Mary Elizabeth Spacek, professionally known as Sissy Spacek, was born on December 25, 1949, in Quitman, Texas, to Virginia Frances (Spilman) and Edwin Arnold Spacek, Sr., a county agricultural agent of Czech and German descent.
As a child, Sissy spent her days climbing trees, riding horses, swimming, and playing in the woods. She attended Quitman High School, where she was crowned homecoming queen.
After graduating, Sissy pursued an acting career, inspired by her cousin, actor Rip Torn. She relocated to New York and enrolled in the New York branch of the Actors Studio, where she studied acting under the guidance of Lee Strasberg.
Sissy also worked as a model and singer, performing in West Village showcases such as the Bitter End for $10 a night. Her big break came with the role of Holly in the classic film Badlands (1973),directed by Jack Fisk, whom she would later marry.
Her performance in Carrie (1976) earned her an Oscar nomination and cemented her status as a rising star. Sissy went on to have a long and award-winning career in film and television, including an Oscar win for Best Actress in Coal Miner's Daughter (1980).
Sissy is the mother of two grown daughters and lives on a large horse ranch in the foothills of Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains. She took a break from acting to focus on her family in the late 1980s and 1990s, but returned to the big screen in 2001 with a powerful performance in In the Bedroom (2001),earning her a sixth Best Actress Oscar nomination and numerous critics association awards.
In addition to her acting career, Sissy has also written a memoir, My Extraordinary Ordinary Life, which was published in 2012.
