State Security, Cuba’s feared counterintelligence agency, arrested Ernesto Ricardo Medina in front of his three-year-old daughter. Agents knocked on the house’s front door at 6 a.m. It was Friday, February 6. At that same hour the power went out in Holguín, in the island’s east. Nothing unusual in a city used to blackouts. “Tico, it’s the police,” his wife, Doris Santiesteban, warned him after looking out the window. Medina went downstairs and opened the gate. “It’s only a search order,” he said after the operation’s commander showed him the document.
Fifty years later, Carrie White is returning to American high schools. Prime Video’s new series revisits the bullied teenager who became one of horror’s defining figures, first in Stephen King’s novel and later in Brian De Palma’s 1976 adaptation. But there is one image that remains impossible to escape: Sissy Spacek, drenched in blood, staring directly into the camera after unleashing her telekinetic powers. For several generations, the role has been synonymous with Spacek. Now, as a new actress takes on Carrie, we look back at what became of the 76-year-old performer who brought to life some of the most memorable characters of 1970s and 1980s cinema.
Spacek was 26 when Brian De Palma cast her as a high school student in 'Carrie.' The film changed her career forever, earned her first Oscar nomination and secured her a place in the cultural imagination that remains remarkably intact 50 years after its release. The actress says that teenagers still approach her today to show off tattoos of the outcast heroine. Incidentally, unlike Carrie, Spacek was her high school’s prom queen.
Born Mary Elizabeth in a small rural town in Texas, Spacek acquired the nickname “Sissy” from her two older brothers, a name by which she would eventually become known around the world. Following the death of one of them, she left home one summer for New York with an actor cousin in an attempt to escape the family tragedy. She abandoned plans to attend college and, under the stage name Rainbo, tried to make it as a folk singer in late-1960s Manhattan. It didn’t work out. Her record label dropped her, and Spacek decided to enroll in acting school instead.
Terrence Malick’s cult classic 'Badlands' marked Spacek’s first leading role in a feature film and became her breakthrough. She played a teenage girl who runs away with a rebellious young man she has just met, played by Martin Sheen, and becomes a fugitive after her father rejects the relationship. The film won the Golden Shell at the San Sebastián International Film Festival, and Spacek, who had been studying acting for only a matter of months, emerged as an unlikely Hollywood star: an anti-diva whose red hair, freckles, diminutive stature and youthful appearance set her apart from the era’s conventional screen icons.
The film also changed her life in another way: it was on the set that she met the love of her life, production designer Jack Fisk. After first crossing paths in 1972, the two married a couple of years later and have now been together for half a century, making them one of Hollywood’s longest-lasting couples. They have two daughters, Schuyler and Madison, and both remain active in the industry. Fisk's recent production design credits include 'Marty Supreme,' 'The Revenant' and 'Killers of the Flower Moon.'
Spacek became one of the defining stars of the New Hollywood era, a movement heavily influenced by the French New Wave and Italian neorealism. Beginning in 1977, the Texas-born actress received five Oscar nominations in less than a decade. Among her most memorable performances from that era are 'Missing,' directed by Costa-Gavras; 'The River,' opposite Mel Gibson; and 'Crimes of the Heart,' alongside Jessica Lange and Diane Keaton.
Spacek won her first and only Oscar in 1981 for 'Coal Miner’s Daughter,' the biopic of country singer Loretta Lynn. Lynn had risen from humble beginnings in rural Kentucky, marrying at 13 and becoming a mother of four before the age of 20. In a twist of fate, when Spacek was trying to launch a music career years earlier, a record label turned her down because her voice sounded too much like that of another artist on its roster: Loretta Lynn. That very similarity would later help earn her an Academy Award. Spacek performed all of the songs in the film herself and even received a Grammy nomination for her work.
The greatest tragedy of Spacek’s life came when she was just 17. Her brother Robert, only a few months older than she was, died of leukemia. Spacek was just beginning to work at the time and, despite the devastation, managed to turn that trauma into a source of strength throughout her career.
Spacek and Fisk married in Santa Monica in a ceremony so private that their dog was their only witness, and so informal that both wore jeans. The actress credits the longevity of their relationship to the constant collaboration between them.
At the height of their fame, Spacek and Fisk left Hollywood behind and moved to a farm in rural Virginia, determined to raise their daughters away from red carpets and the glare of the spotlight. There, they raised horses and grew their own vegetables, while Spacek returned to acting only for roles that truly resonated with her. In 2001, she earned a sixth Oscar nomination for her performance in 'In the Bedroom.'
Their daughters have followed their parents into the film industry as well. Schuyler Fisk became an actress and, while she never came close to matching her mother’s level of fame, she has enjoyed a steady career in American television and film. Madison, meanwhile, learned the ropes from her father and has worked in the art department on a number of feature films, following in his footsteps as a production designer.
One of the best-known stories from 1970s Hollywood is how Spacek landed the role of Carrie. As close friends, George Lucas and Brian De Palma held joint auditions for their next projects, 'Star Wars' and 'Carrie,' respectively. Spacek auditioned for Lucas’s film, while Carrie Fisher also took part in casting sessions connected to the horror movie. In the end, the roles found their way to the actresses who would make them iconic: Fisher as Princess Leia and Spacek as Carrie White.
