Sally Field Achieved The Impossible
Wholesome-looking Sally Field started her career with a girl-next-door persona on fluffy TV sitcoms. When she went from a nun who could fly to an Oscar winner, it seemed that she had achieved the impossible. Then a volatile romance with a much-in-demand Hollywood heartthrob threatened to end it all.
As she struggled in her relationship, her next adversary appeared. It was herself, and a very public speech that had the potential to derail everything she’d worked so hard for.
1. Her Childhood Was Anything But Easy
Sally Field was born in Pasadena, California, on November 6, 1946—and right from the beginning there was a little bit of drama in her blood. Her mother was an actress, and her father was a pharmacist, but they divorced when Field was still a child. Though her mother married again two years later, her new stepfather would leave her emotionally scarred.
2. Her Stepdad Was A Monster
Because Field’s mother was an actress, she likely had more in common with her second husband. He was Jock Mahoney, and he worked in the film industry as an actor and stuntman. Sadly, he was an atrocious stepfather. Field later reported that he repeatedly took advantage of her until she turned 14 years of age.
But fate had another harrowing ordeal in store for her.
3. She Survived A Teenage Nightmare
As a teenager, Sally Field attended Birmingham High School and became a cheerleader. When she was 17 years old, she found herself pregnant. She made the agonizing decision to go to Mexico to terminate the pregnancy. There, the technician acted very inappropriately during the procedure and left Field devastated. It was an early life marked by trauma.
Luckily, Field would soon find her passion.
4. She Took On 75 Other Actresses
Before she was even 20, Field had caught the acting bug. She was still a teenager when she went to an audition where 75 other young women her age were in competition to play Gidget, the title character in a show about a California surfer girl and her relationship with her widowed father.
Field was so desperate for the part that she risked telling a whopper of a lie.
5. She Had Two Strikes Against Her
The character Gidget had already appeared in a novel and a movie—and both versions made her blonde. That was Field’s first strike. Next was the fact that she couldn’t surf to save her life. Field did nothing about her hair color, but she had no problem lying about her experience in the surf. When she got the part, she quickly took surfing lessons and learned to surf well enough to ride the waves for the cameras.
Sadly, surfing lessons were not enough to save this doomed series.
6. She Learned How To Fly
ABC heartlessly canceled Gidget after just one season. Next up for Sally Field was the preposterous The Flying Nun, about a nun who could magically fly. Field thought it was dumb, but her stepfather insisted she take it. While playing the virginal Nun, Field somehow managed to get married. In 1968, she walked down the aisle in Las Vegas with her high school sweetheart Steven Craig.
The Flying Nun only ran for three seasons, but it had the potential to dominate Field’s career.
7. She Was The Wholesome Girl
After playing a wholesome nun, Field got a chance at…well…playing another wholesome character. This was The Girl With Something Extra. This squeaky-clean sitcom lasted for only one season, and it made Field come to a decision. She had to figure out a way to stop playing girl-next-door characters.
Only a drastic action would change things.
8. She Put Her Fate In His Hands
If Sally Field wanted people to take her seriously, she needed to show that she could handle weightier material. Like many actors of the time, Field made her way to the Actors Studio. She put her fate in the hands of the legendary Lee Strasberg. If he couldn’t make a dramatic actor out of her, no one could.
9. Her Acting Dream Cost Her Her Marriage
During this period of her life, Field did get serious. Serious enough to see that her marriage wasn’t working. She and Craig had two sons, but, for some reason, while learning to be a dramatic actor, the relationship was no longer working. Her marriage was a casualty of the Actors Studio.
Field had risked everything, even her marriage, to become a real actor. This just had to pay off.
10. She Got A Role With High Drama
Field’s first role after her time at the Actors Studio would certainly put her new training to the test. It was a TV film called Sybil, where Field played the titular character. Sybil was based on a true story about a woman with an astonishing 13 personalities. Was the light-hearted actress from the Flying Nun really capable of pulling off such a nuanced and demanding role?
11. Hollywood Finally Came Calling
As it turned out, Sally Field was up for the challenge. The critics loved her, and the show was a smash hit. Her success on Sybil suddenly opened the door to an offer to do a big-screen Hollywood movie. If she got the role in Smokey and the Bandit, her costar would be none other than screen heartthrob Burt Reynolds. Before Field got the chance to get nervous, her phone rang.
This call would change her life.
12. He Thought She Was Gidget
The person on the other end of the line was Reynolds himself. He’d heard that Field was up for the role as his love interest in Smokey and the Bandit and wanted a chat. The call took Field by surprise because she thought her work on Sybil had made her look more than a little crazy. As it turned out, Reynolds was more interested in Field because of her surf-crazed character Gidget.
