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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 to Edwin Arnold Spacek and Virginia Spilman. Her paternal grandparents, Mary Cervenka and Arnold A. Spacek, who served as Mayor of Granger, TX in Williamson County, were of Moravian/Czech/Bohemian descent. Spacek's mother was from the Rio Grande Valley of Texas. Spacek's great-uncle, Rudolph Spacek of Fayetteville, served five terms in the Texas State Legislature in the 1940's with a perfect attendance record, never missing a vote. Her mother's brother, Wade Spilman, once served as the Speaker of the House in the Texas State Legislature, also. 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 white 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 Carrie, in 1976, in which she played the title character, an emotionally troubled teenager with telekinetic powers. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her work in the film. She eventually 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 lost the Oscar to Halle Berry that year.

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 in Virginia. She is also an ardent crusader for women's rights.

Academy Award 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

• Hot Rod (in production)
• An American Haunting (2006)
• North Country (2005)
• A Home at the End of the World (2004)
• The Ring 2 (2005)
• Tuck Everlasting (2002)
• Last Call (2002)
• Midwives (2001)
• In the Bedroom (2001) – Academy Award nomination for Best Actress
• Songs in Ordinary Time (2000)
• The Straight Story (1999)
• Blast from the Past (1999)
• Affliction (1997)
• If These Walls Could Talk
• Beyond the Call (1996)
• Streets of Laredo (1995)
• The Grass Harp (1995)
• The Good Old Boys (1995)
• Trading Mom (1994)
• A Place for Annie (1994)
• A Private Matter (1992)
• JFK (1991)
• Hard Promises (1991)
• The Long Walk Home (1990)
• Crimes of the Heart (1986) – Academy Award nomination for Best Actress
• 'night, Mother (1986)
• Violets Are Blue (1986)
• Marie (1985)
• The River (1984) – Academy Award nomination for Best Actress
• The Man with Two Brains (1983)
• Missing (1982) – Academy Award nomination for Best Actress
• Raggedy Man (1981)
• Heart Beat (1980)
• Coal Miner's Daughter (1980) – Academy Award for Best Actress
• Verna, USO Girl (1978)
• Welcome to L.A. (1976)
• 3 Women (1977)
• Carrie (1976) – Academy Award nomination for Best Actress
• Katherine a.k.a. The Radical (1975)
• The Migrants (1974)
• Badlands (1973)
• Ginger in the Morning (1974)
• The Girls of Huntington House (1973)
• Prime Cut (1972)
• Trash (1970)
• Phantom of the Paradise (Costume Designer)
• Death Game (art director)