A nun is a woman who has taken vows committing her to live a spiritual life. She may be an ascetic who voluntarily chooses to leave mainstream society and live her life in prayer and contemplation in a monastery or convent. The term "nun" is applicable to Catholics – both eastern and western traditions – Orthodox Christians, Anglicans, Lutherans, Jains, Buddhists, and Taoists. While in common usage the terms ''nun'' and ''sister'' are often used interchangeably, in some cases they are differentiated, a ''nun'' being a religious woman who lives a contemplative cloistered life of prayer and meditation, while a ''sister'', in Christian denominations, lives an active vocation of prayer and service, often to the needy, sick, poor, and uneducated.

Buddhism

All Buddhist traditions have nuns, although their status is different among the various Buddhist countries. The Buddha is reported to have allowed women into the ''sangha'' only with great reluctance, predicting that the move would lead to Buddhism's collapse after 500 years, rather than the 1,000 years it would have enjoyed otherwise (this prophecy occurs only once in the Canon and is the only prophecy involving time in the Canon, leading some to suspect that it is a late addition.) Fully ordained Buddhist nuns (''bhikkhunis'') have more ''Patimokkha''-rules than the monks (''bhikkhus''). The important vows are the same, however.

As with monks, there is quite a lot of variation in nuns' dress and social conventions between different Buddhist cultures in Asia. Chinese nuns possess the full ''bhikkuni'' ordination, Tibetan nuns do not, and in Theravada countries female renunciates are discouraged from even wearing saffron robes. Disparities may often be observed in the amount of respect and financial resources given to monks viz. Nuns, with nuns receiving less of both in all countries with the possible exception of Taiwan. Despite barriers, some nuns succeed in becoming religious teachers and authorities.

Thailand

In Thailand, a country which never had a tradition of fully ordained nuns (''bhikkhuni''), there developed a separate order of non-ordained female renunciates called ''Mae Ji''. However, some of them has played an important role in dharma-practitioners' community. There are in Thai Forest Tradition foremost nuns such as Mae Ji Kaew Sianglam, the founder of Nunnery of Baan Huai Saai, who is believed to be enlightened as well as Upasika Kee Nanayon. At the beginning of the 21st century some Buddhist women in Thailand have started to introduce the ''bhikkhuni sangha'' in their country as well, even if public acceptance is still lacking. The Venerable Dhammananda, the former successful academic scholar Dr. Chatsumarn Kabilsingh, established a controversial monastery for the training of Buddhist nuns in Thailand.

Taiwan

Chinese Buddhism possesses a full ''bhikkuni'' tradition. Thanks largely to the efforts of Master Cheng Yen of the Buddhist charity Tzu Chi (which utterly dominates philanthopic giving in Taiwan), Taiwan's nuns nowadays probably receive more public respect and support than monks.

Researcher Charles Brewer Jones estimates that since 1952, when the Buddhist Association of the ROC organized public ordination, female applicants have outnumbered males by about three to one. He adds:

:"All my informants in the areas of Taipei and Sanhsia considered nuns at least as respectable as monks, or even more so. [...] In contrast, however, Shiu-kuen Tsung found in Taipei county that female clergy were viewed with some suspicion by society. She reports that while outsiders did not necessarily regard their vocation as unworthy of respect, they still tended to view the nuns as social misfits."

Tibet

The August 2007 International Congress on Buddhist Women's Role in the Sangha, with the support of H. H. XIVth Dalai Lama, is expected to reinstate the ''Gelongma'' (skt. Bikshuni, tib. Gelongma) lineage, having been lost, in India and Tibet, for centuries. It is currently only possible for women to take ''Rabjungma'' ('entering') and ''getshülma'' ('novice') ordinations in Tibetan tradition. ''Gelongma'' ordination requires the presence of ten fully ordained people keeping exactly the same vows (men's and women's vows differ slightly). Because ten ''gelongmas'' are required in order to ordain a new ''gelongma'', the effort to reinstate the ''gelongma'' tradition has taken a long time.

It is permissible for a Tibetan nun to receive ''bikshuni'' ordination from another living tradition, e.g. in Vietnam. Based on this, Western nuns ordained in Tibetan tradition, like Venerable Thubten Chodron, took full ordination in another tradition, in order to revive ''gelongma'' ordination. The same socio-cultural reasons that make it difficult for women to be nuns will still present challenges to the first Tibetan ''gelongmas''.

The ordination of monks and nuns in Tibetan Buddhism distinguishes three stages (rabjung(ma), getshül(ma), and gelong(ma)). The clothes of the nuns in Tibet are basically the same as those of monks, but there are differences between novice and ''gelong'' robes.

