Sally Field winning Best Actress for "Norma Rae"

Richard Dreyfuss presenting Sally Field with the Best Actress Oscar® for her performance in "Norma Rae" at the 52nd Annual Academy Awards® in 1980.

[@adagiobreeze8493]

It’s crazy how Sally Field has given all her characters an eternal life. It’s almost as if Gidget, Norma Rae, Mama Gump and Mary Todd Lincoln were playing Sally Field.

[@charbokh]

Sybill too

[@DeepScreenAnalysis]

M’Lynn was no small fry.

[@briansky10]

Sally, you certainly deserve that Oscar! Norma Rae was a gift to you, and your performance is a gift to the world, including yourself I hope. Congratulations!

[@reneehurt387]

Ms field I thank you personally for your unforgettable performance. Your work has inspired me to survive a toxic environment. I am still standing. Thank you

[@ChandrabhanSingh-mz4hc]

One of the most well deserved wins of all-time

[@rickeyrichardo6299]

She beat out Bette Midler for her first movie The Rose.

[@nursegrace7492]

I love Sally Field's outfit. She didn't want to dress up too much, and it was made by Bob Mackie.

[@purplelucrezia]

Norma Rae has sadly become such an underrated movie nowadays... Sally Fields’ performance was so moving!

[@AnthonyWilliams-li5mz]

I like Sally Field I really really really like her

[@velvetskin8595]

Right now...

[@rabidheartbeats5953]

wrong year dude

[@robertinoyanzanny1782]

Wrong movie sir, Places in the ❤

[@mechantics]

LIKE.....LIKE......

[@44excalibur]

She never said “really," she said “right now."

[@irhjma30000]

It's Richard Dreyfuss!!! :) and Sally Field is SO pretty....she's such a great actress too. She was absolutely amazing in Sybil!

[@adagiobreeze8493]

I never realized how iconic this woman is, she played Norma Rae, Momma Gump, The Flying Nun and Lady Lincoln

[@musicaltheatergeek79]

In the gay community, her *Celeste Talbert* ("Soapdish") and *M'Lynn Eatenton* ("Steel Magnolias") are very iconic and quotable!

[@jamesmonroe7751]

I knew. Joanne Woodward knew. Burt Reynolds knew. She was the it girl. The Jennifer Lawrence of her generation. I always liked Sally. She's America's sweetheart who won the Oscar. She deserved it. When she put up that organize sign I knew she was on her way!

[@gb4478]

And Sybil!

[@crobeastness]

@@jamesmonroe7751 wish you didn't compare her to Jennifer lawerance. only actresses I cannot stand. she is one of them. so repulsively fake and crass

[@jimkrizman2015]

Talent Actress

[@markwhitman72]

Again I think Bette was great but she was hardly robbed! Sally was so good that you truly had empathy with her characterization! At best perhaps should have been a tie but Norma Rae was too strong a movie to pass up an Oscar for Sally!

[@dumitrescusorana1907]

I loved her walk and reaction . Her speech was amazing and she had an amazing performance!!

[@nirajkrishan3251]

Dumitrescu Sorana /%%_

[@fobesq]

She is a brilliant actress and this award was so well-deserved.

[@fatimasoria443]

what a film, what a performance, what...everything!!

[@cherylb5680]

What a great year for outstanding women performances all were wonderful but Sally's performance was extraordinary.

[@X982]

What a marvellous round of applause hugs Sally Field's win!

[@riverrain30]

i have not seen this until today and i was so surprised that she hasn't changed much. she has the same energy here as much as her speech in the emmys for brothers and sisters. I really like her. One of the few American actresses i really admire.

[@weinerschnitzelrock1]

she's a classy lady--she gives credit and names names

[@annemariewood-orourke5994]

Im 35 and I love watching Sally Fields movies. Especially listening to her character Sassy in the Homeward Bound movies. She's wonderful.

[@Emptiness512]

Sally fields has raw talent..and i have to say i love Bett too

[@roo7227]

A truly iconic performance.. Perfect for the time, and perfectly executed, from direction, to the rest of the cast, which was brilliant, too.. There are very few truly unforgettable moments in cinema, and Norma defying the management, police, and other workers to climb up on that table with a sign that said "Union," cause the textile machines made it impossible to hear anything, is unforgettable..

[@renzo7575]

How cute is Richard dreyfuss?!

[@babacar3519]

very

[@sorellman]

Not very.

[@erbhastings]

How high is Richard in this presentation? Very cute, but holy eyeballs, batman

[@ccbaxter47]

How coked up is he, wink wink?

