The Tragic Truth About Sally Field

This article contains mentions of sexual abuse.

Whether you watched her as Sister Bertrille in "The Flying Nun" or as the titular character in "Norma Rae," one thing is undeniable; Sally Field is one of Hollywood's most treasured gems. Throughout Sally Field's stunning transformation over the decades, she's racked up several accolades including two Academy Awards, three Emmys, and two Golden Globes. Outside of her major career wins, Field is also well-revered by her peers. 

"Ordinary is the most difficult thing in the world to act, but Sally knows how to be ordinary in the most heroic sense of the word without putting quotes around it," Robert Benton, director of "Places in the Heart," told Variety. "Most people get points for acting ordinary on screen, but you always see the acting underneath. Not with Sally. She's just there, absolutely present and flawless."

Amid the actor's successful career, Field has also had her share of struggles. While filming "The Flying Nun," a young Sally Field suffered a mental health breakdown, eventually leading to depression. "I was suffering so badly, I was so depressed and I was 19 and I didn't want to be playing something called 'The Flying Nun.' I did not want to be dressed as a nun all day long," the actor revealed on an episode of Variety's "Actors on Actors" series in 2016. However, depression is not the only thing Field struggled with over the years as there are many more tragic truths to this veteran actor's life.

In 2018, Sally Field released "In Pieces," a memoir chronicling the actor's life from childhood to Hollywood stardom. In the book, Field recounted being sexually abused as a child by her stepfather, Jock Mahoney. After inviting a young Field to come into his room alone, Mahoney asked her to walk over his back as he lay face down. Eventually, Mahoney would turn over, fully exposing himself to Field. "One foot in front of the other, up his chest I tiptoed, my nightgown hanging loose as his hands slid over my legs, then moved up," Field detailed in the book. "I'd turn my feet around, walking toward his stomach to be out of reach, and he'd whisper instructions, 'Lower, lower' ... I walked on this much-loved non-father of mine, carefully trying to avoid where he was aiming my feet."

In her book, Sally Field explored her conflicting emotions regarding Mahoney and how the sexual abuse never turned into rape. "It would have been one thing if he had held me down and raped me. Made me bleed. But he didn't. Was that love? Was that because he loved me?" she questioned in the book. But while the abuse eventually ended when Field was 14, the traumatic experience lived with her for much longer.

If you or someone you know may be the victim of child abuse, please contact the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child (1-800-422-4453) or contact their live chat services.

In her memoir, Sally Field revealed she was sexually assaulted by songwriter Jimmy Webb in 1968. Following a smoke session, Field fell asleep, eventually waking up to Webb "grinding" on her. Though Field admitted Webb's actions were likely the result of how stoned he was, she couldn't help but wonder if she had been culpable in any way.

"Maybe I had asked for this by lying on his bed, maybe I hadn't pulled my pants up all the way up so what was he to think, maybe he liked me. Then I couldn't think anymore," she questioned. Responding to Field's allegation, Webb denied any wrongdoing, noting that their relationship was nothing short of the typical relationship between 20-something-year-olds. "We hung out, we smoked pot, we had sex," he wrote in an email response to The New York Times before adding that he only had good memories of their time together. 

Field also wrote of her time auditioning for the role of Mary Tate Farnsworth in the 1976 comedy-drama film "Stay Hungry." As a deciding factor, director Bob Rafelson reportedly declared he would only hire anyone who could kiss well enough. "So I kissed him. It must have been good enough," the actor recounted in her book. Like Webb, Rafelson denied the allegation, telling The New York Times that Field's claim is "totally untrue" as he did not "make anybody kiss me in order to get any part."

In 1964, Sally Field found out she was pregnant. Only 17 at the time, Field was set to star in her first television role "Gidget," leaving the young actor with no other choice than to terminate the pregnancy. In her memoir, the "Norma Rae" star documented her abortion experience, revealing that her stepfather, Jock Mahoney, arranged for her to go to Mexico to get the procedure. 

At the time, the Roe vs. Wade judgment was yet to be passed, making abortion illegal in the United States. The young actor was then accompanied to Mexico by her mother and a family friend. Though unnamed, Field confirmed that she had gotten pregnant by a boy she met after graduating from high school.

Unsurprisingly, given her own experience, Field grew up to become an advocate for reproductive rights, joining a legion of stars to condemn the legislative decision to criminalize abortion in the United States. "Those men who are doing that, and they're mostly male governors who are doing it, are so backward, so ignorant and really just power hungry. I think it's criminal. They're so wanting to roll back the achievements and important progress for women, for Blacks, for the LGBTQ community," the veteran actor criticized in a 2022 interview with Variety.

In 1988, the "Eye for an Eye" actor narrowly escaped death after a private jet she was on had an accident. Field alongside her then-husband Alan Greisman and the couple's 11-month-old son Sam Greisman were aboard Merv Griffin's private plane and set for a trip when the accident occurred. While attempting to take off, the plane reportedly lost control before slamming into a parked aircraft. Though unharmed, Field and her family ended up with jet fuel all over them.

"All I was thinking was, 'Hold on to Sam!' I didn't care if I broke every bone in my body," she recounted to People (via Deseret News). "The belt saved our lives, but I thought I'd crushed Sam to death. But my body must have received his blow; he had no whiplash at all. It makes no sense that the plane didn't blow up. It makes no sense that we're still alive, and I have to live with that feeling." 

In 2005, Sally Field was diagnosed with osteoporosis, a skeletal disorder leading to bone sterility and frequent fractures. "Last year I was diagnosed with osteoporosis," Field told Health Day in 2006. "I was over 50, Caucasian, thin, small-framed, and I have it in my genetic history. It was almost a slam-dunk." In another interview with WebMD, Field revealed the illness initially showed no symptoms and was only eventually picked up after undergoing a bone scan. "My bones appeared to be getting steadily thinner without any signs or symptoms I could see or feel," the "Lincoln" star explained.

Inspired by her own struggle, Field has since become an advocate for osteoporosis, often encouraging older women to get checked for it. "I'm trying to get the message out to women to ask for a bone density test at the same time that they go in for a Pap smear. One out of every two women over age 50 will suffer an osteoporosis-related fracture, yet people don't realize how huge a threat this is," she explained in an interview with Oprah.

Field also launched the "Rally with Sally for Bone Health" campaign, an initiative directed at helping women prevent, detect, and treat osteoporosis. "They need to be made aware of their risk and what to do to protect themselves — for instance, that they should be getting bone density scans at a certain age," she shared in an interview with Ability Magazine.