Christianity

Catholic

In the Catholic Church, a nun is a woman who has taken solemn vows (the male equivalent is often called a "monk" or "friar", although the positions actually entail very different religious origins and constitute very different duties of the church). The only distinction between a nun and a sister is that nuns have solemn vows and sisters have simple vows. Nuns are usually cloistered or enclosed to the degree established by the rule of the religious institution they enter; exceptions include one branch of Visitandines and the Ursulines.

In the Roman Catholic tradition, there are a number of different orders of nuns each with its own charism or special character.

In general, when a woman enters a convent, monastery or abbey, she first undergoes an initial period of testing the life for a period of six months to a year called a postulancy. If she, and the order, determine that she may have a vocation to the life, she receives the habit of the order (usually with some modification,normally a white veil instead of a black, to distinguish her from professed nuns) and undertakes the novitiate, a period (that lasts one to two years) of living the life of a nun without yet taking vows. Upon completion of this period she may take her initial, temporary vows. Temporary vows last one to three years, typically, and will be professed for not less than three years and not more than six. Finally, she will petition to make her "perpetual profession", taking permanent, solemn vows.

In the various branches of the Benedictine tradition (Benedictines, Cistercians, Camaldolese, and Trappists among others) nuns take vows of stability (that is, to remain a member of a single monastic community), obedience (to an abbess or prioress), and "conversion of life" (which includes poverty and chastity). The "Poor Clares" (a Franciscan order) and those Dominican nuns who live a cloistered life take the threefold vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. Most orders of nuns not listed here follow one of these two patterns, with some orders taking an additional vow related to the specific work or character of their order (for example, to undertake a certain style of devotion, praying for a specific intention or purpose).

Cloistered nuns (Carmelites, for example) observe "papal enclosure" rules and their monasteries typically have walls separating the nuns from the outside world. The nuns rarely leave (except for medical necessity, or occasionally for purposes related to their contemplative life) though they may have visitors in specially built parlors, often with either a "grillwork" or half-wall separating the nuns' side from the visitors', that allow them to meet with outsiders. They are usually self-sufficient, earning money by selling jams or candies or baked goods by mail order, or by making liturgical items (such as vestments, candles, or hosts to be Consecrated at Mass for Holy Communion). They sometimes undertake contemplative ministries—that is, a monastery of nuns is often associated with prayer for some particular good or supporting the missions of another order by prayer (for instance, the Maryknoll order includes a monastery of cloistered nuns who pray for the work of the missionary priests, brothers and religious sisters; the Sister Disciples of the Divine Master are cloistered nuns who pray in support of the religious sisters of the Daughters of Saint Paul in their media ministry; and the Dominican nuns of Corpus Christi Monastery in the Bronx, N.Y. pray in support of the priests of the Archdiocese of New York).

A canoness is a nun who corresponds to the male equivalent, a canon. The origin and rules of monastic life are common to both. As with the canons, differences in the observance of rule gave rise to two types: canons regular and secular canons.

A nun who is elected to head her religious house is termed an abbess if the house is an abbey, with the exception of Poor Clares who have an abbess but no abbey perhaps from St. Clare's beginning her religious life "train" by the Benedictines, to whom St. Francis entrusted her, who have abbesses, a prioress if it is a monastery, or more generically may be referred to as the Mother Superior and styled "Reverend Mother". The distinction between abbey and monastery has to do with the terms used by a particular order or by the level of independence of the religious house. Technically, a convent is any home of a community of sisters—or, indeed, of priests and brothers, though this term is rarely used in the U.S. The term "monastery" is often used by communities within the Benedictine family, and "convent" (when referring to a cloister) is often used of the monasteries of certain other orders.

Traditional cloistered nuns' clothing consists of a tunic which is tied around the waist with a cloth or leather belt. Over the tunic some nuns wear a scapular which is a garment of long wide piece of woolen cloth worn over the shoulders with an opening for the head. Some wear a white wimple which "encircles" the face and a veil the most significant and ancient aspect of the habit. Some nuns such as Poor Clares wear a large rosary on their belt. Benedictine Abbesses wear a cross or crucifix on a chain around their neck. After the second Vatican Council, many orders chose to no longer wear the traditional habit, and as well did away with choosing a religious name. However, Catholic Church or Canon Law states (669.1) "As a sign of their consecration and as a witness to poverty religious are to wear their habit in accordance with the institute's own law."

