling's Night Gallery (TV series)
Irene Evans
1972 Home for the Holidays (TV movie)
Christine Morgan
1971-1972 Alias Smith and Jones (TV series)
Clementine Hale
1971 Mongo's Back in Town (TV movie)
Vikki
1971 Marriage: Year One (TV movie)
Jane Duden
1971 Marcus Welby, M.D. (TV series)
Jan Wilkins / June Wilkins
1971 Hitched (TV movie)
Roselle Bridgeman
1971 Maybe I'll Come Home in the Spring (TV movie)
Denise 'Dennie' Miller
1970 Bracken's World (TV series)
Jenny Marsh
1967-1970 The Flying Nun (TV series)
Sister Bertrille / Elsie Etherington / Elsie Ethrington
1967 The Way West
Mercy McBee
1967 Hey, Landlord (TV series)
Bonnie Banner
1966 Occasional Wife (TV series)
Nancy Zogerdorfer
1965-1966 Gidget (TV series)
Frances Elizabeth 'Gidget' Lawrence