[@johnfd0210]

@@sorellman Today he whines in interviews that he is broke and no one will hire him...no doubt this is why.

[@markwhitman72]

Loved Bette Midler BUT Sally richly deserved this first Oscar especially in her defiant scene when the boss fires her, the table standing sign etc.!

[@ebony38ish]

I just rented Norma Rae from the library, outstanding performance. I saw the Rose as well, tight competition, but Sally Field deserved the award!

[@markwhitman72]

Yes Bette was great but Sally was too. The other nominees were far behind!

[@TheChannelTV-bt8em]

+SJ Miller Of all the rationalized explanations I have ever heard to justify an Oscar pick you happen to disagree with, yours has to be the most asinine. Yes, I'm sure academy voters as well as New York and Los Angeles critics, the Cannes Film Festival (that's over in Europe, you know), and every other single body who honored Sally Field's searing performance had Ronald raygun and organized labor on their minds when they filled out their ballots. What indispensable insight you have. Too bad your ability to evaluate the art of screen acting is so lacking. Sally's Norma Rae was a thing of beauty. ps I liked Midler, too. Just not as much.

[@TheChannelTV-bt8em]

+Mark Whitman Not that far behind. Don't take anything away from Jane Fonda's anchorwoman in The China Syndrome. That was a very smart, complex interpretation, finding chances and hitting points a lot of other actresses would have overlooked. And Jill Clayburgh got a surprising mileage out of her light comedy role in Starting Over. She acted Reynolds right out of the picture, virtually playing out a love story with only one participant.

[@andrewdancy2849]

Mark Whitman Not Marsh's Mason, I saw someone I love, live through a similar situation...Marsha Mason was more than wonderful, I was for her!!

[@eriklf64]

These people should never get old. Really.

[@Jackx88]

She's one of my favourite actresses :)

[@Ladybug1923]

She said that when she won her 2nd Oscar for "Places in the Heart. This video is Sally winning her 1st Oscar for "Norma Rae".

[@X982]

What a marvellous round of applause!

[@garyrobertson6778]

Places in the Heart was still ahead of her. One of my favorite movies ever!

[@MrImiller07]

All of the nominees were outstanding, but Sally Field's performance was a revelation because it was so dissimilar to her previous work with Reynolds, etc. Her work was no aberration as evidenced by her second Oscar win for Places In The Heart and her wonderful work in Spielberg's Lincoln opposite Daniel Day Lewis, a role that she campaigned for. Midler was deserving as well, and she never really got the opportunity to showcase her talents like this on film again, with the possible exception of Beaches. Marsha Mason was superb in Chapter Two opposite James Caan. Clayburgh was exceptional in An Unmarried Woman.

[@marcosvalenca]

Midler was divine not only in "Beaches", but also "For the Boys" and "Stella".

[@arthurgearheard4701]

She put her foot in her mouth when she win the second time!

[@lovepaws9771]

Love to see all these wonderful stars in their younger years.

[@MikeysGayToday]

I am on the fence here. I loved Sally's performance, But BETTE in THE ROSE was amazing!

[@MontagZoso]

Bette WAS amazing in The Rose!

[@MsDezB1]

Same. I LOVE Sally Field. But Bette though...!

[@ashleydawson8230]

Definitely between Bette and Sally!

[@tashW7092]

@@MontagZoso I agree. I watched The Rose and it was powerfully amazing.

[@jeffcarter3943]

Bette Midler was awesome in The Rose 🥀

[@Toywithme200]

at 1:24 richard has the cutest smile!

[@AlexBlend]

Sigourney Weaver ("Alien") and Nastassja Kinski ("Tess") deserved to be in this category that year. Sally was fantastic though

[@technodroog]

Tess was a nominated movie in 1980, so Kinski wasn't eligible in 1979.

[@siddharthnaagar7028]

alex blend yaa just an yr later but still not nominated

[@2degucitas]

Sigourney was at that time a still unknown actress. They were looking for those who had a body of work spanning at least a decade, maybe more.

[@BettinaBalser]

Richly, richly deserved by Sally. NORMA RAE was a triumph, largely due to her performance.

[@tonitalas1757]

Iconic sally field!

[@michelebartlett3921]

What an unbelievably wonderful list of actors to be in the company of

[@laarbe]

All great nominees. Sally Deserved the Win that year.

