Sissy Spacek: How the Quirky Texan Actress Got Her Start and What She’s Doing Next!
She won an Oscar for her spot-on portrayal of Loretta Lynn and she's still going strong
The ’70s gave rise to many a unique and unforgettable movie star, and chief among them was Sissy Spacek, the petite, freckle-faced Texas ingenue who starred in classic films like Badlands, Carrie and Coal Miner’s Daughter.
Now 74, Sissy Spacek is still acting, and her roles from decades past still inspire. Here’s a look at how the charmingly quirky star got her start, her long relationship and what she’s been up to lately.
From Mary Elizabeth to Sissy
Sissy was born Mary Elizabeth Spacek on Christmas Day in 1949. Her nickname came from her older brothers and has stuck ever since. Growing up in sleepy small-town Texas, she initially hoped to be a singer and in 1968 she signed a record deal under the name Rainbo.
Her early singing career was not a success. She released a novelty single “John You Went Too Far This Time” about her frustration with John Lennon and Yoko Ono posing nude on the cover of their album Two Virgins (yes, really!) and was dropped by her label after it failed to chart.
While her early attempt at pop stardom wasn’t promising, years later Spacek’s musical skills would serve her well when Loretta Lynn handpicked the actress to play her in Coal Miner’s Daughter. She did her own singing for the 1980 film and won the Oscar for Best Actress. In 1983, she released a country album, Hangin’ Up My Heart, which was a modest success.
Spacek began acting in the early ’70s, moving to New York and enrolling in the Actors Studio. Her first role was in the 1972 thriller Prime Cut and she then appeared in Love, American Style and The Waltons.
Spacek’s big break came in 1973 when she played the naive girlfriend of a serial killer in Badlands. She also narrated the film, and her combination of sweetness and mystery captivated viewers. The film is regarded as a high point of ’70s cinema, and set Spacek on the path to movie stardom.
Becoming a ’70s icon
In 1976, Spacek played the title character in Carrie, a role that remains one of the best known of her career. Her alternatively heartbreaking and terrifying performance earned her her first Oscar nomination and helped to make the Stephen King adaptation one of the greatest horror movies of all time.
Decades later, Spacek still speaks highly of the film and its impact, and has said, “It was just a perfect film made at one of those moments in time where all the elements just came together perfectly. I love that it’s a modern classic. I love that it is a rite of passage. Every year a new generation gets to see it and that’s wonderful.”
The next year, Spacek starred with another fascinating ’70s leading lady, Shelley Duvall, in the pastel-toned psychological drama 3 Women. She started the ’80s off with a bang, thanks to her indelible performance in Coal Miner’s Daughter, and after winning her Oscar, she was nominated three more times that decade, for her roles in Missing (1982), The River (1984) and Crimes of the Heart (1986).
Sissy Spacek’s long relationship
Sissy Spacek isn’t just a great talent who went from small-town aspiring singer to the A-list, she’s also half of one of Hollywood’s longest-lasting couples.
Spacek met production designer and director Jack Fisk on the set of Badlands, where he was serving as art director. They married in 1974 and are still together to this day, 50 years later. They have two daughters, one of whom, Schuyler Fisk, is now an actress herself.
Spacek has worked with her husband many times, and in an Esquire interview, she said, “My husband is such a wonderful artist. He’s phenomenal, and I learned so much from him about the artist’s life, and about work, and what it involves, and how much you have to give. You have to give everything up and be focused when you’re working. We’ve shared that.”
What Sissy Spacek has been up to lately
In the ’90s, Spacek appeared in movies like JFK (1991), Affliction (1997) and The Straight Story (1999), and in 2001 she starred in In the Bedroom, which earned her yet another Oscar nomination.
Since then, she’s been in movies including Tuck Everlasting (2002), Get Low (2009), The Help (2011). More recently, she’s moved into TV roles, and been in the cast of Bloodline (2015-2017), Castle Rock (2018), Homecoming (2018) and Night Sky (2022).
Spacek most recently appeared alongside her daughter in the 2022 comedy Sam & Kate. Her next project is the upcoming miniseries Dying for Sex, alongside Michelle Williams and Jenny Slate.
There’s no other actress quite like Spacek, and over 50 years into her storied career, she remains just as compelling as she was when she played a teenage horror icon.
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