Mary Elizabeth Spacek was born onChristmas Day 1949,[3] inQuitman,Texas, the daughter of Virginia Frances (née Spilman, 1917–1981)[4] and Edwin Arnold Spacek Sr.,[5] aWood County agricultural agent in Quitman. Her father was of three quarters Czech (Moravian) and one quarterSudeten-German ancestry; her paternal grandparents were Mary (née Cervenka) and Arnold A. Spacek (who served as mayor ofGranger, Texas in Williamson County).[6][7]Rip Torn was her first cousin;[8] his mother Thelma Torn (née Spacek) was an elder sister of Sissy's father Edwin.[9] Spacek's mother, who was ofEnglish andIrish descent, was from theRio Grande Valley of Texas.[10]
At the age of six, Spacek performed on stage for the first time in a local talent show.[11] Although her birth name was Mary Elizabeth, she was always called Sissy by her brothers, which led to her nickname,Sissy, derived from 'sister' and a common Southern/Texasnickname.[12] She attendedQuitman High School.[11]
Spacek was greatly affected by the 1967 death of her 19-year-old brother Robbie fromleukemia, which she has called "the defining event of my whole life."[13] She has said the tragedy made her fearless in her acting career:
"I think it made me brave. Once you experience something like that, you've experienced the ultimate tragedy. And if you can continue, nothing else frightens you. That's what I meant about it being rocket fuel—I was fearless in a way. Maybe it gave more depth to my work because I had already experienced something profound and life-changing."
Spacek's first credited film role was in the action crime thrillerPrime Cut (1972), in which she played Poppy, a girl sold intosexual slavery.[10] The film led to a guest role in the television seriesThe Waltons (1973), which she played twice. Spacek received international attention for herbreakthrough role inTerrence Malick'sneo-noir crime drama filmBadlands (1973); she played Holly, the film's narrator and 15-year-old girlfriend ofserial killer Kit (Martin Sheen).[10] Spacek has describedBadlands as the "most incredible" experience of her career.[15] Vincent Canby ofThe New York Times called it a "cool, sometimes brilliant, always ferociously American film", and wrote "Sheen and Miss Spacek are splendid as the self-absorbed, cruel, possibly psychotic children of our time."[16] On the set ofBadlands, Spacek met art directorJack Fisk, whom she married in 1974.[11] She worked as the set dresser forBrian De Palma's filmPhantom of the Paradise (1974).
Spacek's most prominent early role came in De Palma's supernatural horror filmCarrie (1976), playingCarrie White, a shy, troubled high school senior withtelekinetic powers.[10] Spacek had to work hard to persuade De Palma to cast her in the role.[10] After rubbingVaseline in her hair and donning an oldsailor dress her mother had made for her as a child, she turned up at the audition with the odds against her, but won the part.[17] Spacek's performance was critically acclaimed and led to a nomination for theAcademy Award for Best Actress.Pauline Kael ofThe New Yorker wrote: "Though few actresses have distinguished themselves in gothics, Sissy Spacek, who is onscreen almost continuously, gives a classic chameleon performance. She shifts back and forth and sideways: a nasal, whining child; a chaste young beauty at the prom; and then a second transformation when her destructive impulses burst out and age her. Spacek uses her freckled pallor and whitish eyelashes to suggest a squashed, groggy girl who could go in any direction; at times, she seems unborn–a fetus. I don't see how this performance could be any better; she's touching, likeElizabeth Hartman in one of her victim roles, but she's also unearthly—a changeling."[18]
AfterCarrie's success, Spacek played the role of housekeeper Linda Murray inAlan Rudolph's drama musical romance filmWelcome to L.A. (1976) and cemented her reputation inindependent film with her performance as Pinky Rose inRobert Altman's psychological drama3 Women (1977). A review inThe New York Times said, "In this film Miss Spacek added a new dimension of eeriness to the waif she played so effectively inCarrie."[19] Altman was deeply impressed by her performance: "She's remarkable, one of the top actresses I've ever worked with. Her resources are like a deep well." De Palma said: "[Spacek is] a phantom. She has this mysterious way of slipping into a part, letting it take over her. She's got a wider range than any young actress I know."[20] Spacek helped financeEraserhead (1977),David Lynch'sdirectorial debut, and is thanked in the film's credits.