[@viantzpradz4771]

Love her hair

[@windsongshf]

I grew up during The Flying Nun era. She was tired of being typecast as the "girl next door" and went off to study under acting coach legend Lee Strasberg which lead to her serious acting career. Her first movie with her new acting chops was the starring role in a TV movie called "Sybil". She won a well deserved Emmy for her work. I remember the movie well. It was devastating and she was absolutely brilliant! As a fan of hers since I was a little girl, I was so impressed and proud of her! It didn't surprise me at all when she won those two Oscars! 🙂

[@freedomofspeech2238]

Last night I had a dream of being with Sally Field as like together ?! I do not know why I had that dream. No sexual stuff just being her boyfriend somehow. Maybe she is what a 21th century man expects of a woman = Beautiful, intelligent and a class act of a person. I know Miss Fields is a good person. Anyway, my dream had a calming and feelgood moment that lasted all day ! I have no clue why I had that dream but hopefully I will get more LOL. I feel great today and I have been thinking about that dream all day.

[@Markus6179]

I just rewatched "Norma Rae" and "The Rose." IMO, Bette was robbed. She exposed every nerve as The Janis Joplin style singer.

[@trumancapote9097]

That was evidently one of the CLOSEST races in that category of ALL time. Bette Midler lost by only TEN VOTES.

[@coldwinter5710]

@@trumancapote9097 How do you have such information? I don't doubt it, but how do you know?

[@Awardshq]

@@trumancapote9097 seeing how the results are a complete secret, you are full of shit.

[@Starkardur]

@@trumancapote9097 Oh please. Sally had a clean sweep - I think first of it's kind.

[@marcosvalenca]

@@trumancapote9097 How do you know the amount of votes?!

[@SaverioPoshSpears]

She deseved the Oscar for Steel Magnolias

[@Stumper716]

I think the speech you're thinking of, famous for the "you like me, you really really like me" part, was from her second Oscar win in 1985 for the film, "Place in the Heart" .

[@TheChannelTV-bt8em]

If Midler was "robbed" then you'd better file your belated complaints not just with the academy but to the New York Film Critics, the Los Angeles Film Critics, the National Society of Film Critics, the National Board of Review, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the Cannes Film Festival, and every other single body handing out awards that year. Sally took them all--the only time to date that has ever happened--for a performance which was not only career-altering for her, but downright uplifting with its spirit and its flawed but resilient humanity. But they must all be wrong I guess because a few of you say so.

[@siddharthnaagar7028]

TheChannel.TV it also happened just the following year with sissy Spacek and two years later with Meryl Streep as well

[@jeffreyturner7678]

Sissy Spacek also won them all 2 years later...

[@ronaldososa]

Jeffrey Turner One year later

[@vegasbaby3669]

@TheChannel.TV - best response ever!!!!!!!! Love it

[@janefonda5084]

Well deserved

[@jimkrizman2015]

It's sad some of or most of all these stars have passed away 💔

[@MelodyMaker151]

She was always low key sexy … ha. Love her. So talented.

[@johny7even]

Wow I d never thought that she has two Oscars!!!!

[@jrwxtx]

A great year for actresses. I saw all these movies--so good.

[@TJgeminiguy]

Someone should've broken in to give an honorable mention award to Richard Dreyfuss' hair architect. Masterpiece!

[@xirixseven6032]

It's amazing to see how far we aged come in terms of diveristy!

[@rogersherman287]

i agree...i saw both "norma rae" and "the rose". sally and bette both gave bravura acting performances and if "norma rae" had not come out in the same year as "the rose", bette would've been a shoe-in for the oscar.

[@giorgiorevolver8527]

Sally is my hero

[@analisathirwell7071]

I love Richard Dreyfuss!! Doesn’t he look cute as heck here… lovely morose man.

[@jonnyfendi2003]

And of course Richard presenting her award when he worked with her in an episode of Gidget

[@MasterLeonidasFong]

0.75 cents for Box Office in the 80s? Ohh the good ol' days.

[@carlohermocilla1018]

Bette suffered the "anti- superstar syndrome" of the Oscars. She was new in the film genre but hit it big time. She really deserved the best actress statuette that year than Sally did. Anyway, Ms. Field could still walk in the hall with pride and greatness as she also delivered one of the finest performances of the year, slightly eclipsed by Bette's.

[@dobazajr]

I read Bette was upset because she was told that she was gonna win. Some members of the Academy said they're voting for her until the envelope was opened.

[@drachirzim]

They got it right.

[@johnfulton4061]

Bette was great but she was a singer portraying a singer not much of a stretch

[@PaulusTheMisionary]

Sally Field, may you rest in peace! You will never be forgotten.

[@rhondabitler2461]

SHE ISN'T DEAD...WHST DO YOU MEAN?

[@a.ran_blvd]

Sally Field sure was astounding in Norma Rae. This was a tough year, a tough competition with Ms. Bette Midler. Ms. Midler gave an amazing, once in a lifetime performance in The Rose. I hoped they tied like what happened to Ms. Hepburn and Ms. Streisand.

