Sally Field is an American actress known for her roles on stage and screen. She has received two Academy Awards, two Actor Awards, four Emmy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards as well as nominations for two BAFTA Awards, two Critics Choice Awards and a Tony Award. She received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2014, Kennedy Center Honor in 2019, and a Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award in 2023.
Field gained stardom for her comedic role in the action road film Smokey and the Bandit (1977) for which she was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy. She then gained acclaim for her leading role as the titular factory worker turned union organizer in the drama Norma Rae (1979) for which she won the Academy Award for Best Actress, the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress, and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama. She then portrayed a mother struggling during the Great Depression in Places in the Heart (1984) earning her second Academy Award for Best Actress and Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama. For her role as Mama Gump in the Robert Zemeckis comedy-drama epic Forrest Gump (1994) she was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. She also portrayed Mary Todd Lincoln in the Steven Spielberg directed historical drama Lincoln (2012) for which she was nominated for the Academy Award, the BAFTA Award, and the Golden Globe Award. She was also Golden Globe-nominated for her roles in the films Absence of Malice (1981), Kiss Me Goodbye (1982), Murphy's Romance (1985).
On television, Field played the title role in the NBC film Sybil (1976) earning the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie. She played a woman with bipolar in the NBC medical series ER (2001–2003) for which she earned the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series. She portrayed Nora Walker in the ABC drama series Brothers & Sisters (2006–2011) for which she won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series and the Actor Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series. For her role as an elderly widow in the Netflix film Remarkably Bright Creatures (2026) she won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie. She was Emmy-nominated for her roles in the NBC period drama film A Woman of Independent Means (1995) and in the Showtime television film A Cooler Climate (1999).
On stage, she played the leading role of Amanda Wingfield in the Broadway revival production of the Tennessee Williams play The Glass Menagerie (2017), for which she was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Play
Major associations Academy Awards Year Category Nominated work Result 1980 Best Actress Norma Rae 1985 Places in the Heart 2013 Best Supporting Actress Lincoln
Actor Awards Year Category Nominated work Result 1994 Outstanding Actress in a Supporting Role Forrest Gump 1995 Outstanding Actress in a Miniseries or Television Movie A Woman of Independent Means 2000 Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series ER 1999 Outstanding Actress in a Miniseries or Television Movie A Cooler Climate 2000 David Copperfield 2007 Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series Brothers & Sisters 2008 2012 Outstanding Cast in a Motion Picture Lincoln Outstanding Actress in a Supporting Role 2023 Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award BAFTA Awards Year Category Nominated work Result British Academy Film Awards 1995 Best Actress in a Supporting Role Forrest Gump 2013 Lincoln
Critics' Choice Awards Year Category Nominated work Result Critics' Choice Movie Awards 2012 Best Supporting Actress Lincoln 2016 Best Actress in a Comedy Hello, My Name is Doris
Emmy Awards Year Category Nominated work Result Primetime Emmy Awards1977 Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama or Comedy Special Sybil 1995 Outstanding MiniseriesA Woman of Independent Means Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Special 2000 Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie A Cooler Climate 2001 Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series ER 2003 2007 Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series Brothers & Sisters 2008 2009 2026 Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie Remarkably Bright Creatures
Golden Globe Awards Year Category Nominated work Result 1978 Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy Smokey and the Bandit 1980 Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama Norma Rae 1982 Absence of Malice 1984 Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy Kiss Me Goodbye 1985 Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama Places in the Heart 1986 Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy Murphy's Romance 1990 Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama Steel Magnolias 1996 Best Actress in a Miniseries or Television Film A Woman of Independent Means 2008 Best Actress in a Television Series – Drama Brothers & Sisters 2009 2013 Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture Lincoln
Tony Awards Year Category Nominated work Result 2017 Best Actress in a Play The Glass Menagerie
Miscellaneous awards Year Association Category Nominated work Result 1979 Cannes Film Festival Best ActressNorma Rae Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards Best Actress National Board of Review Best Actress New York Film Critics Circle Awards Best Actress National Society of Film Critics Awards Best Actress 1982 People's Choice Awards Favorite Motion Picture Actress Absence of Malice 1986 Murphy's Romance 1995 Kids' Choice Awards Favorite Movie Actress Forrest Gump 2007 Satellite Awards Best Actress – Television Series Drama Brothers & Sisters 2008 People's Choice Awards Favorite Female Television Star Satellite Awards Best Actress – Television Series Drama People's Choice Awards Favorite Female Television Star 2012 Boston Society of Film Critics Awards Best Supporting Actress Lincoln Chicago Film Critics Association Awards Best Supporting Actress Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Awards Best Supporting Actress New York Film Critics Circle Awards Best Supporting Actress Southeastern Film Critics Association Awards Best Supporting Actress National Society of Film Critics Awards Best Supporting Actress Online Film Critics Society Awards Best Supporting Actress 2016 Women Film Critics Circle Best Comedic Actress Hello, My Name Is Doris 2017 Broadway.com Audience Award Favorite Leading Actress in a Play The Glass Menagerie Drama League Award Distinguished Performance Outer Critics Circle Award Outstanding Actress in a Play 2026 6th Astra TV Awards Best Actress in a Limited Series or TV Movie Remarkably Bright Creatures
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