Sissy Spacek | The Ring 2 Movie 2005 | Biography, Pictures, News Headlines, Links

Sissy Spacek, co-star of the "The Ring 2" Movie!

Strawberry blonde, freckle-faced, and willowy, Sissy Spacek was among the most popular female stars of the late '70s and '80s. The Texas born and bred actress originally aspired to become a singer, and, after heading east to New York, got her start singing at coffee houses in Greenwich Village. Billing herself as "Rainbo," Spacek also cut a single, "Johnny, You Went Too Far This Time." On the side, she earned money by recording backup vocals on television commercials. When the acting bug bit, Spacek enrolled at the Lee Strasberg Theatrical Institute. While she technically made her film debut as an extra in Andy Warhol's Trash (1971), her official debut is listed as Michael Ritchie's Prime Cut (1972). The actress' first crack at stardom came in 1973, when she played a teenage accomplice to ruthless cross-country killer Martin Sheen in Terrence Malick's disturbing Badlands. The role earned her critical acclaim, as did her portrayal of a sweet teen who becomes a violent radical in the made-for-television movie Katherine (1975).

Spacek's true breakthrough came when she played a troubled, shy teenager who discovers that she has telekinetic powers and uses them to get bloody revenge upon her cruel schoolmates and mother in Brian De Palma's chilling adaptation of Stephen King's novel Carrie (1976). Her work in the film earned her a Best Actress nomination, as well as permanent cult status. She once again experimented with emotional instability in Robert Altman's Three Women the following year, and then got to show off her singing abilities playing Loretta Lynn in Coal Miner's Daughter in 1980. Her portrayal of Lynn became one of Spacek's best-known roles, and it earned her an Oscar for Best Actress.

In 1981, Spacek starred in Raggedy Man, which was directed by her husband, Jack Fisk. Her career remained in high gear through the mid-'80s with such memorable turns as her Oscar-nominated work in Missing (1982) and The River (1984), but after 1986, when she was again nominated for an Oscar for her work in Crimes of the Heart, Spacek partially withdrew from acting to concentrate on raising kids. Throughout the 1990s, she occasionally returned to the big screen, lending her talents to such features as JFK (1991), The Gr Harp (1996), and Affliction (1998). In 1999, she turned in memorable performances playing Brendan Fraser's mother in Blast From the Past and Richard Farnsworth's speech-impaired daughter in David Lynch's The Straight Story. In 2001 the quietly intense actress shined once again in director Todd Field's critically praised In the Bedroom. Suffering from severe trauma and depression after her son is viciously murdered, Spacek's brooding and sympathetic performance in Bedroom found the actress taking home a Golden Globe for Best Actress and earning an Oscar nod in the same category.

Sissy Spacek stops in Chisholm

Actress practices making strudel for upcoming movie.

Actress Sissy Spacek came to the Slovenian Home in Chisholm Monday to learn the art of making apple strudel as part of the production of the movie “Cl Action.”
Upon arrival, Spacek, the movie’s director, Niki Caro, and Sissy’s istant, Sally Harper, found the women of the Slovenian Home kitchen in full strudel making mode.
The apples were all peeled and sliced to perfection, the dough was prepared and ready to be stretched, and a sugar and cinnamon mixture that would be sprinkled on top, was ready to go.
With Slovenian Polka music playing in the background, the women proudly shared the baking tradition of their heritage. As they revealed each step, Spacek and her crew watched intently so they wouldn’t miss any important details.
After the first strudel was stretched to perfection, Spacek isted the women in placing the apples in rows along the length of dough.
Once the apples were in place and sprinkled with cinnamon, Spacek stepped back as the women demonstrated how they rolled the dough.
In just a blink of an eye, the women rolled the cloth supporting the dough to create the completed apple strudel.
Spacek laughed with amazement as she stared at the finished leg of strudel.
“Oh my word,” said Spacek as she collected her thoughts.
The women accompanying Spacek were equally impressed as this was new to them as well.
Spacek, who admits she is a pretty good baker herself, was eager to try her hand at stretching the next strudel. Once she got the hang of it, she was able to stretch the dough with ease.
“I bake pies at home, but only twice a year,” said Spacek as she concentrated on the task at hand.
The Slovenian women looked on anxiously as Spacek made her turn around the table stretching the paper thin dough.
After she had successfully stretched the dough, Spacek encouraged Caro to get involved in the fun. So Spacek, Caro and the Slovenian women worked side by side to bring another leg of strudel to completion.
Kitchen Chair Dolly Brusacoram was pleased with the day’s events.
“She was really good,” said Brusacoram of Spacek’s ability to stretch the dough. “There were no holes and no mistakes.”
According to Brusacoram, Spacek enjoyed the experience so much that she is having Brusacoram mail her a Slovenian cookbook so that she can make strudel at home without skipping any vital steps.
The strudel making experience may have left a lasting impression on Spacek, but it wasn’t the only memory she took from Monday’s visit.
“Getting to know these ladies was the best part,” said Spacek.

