Sally Kirkland Jr. (October 31, 1941 – November 11, 2025) was an American actress and producer. A one-time member of Andy Warhol's The Factory, she was a part of 1960s New York avant-garde theater. She appeared in more than 250 film and television productions during a 60-year career. Kirkland was the daughter of Sally Kirkland, fashion editor of Life and Vogue.
Kirkland garnered widespread critical acclaim for her eponymous performance as a former popular actress in the independent comedy-drama Anna (1987), which earned her the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama and a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress. She also won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead and the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress for her performance in the film.
Kirkland was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film for her performance in the horror film The Haunted (1991). She was also known for her roles in Best of the Best (1989), JFK (1991), and Bruce Almighty (2003).
Early life Kirkland was born in New York City on October 31, 1941, to Sally (née Phinney), an Oklahoma-born fashion editor for Vogue and Life magazines, and Frederic McMichael Kirkland, a scrap metals merchant from Philadelphia.
Standing at tall, Kirkland began her career as a model. She also worked as a go-go dancer at the Peppermint Lounge in Los Angeles before studying acting at the Actors Studio with Lee Strasberg and Uta Hagen. Notably, Robert De Niro dated one of her roommates. Kirkland graduated from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Los Angeles in 1961.
Career
1962–1986: Initial work Kirkland began acting Off-Broadway in 1963. She joined Andy Warhol's The Factory and appeared nude while tied to a chair for 45 minutes in The 13 Most Beautiful Women., a 1964 drama film. By 1964, she was deeply involved in New York City's avant-garde movement. During that time, she was an active drug user until an attempted suicide frightened her into improving her life via yoga and painting. She returned to film in 1968, appearing in the western Blue and starred in the underground film Coming Apart (1969).
For the 1970s and most of the 1980s Kirkland had secondary roles in such films as Going Home (1971), The Young Nurses (1973), The Way We Were (1973), The Sting (1973), Big Bad Mama (1974), Crazy Mama (1975), Breakheart Pass (1975), Griffin and Phoenix: A Love Story (1976; U.S. made-for-television movie which was also released theatrically overseas), A Star Is Born (1976), and Private Benjamin (1980). She played a leading role in the 1984 horror film Fatal Games. Her television credits include guest-starring roles on Hawaii Five-O (as Betty Rowan, S6, Ep: Murder is a Taxing Affair), Police Story, The Rookies, Three's Company, Kojak, Starsky & Hutch, Charlie's Angels, and Falcon Crest.
1987–1999: Critical acclaim and awards success In 1987, Kirkland received widespread critical acclaim for her eponymous performance as a former popular actress in the independent comedy-drama Anna. The Washington Post deemed her performance "superb" and the Los Angeles Times rated her as one of the best actresses of the decade. She won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama and the Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead, and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress. In 1989, she appeared in the sports drama Best of the Best.
In 1990s, Kirkland starred in the action-comedy Bullseye! (1990) opposite Michael Caine, and played supporting roles in Revenge (1990), JFK (1991), Gunmen (1994), Excess Baggage (1997), and EDtv (1999). Kirkland also co-starred in the 1989/1990 genre films including Paint It Black, Cold Feet, High Stakes, and Two Evil Eyes, as well as starred in the 1992 erotic thrillers In the Heat of Passion and Double Threat, which were successful as home video releases. Her career shifted to the small screen during this time, appearing in lead roles in several made-for-television movies, and starring in the syndicated soap opera Valley of the Dolls in 1994. In 1990, she also played Truvy Jones in the television adaptation of Steel Magnolias. For her performance in the television film The Haunted (1991), Kirkland received a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film. She was a guest star on Roseanne, Murder, She Wrote, and The Nanny. In 1999, she had recurring roles in Felicity and Days of Our Lives.
2000–2025: Later career
In 2000s, she played supporting roles in films including Bruce Almighty (2003), Adam & Steve (2005), and Big Stan (2007). She hosted a weekly program on the syndicated HealthyLife Radio Network. In 2019, she starred in the film Cuck. In 2020, she had a leading role in Hope For The Holidays on Amazon Prime Video with Robert Lasardo, Doug Hutchison, Alex Cubis, and George Stults.
In 2024, Kirkland starred as herself in the independent comedy film, Sallywood, a parody about a longtime fan of the actress who becomes her assistant and helps her in her quest to return to red-carpet glory.
Other work and activism Kirkland was a health activist whose work included advocacy for women harmed by breast implants. She founded the Kirkland Institute for Implant Survival Syndrome in August 1998. She was an ordained minister in the church of Movement of Spiritual Inner Awareness.
She was a painter and a noted acting teacher whose students included Sandra Bullock, Barbra Streisand, Liza Minnelli, Dwight Yoakam, and Roseanne Barr, among others.