But this was only the beginning.
13. They Ditched The Script
Sally Field eventually auditioned with Reynolds, but she quickly surmised that the screenplay was underdeveloped. She said that she and Reynolds basically threw the script out the window and ad-libbed their way through the audition. After the audition, it was another phone call that caught Field unawares. It was Reynolds again, and he was asking her out on a date.
Field was beyond nervous.
14. Two Worlds Collided
If Field went on this date, it would be an iconic mash-up. You see, the public still saw Field as the purer than pure Flying Nun. And what about Reynolds? Well, every woman in America knew a lot about Reynolds. You see, in 1972 he had posed in the buff on a bearskin rug for Cosmopolitan magazine.
Of course Field said yes. She was living the dream of women everywhere.
15. Their First Date Was A Weird One
Sally Field hadn’t had much time for dating, especially with wildly popular hunks like Reynolds. The first thing that was strange was the arrangement of the date. Reynolds’ celebrity was already too large for him to just go to the lobby of her hotel to pick her up. Not a chance. Instead, Reynolds sent his bodyguard to go get Field.
Field didn’t feel at all ready for her first big Hollywood date.
16. She Felt Like A Total Clown
Getting picked up by Reynolds’ bodyguard did nothing to lighten the air for Field. She later said that she didn’t remember much about the date. She knew there was food, and that other people had joined them. She didn’t really know what she was doing there. In fact, the situation made her feel like a clown.
But that night was the start of something huge for Field.
17. Their Romance Got Weird Fast
Within days of starting to make Smokey and the Bandit, Sally Field and Reynolds became a couple, and the relationship moved quickly from there. Field later said that four days of dating felt like four years. But it wasn't just a love affair. She later explained, "There was some ingredient between us having to do with my caretaking and him needing to be taken care of".
But something even stranger was happening between Field and Reynolds.
18. She Was A Huge Disappointment
Field later said that by her second date with Reynolds, she knew the fantasy was starting to crack. Reynolds didn’t seem to want to know her. He wanted to spend time with the woman he had imagined Field was. Maybe he was expecting Gidget herself? Field also had a penchant for curse words, which Reynolds didn't approve of, so she quit swearing.
But Reynolds had plenty of other problems.
19. She Was Under His Control
According to Sally Field, Reynolds had a control problem. The problem was that he wanted a lot of it. When she met him, he was using his power as a Hollywood player to control everything around him. Field and Reynolds made four movies together, and in each one Field played his girlfriend. It seemed like Reynold wanted to keep his girlfriend close.
But Reynolds lived by a different set of rules for himself.
20. She Discovered His Dirty Secret
While in a relationship with Reynolds, Field received a letter in the mail from her grandmother. Inside were clippings that could only serve to humiliate Field. Her grandmother had snipped out articles from tabloids about Reynolds' adulterous and secret affairs. Just when things with Reynolds couldn’t get any worse, they did.
21. She Was Trapped In A Toxic Romance
While Sally Field and Reynolds were struggling through their toxic relationship, Reynolds turned to the bottle. But the result wasn’t at all what you’d expect. Instead of ripping the two even further apart, Reynolds’ drinking allegedly spurred him to give Field more of the attention she desired. Which is kind of unhealthy when you think about it.
But even the bottle couldn’t turn Reynolds into the perfect boyfriend.
22. He Couldn’t Even Support Her On Her Big Night
In 1978, the Emmys rolled around, and Field was up for one for her work in Sylbil. The thing was, she was also busy keeping Reynolds happy while he made the movie The End. To support her boyfriend, Field offered to miss the ceremony. While Reynolds didn’t say, “Don’t go," he also didn’t say, “Go”. Sadly, Field watched the ceremony alone on TV. Incidentally, she won.
She’d stood by her man. But was it worth it?
23. Critics Tore Her Performance Apart
The film that Sally Field was working on instead of attending the award show where she took home her first Emmy was The End. This Reynolds-directed comedy, about a man wanting to take his own life, received a savage response from critics, and so did Field’s performance. They said she was "phoning in a kooky-pretty role". Clearly, Field had her mind on other things.
The thing that was keeping Field and Reynolds together was a darkness from her past.
24. He Brought Her Dark Past Back
Field found herself intimately entangled with one of the most swoon-worthy actors of her generation, but that’s not exactly how she saw it. Reynolds reminded her of someone, and it wasn’t a good memory. Reynolds was bringing back memories of Field’s stepfather. It was in the way he insulted her, and also the way he frightened her. All Field wanted to do was please him.
This task seemed close to impossible.