Sissy Spacek returns to scare genre

When Sissy Spacek finally debuted on the big screen in a starring role in 1976, it was opposite John Travolta and Piper Laurie in the Stephen King's horror flick "Carrie." Now Spacek, 55, is giving fright films another try.

If you've hit the movie theaters lately, you're already seeing previews for "The Ring 2," which opens next month. Spacek stars with Naomi Watts and Elizabeth Perkins in this sequel about a VHS tape with killing powers.

Currently, Spacek is filming "An American Haunting," playing Donald Sutherland's wife, which opens in 2006.

Charlize Theron and Sissy Spacek to Star in Niki Caro Project for Warner Bros. Pictures

Inspiring Drama Also Stars Woody Harrelson, Sean Bean, Richard Jenkins, Jeremy Renner and Michelle Monaghan.

Academy Award-winning actresses Charlize Theron ("The Life and Death of Peter Sellers," "Monster"), Frances McDormand ("Laurel Canyon," "Fargo") and Sissy Spacek ("A Home at the End of the World," "In the Bedroom") will star in the upcoming drama Untitled Niki Caro Project for director Niki Caro ("Whale Rider"), presented by Warner Bros. Pictures in ociation with Participant Productions. The film will also star Woody Harrelson ("Will & Grace," "The People vs. Larry Flynt"), Sean Bean ("National Treasure," "Troy"), Richard Jenkins ("Shall We Dance," "Intolerable Cruelty") and Michelle Monaghan ("Syriana," "Mr. and Mrs. Smith"). The announcement was made today by Jeff Robinov, President of Production, Warner Bros. Pictures.

"Niki Caro is one of the most talented directors working today," Robinov said. "Like `Whale Rider,' this film explores the conflicts that arise when change disrupts the long-held traditions of a community. We are thrilled to be collaborating with Niki and this stellar cast, led by Charlize, Frances and Sissy."

Theron plays single mom Josie Aimes, who rallies her female coworkers to rise above unfair treatment they face at a local mining company. McDormand plays Glory, Josie's closest friend; Spacek and Jenkins are Josie's parents, Alice and Hank; Bean plays Glory's boyfriend Kyle; Harrelson is Josie's lawyer; Renner is Bobby, a mineworker and Josie's former clmate; and Monaghan plays Sherry, Josie's fellow mineworker. Directed by Niki Caro and written by Michael Seitzman ("Here on Earth"), inspired by the book titled "Cl Action: The Story of Lois Jenson and the Landmark Case That Changed ual Harment Law," by Clara Bingham and Laura Leedy Gansler, the film is being produced by Nick Wechsler, with Nana Greenwald, Jeff Skoll, Helen Bartlett and Doug Claybourne serving as executive producers. Two-time Oscar-winning cinematographer Chris Menges is the director of photography.

Untitled Niki Caro Project will begin production in mid-February in New Mexico and Minnesota, and will be released worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.