Sally Field
An actress of remarkable emotional transparency who fought typecasting to become one of her generation's most respected and resilient performers.
Born 1946 (age 80)·American actress·Birthday: November 6·Baby Boomers
Biography
Sally Field's career is a masterclass in defying expectations. She began as the flying nun and the cheerful girl-next-door on 1960s television, roles that belied a fierce intelligence and depth she had to fight to show. Her breakthrough came with raw, transformative television movies like 'Sybil', where she played a woman with multiple personalities, announcing she was no longer just Gidget. The film industry finally took notice with 'Norma Rae', where her portrayal of a union organizer was both fiercely determined and vulnerably human, earning her first Oscar. She later delivered a tour de force in 'Places in the Heart', securing a second Academy Award. Field never shied from complexity, whether as a grieving mother in 'Steel Magnolias' or the formidable matriarch in 'Lincoln'. Her famous Oscar speech line, 'You like me!', often misquoted, was actually a triumphant declaration of a hard-won battle for respect that she had long since earned.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Sally was born in 1946, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Sally Was Born
The biggest hits of 1946
#1 Movie
The Best Years of Our Lives
Best Picture
The Best Years of Our Lives
Sally's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1946Born
United Nations holds its first General Assembly
Gas: $0.21/galHome: $5,150Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Prisoner of Love" — Perry ComoBest Picture: The Best Years of Our Lives
1951Started school
First color TV broadcast in the US
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $7,925Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Too Young" — Nat King ColeBest Picture: An American in Paris
1959Became a teenager
Fidel Castro takes power in Cuba
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $12,400Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"The Battle of New Orleans" — Johnny HortonBest Picture: Ben-Hur
1962Could drive
Cuban Missile Crisis brings the world to the brink
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $12,800Min wage: $1.15/hrPresident: John F. Kennedy"Stranger on the Shore" — Acker BilkBest Picture: Lawrence of Arabia
1964Could vote
Civil Rights Act signed; Beatles arrive in America
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $13,450Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"I Want to Hold Your Hand" — The BeatlesBest Picture: My Fair Lady
1967Turned 21
Summer of Love in San Francisco; first Super Bowl
Gas: $0.33/galHome: $14,250Min wage: $1.40/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"To Sir, with Love" — LuluBest Picture: In the Heat of the Night
1976Turned 30
Apple Computer founded; US bicentennial
Gas: $0.59/galHome: $29,300Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Silly Love Songs" — WingsBest Picture: Rocky
1986Turned 40
Challenger disaster; Chernobyl nuclear meltdown
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $66,600Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"That's What Friends Are For" — Dionne & FriendsBest Picture: Platoon
1996Turned 50
Dolly the sheep cloned
Gas: $1.23/galHome: $99,700Min wage: $4.75/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Macarena" — Los del RioBest Picture: The English Patient
2006Turned 60
Twitter launches; Pluto reclassified as dwarf planet
Gas: $2.59/galHome: $174,700Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Bad Day" — Daniel PowterBest Picture: The Departed
2016Turned 70
Donald Trump elected president; Brexit vote
Gas: $2.14/galHome: $181,700Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Love Yourself" — Justin BieberBest Picture: Moonlight
2026Turned 80
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performances in 'Norma Rae' (1979) and 'Places in the Heart' (1984).
- Received a Primetime Emmy Award for her starring role in the landmark TV movie 'Sybil'.
- Awarded the National Medal of Arts by President Barack Obama in 2014.
- Honored with a Kennedy Center Honor in 2019 for her lifetime contributions to American culture.
Did You Know?
She performed many of her own stunts, including the famous pole-vault scene, in the film 'The Flying Nun'.
Field is the stepmother of actress and filmmaker Maggie Gyllenhaal.
She directed the film 'Beautiful', which starred her friend Minnie Driver.
“I’ve spent my life trying to get people to take me seriously.”