Spacek’s performance left such a deep mark on popular culture that screenwriter and producer Mike Flanagan, who is once again adapting 'Carrie' for Prime Video, has said it was the biggest hurdle in casting the role anew. According to Flanagan, most of the 1,400 actresses who auditioned for the series arrived trying to imitate Spacek’s iconic performance. The part ultimately went to Summer H. Howell, whose reinterpretation of Carrie has drawn widespread praise from critics.
Although she was never associated with method acting in the way her contemporary Robert De Niro was, Spacek’s approach to her craft also relied on total immersion in her characters. For '’night, Mother,' in which she played a daughter struggling with suicidal thoughts, she would spend weeks inhabiting a deeply depressed emotional state until filming wrapped. It was none other than Jack Lemmon who warned her that if she remained so committed to despair, she might end up being consumed by it herself.
Jennifer Lawrence, Jessica Chastain and Emma Stone — whom Spacek once advised never to hide her freckles on screen again — are among the younger generation of stars who have publicly expressed their admiration for the 76-year-old actress. Stone, who also worked with Spacek on 'The Help,' has reunited with the veteran actress for 'The Catch,' the new film directed by Stone’s husband, Dave McCary.
At 76, Spacek appears to have settled on a definition of happiness far less ambitious than the one Hollywood usually sells. In a 2022 interview with 'Esquire,' when asked how she managed to remain so upbeat, she said happiness is overrated and that we need to be content and simply be.
When motherhood came calling, Spacek had little doubt about what should take priority. She even turned down the role that would eventually go to Debra Winger in 'Terms of Endearment' because she did not want to be separated from her daughter Schuyler, who was only a few months old.
The music phenomenon of the moment is called Choosin’ Texas, an apparently innocuous country-pop song performed by Ella Langley, a 27-year-old artist from Alabama. The track, which tells the story of a love triangle in which someone inevitably gets hurt, has spent 24 weeks as the best-selling song in the United States. No song has stayed that long at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, the country’s official chart, which is calculated using a formula that incorporates streaming, download sales, and radio airplay.
Telecinco sigue moviendo ficha en sus mañanas con dos incorporaciones de peso. Cristóbal Soria se suma a 'Vamos a ver' como nuevo colaborador, mientras Álvaro Nieto cambia 'Espejo Público' por 'El programa de Ana Rosa' para reforzar la mesa política de Ana Rosa Quintana.
La Policía Nacional ha detenido a un hombre tras presuntamente matar a otro de un puñetazo en Sevilla. Los hechos ocurrieron a finales del pasado agosto en la zona arbolada ubicada entre la avenida Ronda del Tamarguillo y la calle Esteban Márquez, donde el arrestado agresió supuestamente a la víctima, según han informado este miércoles desde el Cuerpo. A consecuencia del impacto, el otro varón cayó de espaldas y "se golpeó bruscamente la cabeza contra el suelo".
Concha Galán ha recuperado casi tres décadas después uno de los episodios más duros de su carrera. La presentadora ha contado en 'Y ahora Sonsoles' que fue apartada de la televisión cuando estaba embarazada de seis meses, pese a continuar trabajando con normalidad y sin que la gestación fuera todavía especialmente visible. "A mí me echaron de televisión por estar embarazada", resumió ante Sonsoles Ónega.
A un mundo todavía de los registros de su compañero de vestuario, Marcelinho Huertas (732), y algo lejos aún del corte que le convertiría en jugador histórico de la competición (600 encuentros), pero Jaime Fernández se hace un hueco cada vez más grande en la Liga ACB. Con la que arranca este domingo 27 el madrileño abordará su decimoséptima campaña en la élite nacional. Las cinco más recientes defendiendo los colores de La Laguna Tenerife. Tras debutar con el Estudiantes el 17 de octubre de 2010, y tras siete años de colegial, pasó por el Andorra y tuvo otra etapa larga (cuatro cursos) en el Unicaja. Hasta la fecha acumula 458 encuentros.
El Ministerio de Defensa afronta 2026 con un nuevo salto en el gasto destinado a los Programas Especiales de Modernización (PEM). Los compromisos presupuestarios consignados para este ejercicio ascienden a 6.835 millones de euros y, si la ejecución final alcanzara esa cifra, supondrían un aumento del 21,8% respecto a los 5.610 millones invertidos en 2025 a través de 14 proyectos.
Sandra Golpe ha abierto este martes 'Antena 3 Noticias 1' llevando hasta los titulares el duelo televisivo que la noche anterior se había producido dentro del propio grupo Atresmedia. La periodista ha sido tajante al resumir el resultado: "Pedro Sánchez compitió anoche y perdió en el prime time frente al presidente de Ceuta", antes de destacar las declaraciones realizadas por Juan Jesús Vivas en 'El Hormiguero'.
En marzo de este año, la desarrolladora y editora surcoreana Pearl Abyss, publicó ‘Crimson Desert’. Se trata de un juego de acción y aventura en mundo abierto que ha gozado de un éxito brutal e inesperado vendiendo más de 6 millones de copias. Recientemente, incluso se ha revelado que ha sido uno de los juegos más vendidos en Steam este año.
Alma Bollo ha visto truncada su segunda aventura en 'Supervivientes' apenas unos días después de aterrizar en Honduras. El equipo médico de 'Supervivientes All Stars 3' ha determinado que no puede continuar concursando por una lesión que, pese a estar respondiendo favorablemente al tratamiento, desaconseja su permanencia en las condiciones extremas del reality.
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