ACTOR BIO

Of all the performers people of all ages hold near and dear to their hearts, this accomplished actress is certainly on our short list! And, coming full circle, she first got her big break on ABC’s Gidget—over 40 years ago.

As a two-time Academy Award winner for her performances in "Places in the Heart" and "Norma Rae," Sally Field continually captivates her audiences with her passion in bringing incredibly vivid characters to life. Ms. Field also has an Emmy Award for her title role as a young woman with multiple personalities in the four-hour television film, Sybil, with Joanne Woodward. More recently she starred in the feature film "Legally Blonde 2: Red, White and Blonde," and thrilled audiences in "The Glass Menagerie" at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. She made her Broadway debut in Edward Albee's "The Goat," or "Who is Sylvia?"

In the fall of 2000, Ms. Field made her feature film directorial debut with "Beautiful," which starred Minnie Driver as a woman who aspires to become Miss America and will do anything to be crowned a beauty queen. She made her TV directorial debut in December of 1996 with The Christmas Tree, a two-hour ABC telefilm starring Julie Harris. She also served as executive producer and shared writing credit on this project, based on Julie Salamon's novel of the same title. In addition she directed an episode of Tom Hanks' epic HBO miniseries From the Earth to the Moon entitled The Original Wives Club, which dealt with the experiences of the astronauts' wives.

Her film credits include "An Eye for an Eye," directed by John Schlesinger, and the hugely successful "Forrest Gump" and "Mrs. Doubtfire". Other feature films include "Soapdish," "Not Without my Daughter," 'Steel Magnolias," "Punchline," "Murphy's Romance" (the latter two produced by her production company, Fogwood Films), "Absence of Malice," "The End," "Hooper," "Heroes" and "Smokey and the Bandit Parts I and II". Her first major film was "Stay Hungry," starring Jeff Bridges and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Ms. Field's television credits are equally expansive and include the role of Aunt Betsey in the TNT adaptation of Charles Dickens' classic, David Copperfield, as well as Showtime's A Cooler Climate, which earned her an Emmy nomination for her role as a wealthy wife turned impoverished divorcee who finds work as a maid. This year she also reprised her Emmy Award-winning role on the hit NBC drama ER. Her appearance in A Woman of Independent Means, a six-hour miniseries, marked her return to television - not only as an actor, but also as co-producer - after a twenty year absence. Her performance earned her Emmy and Golden Globe nominations.

Born in Pasadena, California, and raised in a show business family, Ms. Field was enrolled in acting classes at Columbia Pictures when she was selected from among 150 finalists to star in the television series Gidget. She went on to star in the series The Flying Nun and The Girl with Something Extra.