InJohn Byrum's romantic drama filmHeart Beat (1980), Spacek portrayedCarolyn Cassady, who—under the influence ofJack Kerouac (John Heard) andNeal Cassady (Nick Nolte)—slips into a combination of drudgery and debauchery.[24][25] Spacek was so adamant about getting the role that she pored through over 4,000 pages of research to prepare for her character. Byrum and producer Ed Pressman took her to dinner to advise her that she did not have the role. Spacek was so distraught at the news that she shattered a glass of wine in her hand. After that, Pressman walked up to her with a piece of shattered glass and told her she had the role. He said that Spacek breaking the glass clinched the deal, and they believed she ultimately would best suit the part.[26] The film was released on April 25, 1980, to mixed reviews.[27] Ebert called Spacek's performance "wonderfully played", and her scenes with Heard and Nolte "almost poetic".[28]
In 2012, Spacek published hermemoir,My Extraordinary Ordinary Life, with co-author Maryanne Vollers.[38][39]The Washington Post's Jen Chaney called it "refreshingly down-to-earth" and "beautifully written",[40] adding that Spacek's description of her childhood is so "evocative that one can almost taste the sour stalks of goatweed she chewed on steamy summer afternoons." Jay Stafford ofRichmond Times-Dispatch wrote that, unlike other actors' autobiographies, Spacek's "benefits from good writing and remarkable frankness."[41] Margaret Moser ofThe Austin Chronicle wrote that Spacek's memoir is "as easy to read as it is a pleasure to digest."[42]Biographile'sKirkus Reviews was less appreciative, calling it "an average memoir" and "overly detailed" while criticizing its lack of "narrative arc", but complimented Spacek for being "truly down-to-earth."[43]Kirkus added that "the book is 'ordinary' and does not have enough drama to engage readers not directly interested in Spacek and her work" and is "for diehard movie buffs and Spacek fans only."[43]
Spacek became the first actor to appear in a film nominated for theAcademy Award for Best Picture in each of the four most recent decades. Each film was released near the beginning of its decade:Coal Miner's Daughter (1980),Missing (1982),JFK (1991),In the Bedroom (2001) andThe Help (2011). Spacek appeared in the crime drama filmDeadfall (2012). She also co-starred withRobert Redford in his next-to-last role before his retirement inDavid Lowery's biographical crime filmThe Old Man & the Gun (2018), which received largely positive reviews from critics.[44] Spacek also had starring roles in a variety of television series in the late 2010s. She played matriarch Sally Rayburn in theNetflix seriesBloodline, which aired from 2015 to 2017; Ruth Deaver in theHulu seriesCastle Rock (2018), which intertwines characters and themes from King's fictional town ofCastle Rock, Maine; and Ellen Bergman, the mother ofJulia Roberts's character, in theAmazon Prime Video seriesHomecoming (2018).
Spacek co-starred alongsideDustin Hoffman in Darren Le Gallo's directorial debutSam & Kate (2022).[45] That same year, she acted in the Amazon Prime Video seriesNight Sky, acting oppositeJ. K. Simmons. Despite positive reviews, the series was cancelled after its first season.
Spacek married production designer and art directorJack Fisk in 1974, after they met on the set ofBadlands.[10] They have two daughters:Schuyler Fisk, who was born on July 8, 1982, and Madison Fisk, who was born on September 21, 1988.[46] Schuyler has followed in her mother's footsteps as both an actress and a singer. Spacek and her family moved to a farm nearCharlottesville, Virginia, in 1982.[47]
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