Sally Kirkland, Veteran Actress and Oscar Nominee, Dies at 84
- - Sally Kirkland, Veteran Actress and Oscar Nominee, Dies at 84
Victoria Edel, Rachel McRadyNovember 12, 2025 at 1:15 AM
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Sally Kirkland -
Golden Globe-winning actress Sally Kirkland has died at the age of 84
Kirkland was best known for her leading role in Anna, which earned her a Golden Globe as well as an Oscar nomination
Kirkland had been in hospice care in the days prior to her death
Sally Kirkland has died at the age of 84.
The actress was best known for her starring role in 1987’s Anna, which earned her a Golden Globe award and an Oscar nomination. She appeared in over 250 film and TV productions, including 1991’s JFK and 2003’s Bruce Almighty.
TMZ first confirmed Kirkland's death via her manager, Michael Greene. Greene noted that Kirkland had been in hospice care and died on Tuesday, Nov. 11 at 4:50 a.m. ET. Kirkland was put into hospice over the weekend with her rep sharing that she'd suffered from dementia for the past year, per TMZ.
PEOPLE has reached out to representatives for Kirkland for comment.
In early October, friends of the actress shared her GoFundMe page, requesting help for "urgent medical care."
“It has been a [challenging] few months for Sally as her health continues to struggle. She had a fall in the shower, when she was left unattended; injuring her ribs, foot, along with cuts and bruises,” the GoFundMe shared in an update on Oct. 2. “Sally is now receiving 24/7 care in a specialized facility that is providing wonderful safety and care. We are continuing to try [to] raise money to cover the gaps between income and care costs.”
On Nov. 7, the GoFundMe page shared another update, noting, "Thank you for all your love and support. Sally is grateful for your kindness and love. Sally is on hospice now and is resting comfortably. Please hold and send the light for Sally."
Vestron Pictures
Sally Kirkland for 'Anna'
Kirkland was born in New York City in 1941. Her mother, also named Sally Kirkland, was a fashion editor at Vogue and LIFE magazines. Kirkland started as a model before pursuing acting. She studied at the Actors Studio and graduated from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in 1961.
She began working Off Broadway soon after, and her work often included nudity throughout the ‘60s. PEOPLE wrote of this era in 1988, “In those early days Kirkland was to nakedness what Walt Disney was to animation, establishing contemporary standards for nudity that made her the subject of numerous debates on morality in the arts.”
She told PEOPLE, ''What I was really trying to say was, 'The human spirit must come out.' That was my feisty little 22-year-old mind trying to be very serious and not realizing how crazy it must have sounded to Middle America.''
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Sally Kirkland in 1988
She was part of Andy Warhol's Manhattan art studio, The Factory, and appeared naked and tied to a chair in the 1964 drama film The 13 Most Beautiful Women. She also performed nude in the 1968 play Sweet Eros and rode a pig naked in the 1969 film Futz. She also starred in the 1969 underground film Coming Apart. Kirkland told Closer in 2016 that while living in New York she became “obsessed” with Bob Dylan. She claimed they dated in the ‘70s and reconnected a few times over the years.
In the ‘70s, she went out for more mainstream jobs. She told PEOPLE that studio heads warned her that she was too passionate and too tall and would struggle to find roles, which she said was true. ''I'm not your typical, delicate girl-next-door,'' she said. Director Henry Jaglom told PEOPLE, “I think Sally is unique in her intensity and courage, and Hollywood does not know what to do with unique people.”
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Sally Kirkland with her Golden Globe
Her film roles included parts in 1971’s Going Home, 1973’s The Way We Were, 1975’s Crazy Mama, 1976’s A Star Is Born and 1980’s Private Benjamin. She also guest-starred on TV series like Hawaii Five-O, Police Story, Three's Company, Kojak, Starsky & Hutch, Charlie's Angels and Falcon Crest. She often went to the final rounds of auditions, just for someone else to get the role. “I've had so many close calls that I always thought, well, I must be good because it always seems to be between me and the person who gets it,” she said in 1988.
While appearing in the play Largo Desolato in New York — in which she played a Czech woman — she learned about the role in Anna. She would need a Czech accent this time, and her Actors Studio friends Al Pacino and Robert De Niro helped her prepare. Still, she said in 1988, it took three auditions for her to land the part. When she finally auditioned alongside Paulina Porizkova, who was also cast, director Yurek Bogayevicz said, ''I just saw what I've been waiting to see.''
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Sally Kirkland in the ABC TV movie 'Willow B: Women in Prison.'
Kirkland was widely acclaimed for her performance and won the Golden Globe for best actress in a motion picture – drama and the Independent Spirit Award for best female lead in 1987. She also received an Oscar nomination after staging a now-famous campaign.
Since the movie was a small indie release, she attended every event she was invited to, contacted every journalist she knew, wrote personal letters to every Academy voter she knew and had Joan Rivers and Warhol campaign for her as well, per Vogue. Still, she lost to Cher in Moonstruck.
Kirkland’s next films included 1989’s Paint It Black, 1990’s Two Evil Eyes, 1991’s JFK and 1994’s Gunmen. She also began working regularly in television films, including 1991’s The Haunted, which earned her another Golden Globe nomination. On TV, she was a regular on the 1994 syndicated TV series Valley of the Dolls and appeared on shows like Roseanne, Murder, She Wrote, The Nanny, Felicity and Days of Our Lives.
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Sally Kirkland in 2016
In 2003, she had a role in Bruce Almighty. Later film credits included Richard III and 2023's 80 for Brady.
Kirkland was married twice, in 1975 to musician Michael Jarrett and in 1985 to jazz producer Mark Hebert. Both marriages lasted less than three years, she told PEOPLE in 1988. ''It's hard to find a man who can handle my intensity,'' she noted.
The actress was also a yoga aficionado from the late ‘60s, and in her later years, she was a spiritual mentor. She told the Los Angeles Times in 2002 that her life was defined by “the dichotomy of spirituality and glamour, you know.”
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Sally Kirkland in 2019
In February 2018, she was rushed to the hospital after a fall. In November 2024, her friends who launched the GoFundMe to raise money for her medical care said that Kirkland had fractured four bones in her neck, right wrist and her left hip and developed two dangerous infections, per Entertainment Weekly. The friends also said she lost the vast majority of her savings in the 2007 economic recession and that a change in her SAG-AFTRA insurance policy left her with high costs she could no longer afford.
Her friends wrote on GoFundMe, “For those of us putting together this campaign, Sally has been more than just a friend — she has been a maternal figure, offering encouragement, wisdom, and love when it was needed most. For those who know Sally personally, she has been a limitless source of generosity, kindness, and unwavering spirit. And while she has meant so much to so many around her, she has never had the luxury of a life partner or children to lean on in difficult times. But she has always prioritized being there for others, given everything she has to her craft, her church, her friends, and her community.”
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