Carrie White, played by Sissy Spacek, is unexpectedly elected prom queen in Brian De Palma's horror film "Carrie" in 1976. (Getty)
Sissy Spacek stunned audiences across America when she starred as a social outcast whose telekinetic powers transformed her high school prom into a bloodbath in 1976’s “Carrie” — but life for the movie star is far from a nightmare.
The 68-year-old, who won an Oscar in 1981 for “Coal Miner’s Daughter” and was nominated for five other Academy Awards throughout her career, doesn’t call Hollywood home. In fact, the actress has found happiness in the most unlikely place.
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“For 40 years, I’ve lived on a farm in Virginia and raised my children there,” Spacek recently told Closer Weekly. "That’s what I experienced as a child, that’s what gave me stability."
Sissy Spacek stunned audiences in 1976's "Carrie." (MGM)
"I’m able to get away from all the noise and work on my garden in my pajamas. I love to sit on the porch with my battery-operated blower [fan] that I got for Mother’s Day. It’s the human experience, and we are all human, after all.”
Spacek, who was born in Texas, detailed her own childhood and rise to fame in her 2012 memoir, titled “My Extraordinary Ordinary Life.”
She told the magazine the writing process, which was done around the same time she was planning a wedding for her daughter Schuyler, taught her important lessons about herself.
“I learned that it is always the simple things that mean the most,” she explained. “It’s those Christmases you remember when you got your first favorite doll. And it’s human relationships that are most important in life.
"When I look back on movies I made, I think about the people I got to know. The book made me realize how fortunate I’ve been. I shouldn’t ever complain about anything, because I’ve had all the most important things in life.”
Sissy Spacek today. (Splash)
Spacek also credited her lasting marriage to Jack Fisk, a film director who also understands the ins and outs of Hollywood. The couple tied the knot in 1974 and share two daughters.
As for the secret behind their lasting union? Spacek is still trying to figure that one out.
“I wish I could tell you,” she said. “He’s got this really fabulous sense of humor — actually, it’s so bad that it’s good — and he’s the most creative person I’ve ever met. A lot of it is just luck. We met on [1973’s] ‘Badlands.’ I remember looking around and thinking, ‘OK, who’s the cutest one here?’ He was definitely the cutest.”
Spacek also insisted that despite her high-profile career, her daughters are thankful they’ve enjoyed a quiet life away from the spotlight.
“They appreciate the life that we provided for them, and now they’re reciprocating, and they’re very, very great,” she gushed. “I can’t say enough wonderful things about them. They make my world go ‘round… It is really important to live a full and normal life because that’s what life is really about. I have a balance between my real life and work life.”
And while Spacek has maintained a successful career as an actress, she still doesn’t mind being recognized as Carrie.
“People who had a hard time in high school, who got persecuted, always connect with Carrie,” she explained. “We all felt like Carrie as teenagers… People relate to different films because of their own experiences. It’s kind of cool.”
Now that her two daughters are grown, Spacek has extra time to pursue other projects. But she'd rather keep things simple.
“My friend, a young actress, mentioned all these grand things that she wanted to do,” said Spacek. "I said, ‘I just want to go home!’ It’s my refuge. You know life is good!”
Still, Spacek refuses to slow down. In fact, she’s currently starring in a Hulu psychological thriller series by J.J. Adams titled “Castle Rock.” The show is named after the Maine town that has been the setting for several of Stephen King’s books, who also wrote “Carrie.”
Back in July, Spacek’s co-star Melanie Lynskey, who previously appeared in “Two and a Half Men,” told Fox News the actress was surprisingly “normal.”
“Honestly, what surprised me the most was just to see how genuine and normal she is,” said the 41-year-old. “I mean, she’s such an incredible actor. I feel like she could have the license to be a real diva if she wanted to, but she’s really just so lovely. She’s a real caretaker. She looks out for everybody else before herself. I really, really adore her.”
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