THERE'S A REASON SALLY FIELD IS A LEGEND

THROUGH GRIT, HARD WORK AND UNWAVERING SUPPORT FROM HER SONS, THE STAR FOUND SUCCESS BY ALWAYS SEEKING THE TRUTH

- JASON SHEELER

Sally Field was filming a movie last year when something didn't feel quite right. The Oscar-winning actress was playing the mother of a gay man in Spoiler Alert. With a gay child of her own, she realized there was an opportunity to be even more authentic as she rehearsed the lines in the script. Luckily, one of the film's writers had worked with Field on the 2006 drama series Brothers & Sisters and knew that for Field to do that Sally Field Thing when her palpable sorrow tilts into rage, and then rage melts into I'm taking control now!-she had to stay true to herself. So Field began reworking some of the language. "I can't say that every character I play has to be like me," she says. "But there has to be an ingredient of truth in it."

Truth is Field's North Star. It's guided her through her career, motherhood and friendships. Seeking it led her into therapy when her mother was dying and got her to where she is today at 76starring in 80 for Brady, a film about friends who take a road trip to see Tom Brady play in the Super Bowl, alongside Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin and Rita Moreno. For the record, she is a fan of the gridiron. Field can even relate to the players: "Let's face it football is a performance art."

ROLES OF A LIFETIME

Catching a Wave 

Field became a household name playing beach-loving Gidget in the 1965 sitcom.

Striking Gold 

The 1979 drama Norma Rae, based on the true story of a female factory worker, earned Field (with Ron Leibman) her first Oscar.

Run, Sally, Run! 

In 1994's Forrest Gump, Field (with Michael Conner Humphreys) played mom to Tom Hanks, who has called her "an artist of the highest expertise."

Moving the Goalposts