Personal life Kirkland was married twice and had romantic relationships and affairs with several notable artists and public figures, including Bob Dylan, Robert De Niro, Kris Kristofferson, Dennis Hopper, Dustin Hoffman, Jon Voight, Albert Finney, Rip Torn and Keith Carradine.
Illness and death Kirkland later suffered from dementia. According to a fund raiser for her medical care, she had suffered a fall in October 2025 which resulted in injuries to her ribs and foot. She died in hospice care in Palm Springs, California, the following month, on November 11, 2025, aged 84.Notice of death of Sally Kirkland, yahoo.com. Accessed November 14, 2025.
Filmography
Film Year Title Role Notes 1964 Beautiful Woman 1968 Blue Sara Lambert 1969 Coming Apart Joann Futz Merry Lee 1970 Brand X Patient/President's Wife 1971 Jump Going Home Ann Graham 1973 Cinderella Liberty Fleet Chick Crystal Pony Dunbar Woman at clinic 1974 Big Bad Mama Barney's woman Blazing Saddles Cashier Candy Stripe Nurses Wife in clinic 1975 Bite the Bullet Honey Crazy Mama Ella Mae Breakheart Pass Jane Marie Friday Anne Voice role 1976 Pipe Dreams Two Street Betty Photographer 1977 Flush Janet 1979 Hometown U.S.A. Gwen 1980 Private Benjamin Helga Vivian Stark 1981 Store cashier 1982 Human Highway Kathryn 1984 Love Letters Sally Fatal Games Diane Paine 1987 Anna Anna 1989 White Hot Harriet Paint It Black Maria Easton Cold Feet Maureen Best of the Best Kathryn Wade High Stakes Bambi / Melanie Rose 1990 Two Evil Eyes Eleonora Segment: "The Black Cat" Revenge The Rock Star Bullseye! Willie 1991 JFK Rose Cheramie 1992 In the Heat of Passion Lee Adams Herself Forever Angelica Hit the Dutchman Emma Flegenheimer Primary Motive Helen Poulas Double Threat Monica Martel Stringer Joan 1993 Paper Hearts Jenny Stevenson Alternate title: Cheatin' Hearts Eye of the Stranger Lori 1994 Gunmen Bennett 1995 Guns and Lipstick Danielle Roberts 1997 Amnesia Charlene Hunt Excess Baggage Louise Doucette Get a Clue Sydelle Pulaski 1998 Wilbur Falls Roberta Devereaux Paranoia Dr. Kurtzwell Marilyn Monroe 1999 EDtv Jeanette Starry Night Det. Brook Murphy 2000 Norma Jean, Jack, and Me Norma Jean 2001 Thank You, Good Night Doreen Out of the Black Elizabeth Malby Katherine St. Croix Wish You Were Dead Penelope Wilson 2002 Helen 2003 Bruce Almighty Anita Mann 2004 Mango Kiss Emilia Bloodlines Joyce 2005 Neo Ned Shelly Nelson Adam & Steve Mary What's Up, Scarlet? Ruth Zabrinski Chandler Hall Sally 2006 Off the Black Marianne Reynolds A-List Olga Fingerprints Mary Coffee Date Mrs. Muller 2007 Big Stan Jury Madam Foreman Resurrection Mary Lois Blind Spot Penelope Denmore Short 2008 Richard III Queen Margaret Mollie & Friends (aka Oak Hill) Elizabeth St. James Bald Mrs. Elise Stern 2010 House Under Siege Pat Mazur Lights Out Rose 2011 Sally Jeena Mary Division III: Football's Finest Crystal Vice 2012 Archaeology of a Woman Margaret Broken Roads Mrs. Wallace Posey Posey Short film 2013 Awakened Harriet Bendi Jen 2014 Ron and Laura Take Back America Sally Suzy 'The Salt Shaker' Suburban Gothic Virginia Tom in America Betty Short film 2015 Buddy Hutchins Bertha 2016 Elisabeth Courting Des Moines Maxine Jackson Trash Fire Florence Buddy Solitaire Hanna 2017 Making a Killing Dolores Lena Christina Price for Freedom Francine WayneGnaw (Apartment 212)Claudette 2018 Get Married or Die Margaret Stella Los Angeles Overnight Mrs. Chantilly Sarah Q Helena Wally Got Wasted Marilyn Tuttlebaum 2019 Cuck Mother Paint It Red Adele 2020 Hell Hole Dr. Parker Hope for the Holidays Georgia Invincible Dr. Quade 2021 The Trouble Ms. Greyson The Legend of Resurrection Mary Lois 2022 Bobcat Moretti Helene Moretti 2023 When It Rings Lesley Judd Altered Perceptions Theresa Morgan 80 for Brady Ida 2024 Skeltons in the Closet Madam FuturaAftermathDr. Jane Dunning Sallywood Sally Kirkland
Television