SALLY FIELD longs for the one thing that might have changed her life – that is, besides flying.
And yet, time waits for no one as Sally sets her sights on a college degree!
The screen legend says her Hollywood success – with Oscars for the 1979 drama “Norma Rae” and 1984’s “Places in the Heart” – trumped her enrolling in college.
But the twice-divorced actress, who’s coming off a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nod for playing Mary Todd Lincoln in “Lincoln,” is ready to advance her education.
“I would love to get a degree,” 66-year-old Sally told a reporter recently.
“I never went to college. I’ve spent my whole life acting and earning enough money to raise my three children. I think my journey would’ve been different had I been to college. Fate came in and grabbed me, and my path was my path – but I have always wanted a liberal arts education.”
Sally first captivated TV audiences at the age of 18, playing a California surfer girl in the 1965-1966 series “Gidget,” and went on to star as “The Flying Nun” for three years.
She’s also won Emmys for the 1976 drama “Sybil,” her guest appearance on “ER” in 2001 and her lead role in ABC’s “Brothers & Sisters” in 2007.
Looking back, Sally says her parents – actress Margaret Field and drug salesman Richard Field – viewed college as a priority for boys, not girls.
“My brother went to Berkeley (University of California) and became an elemental particle physicist but no one said to me, ‘How about you, Sal?’ ” she recalled. “College was NOT presented to me as a possibility.”