25. She Made A Lethal Mistake
Sally Field was trying her best to keep Reynolds happy, and at the same time trying to continue her career. She received a script for her consideration called Norma Rae. This was a hard-hitting drama about a woman who bitterly battles her employer and forms a union. Field was excited about the role, but then she made a lethal mistake.
She asked Reynolds to read it.
26. He Threw Her Dream Role In Her Face
Reynolds read the script for Norma Rae, and Field awaited his opinion. Instead of telling her how he felt, he showed her. Reynold heartlessly threw the script in Field’s face. He then told her that no woman he was with would play a role like that. Reynolds' rudeness caused Field’s own behavior to take an aggressive turn.
27. She Fought Back
Once again, Reynolds had triggered dark memories of Field’s stepfather. But this time she didn’t cower in fear. Living with her stepfather's anger had taught her how to be angry as well. She began defending Norma Rae. She wouldn't let Reynolds stand between her and a role of a lifetime.
28. She Refused To Let Him Stop Her
Sally Field did not let Reynolds stop her from taking the lead role in Norma Rae, and this turned out to be a great decision. Norma Rae was a smash hit, and it even got Field an invitation to go to Cannes for her first overseas film festival. Reynolds flatly refused to join her, but that wasn’t punishment enough. Before she left, he said that she’d never win at Cannes.
When Field got a nod from the Academy, it was time for battle number two.
29. He Left Her Stranded
Field was ready to go to the Academy Awards ceremony and see if she had what it took to take home the prize. Of course, having the easy-on-the-eyes Reynolds at her side was a given. Or was it? Reynolds still hadn’t come to terms with Field playing the role in Norma Rae, and he heartlessly let his feelings known by refusing to attend the ceremony.
This was Reynolds’ last chance, and he had seriously blown it.
30. This Was The Last Straw
Sally Field had put up with Reynolds’ brutal behavior, his insults, and his general cruelty. But leaving her dateless on her big night was the last straw. Field took home the trophy that night and soon after ended her relationship with Reynolds. It was time to find a man she could count on.
31. She Tried To Outdo Herself
In 1984, Field married her second husband, film producer Alan Griesman. That same year, Field made a movie that had the potential to surpass her much-awarded performance in Norma Rae. This was the film Places in the Heart, about a Depression-era widow fighting to save her farm. Once again, the award nominations started coming in.
But on Oscar night, Field ran into some trouble.
32. Her Oscar Speech Became Infamous
Field took home a Golden Globe for her performance in Places in the Heart. Come Oscar night, she was also a winner. When she reached the podium, Field said, "I can't deny the fact that you like me...right now...you like me!” Field had no idea, but this short sentence would go on to define her.
33. She Put Her Foot In Her Mouth
The Oscars have a long history of strange antics when celebrities make their thank-yous. Remember Angelina Jolie announcing she was in love with her brother? While Field’s gaffe certainly isn’t as bizarre as Jolie’s, it has taken on a life of its own. The first step toward totally humiliating Field was to change the words she actually said.
34. Hollywood Got Her Famous Words Wrong
Field’s acceptance sentence quickly morphed into a phrase that sounded even more desperate. Suddenly, everyone remembered hearing her say, “You like me, you really like me”. She didn’t say that, but she did get an opportunity to explain exactly what was going on that night in her head.
35. She Really, Really Wanted To Be Liked
Field later confided what exactly she was thinking when she said those immortal words. She was just thinking that she’d been craving acceptance as an actor, and she was trying to express that in her words. Her career, starting in silly sitcoms that few people respected, had been completely unorthodox. And even after winning her first Oscar, she’d still felt inadequate. This second Oscar was it. Hollywood really liked her, and she wanted to say that.
But the masses would not let her off that easily.
36. Her Speech Became A Punchline
Field has felt deep frustration that her emotional speech at the Oscars has become a punchline for jokes. She even once confessed that she wanted to “punch” people when they got it wrong. After seeing her heartfelt speech become a pop culture moment, Field decided to take matters into her own hands.
37. She Joined In On The Laughter
Field cleverly decided to take her public embarrassment at the Oscars and monetize it. She appeared in an ad for investment company Charles Schwab. In it, she shows her appreciation of their help by quoting and misquoting her own speech. She later tells some older women in the elevator who really like her to “can it”.
Field’s star power was certainly rising. It was time to start throwing her weight around.
38. Her Star Power Changed The Movie
Before Field got her hands on the script for Punchline, the plan was for a small, low-budget film. When Field signed on to play a housewife who wants to be a comedian, everything changed. Her star power upped the budget and even encouraged celebrated actor Tom Hanks to sign up as her co-star.
Working with Hanks was probably a breeze, but her next co-star would put Field to the test.
