She is almost 70 years old and is playing the part of a 40 year old in the new Steven Spielberg film Lincoln. That is remarkable for any actor or actress. It is a shame he made her test for the part especially since he turned her down at first. We love her and all grew up watching her on film all our lives. She is Sally Field. We first saw her when they said, Sister Bertrille, a 90 pound nun from Chicago with the unique ability to fly. She looked about 12 years old then on that disturbing show. The Flying Nun was our first glimpse of her.

Sally is a respected Academy Award Actress now staring in the new movie Lincoln. She plays Lincoln’s wife, Mary Todd Lincoln. It is a rare historical role for Field when she usually plays other strong characters that are there to send clear messages on subjects. In real life there is nothing regal or standoffish about her. She built her career on playing ordinary women in extraordinary circumstances like in her role as Norma in the movie Norma Rae in 1979. It was a movie about the importance of unions for workers rights. A movie many Republicans should watch now where she was struggling to get factory workers basic rights.

In the movie Places in the Heart from 1984, she is saving the family farm. In the 1989 movie Steel Magnolias she takes charge on her daughter’s wedding day and then morns that same daughter played by Julia Roberts at her funeral. She has earned three Emmy's and two Oscars so far in her career. Even her attempts at getting her role in the movie Lincoln sounds like her classic tales of struggle. Mary Todd was ten years younger than Lincoln and Sally knew that age was going to be there somewhere as an issue meanwhile she like many older actresses look great.

Sally is not a pompous person and she humbly tested for the part as Mary instead of huffily demanding the role. I thought Academy Award winners pretty much got whatever they wanted in Hollywood. Sally even visited Mary Todd’s childhood home in Lexington, Kentucky to research the part. Sally Field is approaching an almost five decade career in the business. She worked alongside Tommy Lee Jones when he looked good in an old movie in 1981 called Backroads. Now he looks so wrinkled and tired and she still looks great.

Field is originally from Southern California and enjoyed being the surfing teen in Gidget, but then the serious role as Sybil who had an identity disorder came along and all of a sudden she went from silly TV comedy’s to serious roles in movies. Back then when the movie was filmed it was called a multiple personality thing. Now you see Sally Field doing commercials for Boniva, the medication for osteoporosis a bone strength problem that she feel the product is helping her with.

Sally had been married twice and had a high profile romance with Bert Reynolds during the Smokey and the Bandit film in 1977. She is single now, still looking for the traditional man. Through out the years she has learned to demand from her men and she laughingly says that that is why she is alone now. We really like her and know her career is no where near slowing down.