[@suriaoide4214]

Beautiful ladies

[@smokey03100]

I love the flying nun

[@PungiFungi]

Checking this out after seeing her receiving her lifetime achievement award from SAG.

[@OA-zis]

Sally totally deserved it!!!

[@stevejorfi9086]

I love the music when she goes to get the Oscar

[@michaelmuldowney8]

Marsha Mason should have won for her spectacular work in CINDERELLA LIBERTY. She won three more nominations giving basically the same performance - The Goodbye Girl, Chapter Two and Only When I Laugh.

[@jojopupra]

God her acting skills 🔥🔥🔥

[@machovoce6826]

Clayburgh was robbed for An Unmarried Woman previously but Field was great in Norma Rae. The loveliest in the group is really Mason, unappreciated for her great film work.

[@loveanimals6981]

Mason has done GREAT work in films (especially, obviously, ones written by then-husband Neil Simon). LOVED her in The Goodbye Girl.

[@getlikemc]

@focusandcreate that was during her win for "Places in the Heart," 5 years after this.

[@dldee912]

Phenomenal actress!!!

[@cmmndrblu]

Classy Lady that Sally Fields

[@mike856ms]

Bette deserved this Oscar

[@Starkardur]

No, she didn't plus Sally swept all percursor awards. Singer playing a singer. Boy what a stretch.

[@sunset2046]

❤️❤️❤️

[@coldwinter5710]

Has anyone noticed Burt Reynolds was in 5 films shown between Jill & Sally. Burt helped both Jill & Candice Bergen win Oscar noms that yr for "Starting Over" but was totally robbed of a nom for himself. And he was not w/Sally this eve. She also did not offer any thanks to him for all t/support he had given to her career up to this point. He references this evening in his 1st book. It's so sad, knowing what we know now while watching this. Time goes by so fast...

[@outinsider]

Maybe you should read her memoir, because he didn't really support her doing Norma Rae at all and that's probably why she didn't thank him.

[@harrietamidala1691]

@focusandcreate that was for her second oscar.

[@SexyStudChris]

that was for her second oscar win in 1982. But ive seen it, they mis qoute her, and the press made a big thing out of nothing!

[@kssa220]

Sally she’s deserved

[@douglaswright5948]

Who did she hug when she won? Sister?

[@DannyBkyn]

@pinkstate She does so when she wins her second Oscar - for "Places in the Heart".

[@janepatterson6779]

Such a "tomboy." Love her movies..

[@humbertoluiz1975]

Norma Rae!

[@earlymid90schild]

@pinkstate When she won for Places in the Heart in 1984 (one of my favorites, BTW).

[@PaonSol]

Hell yeah Smokey and the Bandit.

[@chanctonbury63]

How long does it take to say thank you??

[@EphemeralProductions]

Mishter Dreyfussh! :)

[@dylanpsinakis7930]

Such a shame that theres only one winner....

[@deborahpolk5900]

Filmed at Westpoint Stevens Opelika Cotton Mill

[@lf1234]

This could've easily have been a tie between Bette and Sally based on performance alone, but I think the character of Norma Rae resonated with more people.

[@42Johney]

Is Jill Clayberg the mom of kristin wigg in Bridesmaids?

[@Cmc995]

Am I the only one who thinks Bette Midler should have won?

[@workingclown]

my mom has that dress. she got it at walmart

[@Toywithme200]

in the early 80's dreyfuss was odorable! and he has the sexiest voice ever, and that hasnt change over the years.

[@Bijan1981]

I love how the crowd cheered Bette Midler on after announcing her. I thought she will win. And right after watching The Rose an hour ago, I think she should have.

[@preciousjey]

Gidget The Reunion.

[@TeriLynn923]

I completely agree with you there, gdwme.

[@bad2bone]

@focusandcreate There is no "you like me" it's a misquote

[@Xxminnie26xX]

where's that "huh?" guy. this video NEEDS him!

[@avalonalabama]

Sally Field desreved it of course but in a way I so wish Bette could have won you can she really wanted to win so badly!

[@wotdoesthisbuttondo]

Weird, image after image of Burt Reynolds elevating her status in movies and she doesn't even throw in a thanks for him, was that why the crowd looked a bit bemused after her final thank you?

[@selma1930]

in 1989 they went to and the oscar goes to. its still a competition so and the winner is was fine. do they say and the world series goes to?

[@jl3322]

Based on the intros Fonda should have won hands down!

[@oscarboy94]

SHE HAS BETTE MIDLER'S OSCAR!