39. She Was Unbreakable
In 1993, Field got the opportunity to work with celebrated comedic actor Robin Williams on Mrs Doubtfire. Field found Williams' energy exhausting, but Field was also proving to be tiresome in her own way. Apparently, Williams tried his hardest to make her break character, but his antics couldn’t break Field. She always managed to stay in character.
While it seems that Field and Williams were not getting along, that wasn’t totally true.
40. She Faced A Tragic Loss
Sure, Williams was busy trying to unsettle Field, but he was also a sensitive co-star. He sensed that Field was struggling, and she eventually admitted that her father had recently passed. She confided that she was trying to stay professional and keep working through her pain. Williams' response was unforgettable: "Oh my God, we need to get you out of here right now". He approached the director and got time off for Field.
Soon, Field would reunite with a past co-star. But it would defy logic.
41. She Went From Love Interest To Mom
In 1994, Field got a role in the iconic film Forrest Gump opposite her Punchlines co-star Tom Hanks. But this time, Hollywood had flipped the script. In Punchlines, she was Hanks’ love interest, but in Forrest Gump she’d be playing his mother. Leave it to Hollywood to help accelerate an actress’s aging.
But Field was not one to let things slip when it came to women’s rights.
42. She Became A Fierce Advocate For Women
Field has been a vocal advocate of women’s rights throughout her career. Her tragic abortion in Mexico led her to advocate for abortion rights at home. She also wasn't afraid to get political. She stood behind Hilary Clinton in 2008 and Kamala Harris in 2024. Sometimes her political views have gotten her into trouble.
43. They Cut Her Off On Live TV
In 2007, Field felt the cold hand of censorship. While accepting an Emmy award for Brothers & Sisters, Field expressed a controversial opinion. She boldly suggested that if women were in charge of the world, it would be a more peaceful place. Fox was airing the show, and they cut her off before she could finish her sentence.
Most of us would call Field a feminist. So what was she doing on the cover of this men’s magazine?
44. She Became An Unlikely Playboy Bunny
Field wasn’t the typical choice for a Playboy magazine cover, but in 1986 she was front and center. She even agreed to don the quintessential bunny ears and leotard for the cover photo. Unlike her ex, Burt Reynolds, Field managed to keep her clothes on in the magazine.
Clearly, this was all for fun. But Field still had other causes on her mind.
45. Her Activism Earned Her A Major Honor
When Field was married to Alan Greisman, they had a son, Sam. When Sam came out, Field added gay rights to her list of causes. Her advocacy for LGBT rights eventually earned her a prestigious honor. In 2012, she joined the list of Human Rights Campaign’s Ally for Equality Award winners, which also includes Meryl Streep and Whoopi Goldberg.
Once again, Field’s activism was about to get her into hot water.
46. They Took Her Down To The Station
In 2019, Field ran afoul of the law. She was alongside fellow actor Jane Fonda protesting climate change when authorities moved in. Field soon found herself in handcuffs with officers leading her away. During the encounter, she was smiling and held her shackled hands triumphantly in the air.
Field would once again team up with Fonda, but it would be in pursuit of a man.
47. She Had To Lie About Her Age
Celebrated football player Tom Brady was getting into the film business. He produced the movie 80 for Brady in celebration of four frenzied fans he had who were all over 80 years old. Joining Field and Fonda were Lily Tomlin and Rita Moreno. But if you do the math, you’ll see that Field was the one and only member of the club who was still yet to turn 80.
As she got older, Field felt she still had some truths to expose. And they were about Reynolds.
48. He Invented A Hollywood Love Story
Long after Field and Reynolds stopped being a couple, Reynolds told an interviewer that Field was the love of his life. Field didn’t see it like that at all. She remembered his glassy-eyed stare as she confided in him about her accomplishments and fears. She also got the same response when she wanted to talk about her children.
Field wasn’t about to let Reynolds’ lie become the truth.
49. She Finally Told the Truth
When Field wrote her memoir, In Pieces, she needed to correct the mythology surrounding her romance with Reynolds. She didn’t hold back and called Reynolds “controlling and distant”. From the outside, they looked like a glamorous Hollywood couple who were madly in love. The truth was totally different. Field frankly said that Reynolds was “not someone I could be around”. She even questioned whether she was ever in love with him.
Of course, Field now had a major concern. What would Reynolds do when he read her book?
50. She Saw A Storm Coming
When Field wrote her memoir In Pieces, she had very real concerns about Reynolds’ reaction to the things she wrote about him. She ominously predicted that he would lash out at the uncomfortable questions he would face after the public read about their dysfunctional relationship. Field bravely went forward with her book. She had to tell the truth.
As it turned out, Reynolds passed in 2018, just before Field released In Pieces.
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Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, `15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24