The Flying Nun premiered in September 1967 and soon became a huge hit. Field didn't want to take the part, but her stepfather insisted, telling her, 'If you turn down this part, you may never work again.' The Flying Nun starred Field as Sister Bertrille, a nun so light that she could take flight. The show was canceled after one season, but Field became popular with television audiences - so popular, in fact, that the network created another series for her. Petite and perky, she played a teenager on a quest to find fun with her best friend Larue (played by Lynette Winter). Field was only 18 years old when the series debuted in the fall of 1965. She landed the leading role in the television series Gidget, which was based on the popular 1959 Sandra Dee film by the same name. Starting Out in Television: From 'Gidget' to 'The Flying Nun'Īfter finishing up at Birmingham High School in Van Nuys, California, Field attended an acting workshop at Columbia Studios, which helped launch her film and television career. 'I'd landed in the drama department, and it just kind of saved me,' she later explained to Good Housekeeping magazine. Field found solace from her difficult home life by focusing on her extracurricular activities at school. Mahoney also fought frequently with Field's mother, and the couple's increasingly rocky relationship weighed heavily on the children. Field's stepfather was a strict disciplinarian who expected faithful obedience from Field, her older brother, and half-sister Princess. The youngest of two children born to actress Margaret Field, the future star grew up in show business.Īfter Field's parents divorced, her mother married actor and stuntman Jock Mahoney. Early LifeĪctress, director and writer Sally Margaret Field was born on November 6, 1946, in Pasadena, California. Field is also known for her roles in the films Smokey and the Bandit, Forrest Gump and Lincoln, along with her Tony-nominated stage work. Field won Academy Awards for her performances in Norma Rae (1979) and Places in the Heart (1984), as well as Emmys for the 1976 TV movie Sybil and her later contributions to ER and Brothers & Sisters. She next appeared in the hit series The Flying Nun, before moving on to the big screen. Actress Sally Field's big break came when she began playing the lead role in the TV sitcom Gidget in 1965.

How many smokey and the bandit movies