Sally Field’s Defining Moment in “Norma Rae” (1979)
This powerful still captures Sally Field’s career-transforming performance as the titular textile worker in 1979’s “Norma Rae,” the role that finally silenced critics who dismissed her as just a TV sitcom star. Field’s raw, passionate portrayal of a factory worker fighting for union rights earned her the first of two Best Actress Oscars, proving her dramatic chops after years in lightweight comedies like “Gidget” and “The Flying Nun.”
Field would cement her dramatic reputation with another Oscar for 1984’s “Places in the Heart” and a nomination for 2012’s “Lincoln.” But it’s her fist-raising “Norma Rae” moment that remains iconic – a perfect marriage of actor and role that launched one of Hollywood’s most respected careers. As Field famously said at the Oscars: “You like me! Right now, you like me!” – though her talent made that admiration last far beyond one night.
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