Distinction between nun and religious sister

In the Catholic Church, the term "nun" is more specific than "religious sister". Nun refers to a religious sister who is a member of a religious order that takes solemn vows, which is most often dedicated to contemplation and observes strict enclosure. Sister refers to a consecrated woman with simple vows, most often one who works in an active apostolate ministering to people. There are, however, several communities of sisters totally dedicated to the contemplative life.

During the first millennium, nearly all communities of men and women were dedicated to prayer and contemplation. These monasteries, abbeys, or convents were built in remote locations or were separated from the world by means of a cloister. The mendicant orders, founded in the 13th century, combined a life of prayer and dedication to God with active works of preaching, hearing confessions, and service to the poor, and members of these orders are known as friars rather than monks. At that time, Church law did not allow women to leave the cloister if they had taken solemn vows. Female members of the mendicant orders (Dominican, Augustinian and Carmelite nuns and Poor Clares) continued to observe the same enclosed life as members of the monastic orders. On the other hand, religious congregations and institutes, such as the Daughters of Charity, were founded taking simple vows so that they could engage in the active life of teaching, ministering to the sick, and other works of charity. Technically speaking, the term “nun” applies to women religious in solemn vows, while the term “sister” refers to nuns and also to women religious in simple vows. In popular speech, the terms nun and sister are used interchangeably for any woman religious.

The same religious order may include both nuns and sisters, because many of the communities of simple vows were founded according to the Third Order rule, which was originally intended for lay people and did not require enclosure (see Third Order of St. Francis). For instance, the Poor Clares are cloistered nuns of the “second order” of St. Francis, while the Sisters of St. Francis are "Third Order Regular Franciscans" who teach, work in hospitals or perform other ministries.

Pope Leo XIII, by the constitution ''Conditae a Christo'', formally recognized the consecration of those in simple vows, and today the Catholic Church makes no essential distinction between religious women with solemn vows and those with simple vows.

Eastern Orthodox

In the Eastern Orthodox Church there is no distinction between a monastery for women and a monastery for men. In Greek, Russian, and other Eastern European languages, both domiciles are called "monasteries" and the ascetics who live therein are "Monastics". In English, however, it is acceptable to use the terms "nun" and "convent" for clarity and convenience. The term for an abbess is the feminine form of abbot (''hegumen'')—Greek: ''hegumeni''; (''Igumanija''); Russian: игумения, (''igumenia''). Orthodox monastics do not have distinct "orders" as in Western Christianity. Orthodox monks and nuns lead identical spiritual lives. There may be slight differences in the way a monastery functions internally but these are simply differences in style (Gr. ''typica'') dependent on the Abbess or Abbot. The Abbess is the spiritual leader of the convent and her authority is absolute (no priest, bishop, or even patriarch can override an abbess within the walls of her monastery.) There has always been spiritual equality between men and women in the Orthodox Church (). Abbots and Abbesses rank in authority equal to bishops in many ways and were included in ecumenical councils. Orthodox monasteries are usually associated with a local synod of bishops by jurisdiction, but are otherwise self governing. Abbesses hear confessions (but do not absolve) and dispense blessings on their charges, though they still require the services of a presbyter (i.e., a priest) to celebrate the Divine Liturgy and perform other priestly functions, such as the absolution of a penitent.

Orthodox monastics, in general have little or no contact with the outside world, especially family. The pious family whose child decides to enter the monastic profession understands that their child will become "dead to the world" and therefore be unavailable for social visits.

There are a number of different levels that the nun passes through in her profession:

Novice—When one enters a monastery the first three to five years are spent as a novice. Novices may or may not (depending on the abbess's wishes) dress in the black inner robe (Isorassa); those who do will also usually wear the apostolnik or a black scarf tied over the head (see photo, above). The isorassa is the first part of the monastic "habit" of which there is only one style for Orthodox monastics (this is true in general, there have been a few slight regional variations over the centuries, but the style always seems to precipitate back to a style common in the 3rd or 4th century). If a novice chooses to leave during the novitiate period no penalty is incurred.

Rassaphore—When the abbess deems the novice ready, the novice is asked to join the monastery. If she accepts, she is tonsured in a formal service during which she is given the outer robe (Exorassa) and veil (Epanokamelavkion) to wear, and (because she is now dead to the world) receives a new name. Nuns consider themselves part of a sisterhood; however, tonsured nuns are usually addressed as "Mother" (in some convents, the title of "Mother" is reserved to those who enter into the next level of Stavrophore).

Stavrophore—The next level for monastics takes place some years after the first tonsure when the abbess feels the nun has reached a level of discipline, dedication, and humility. Once again, in a formal service the nun is elevated to the "Little Schema" which is signified by additions to her habit of certain symbolic articles of clothing. In addition, the abbess increases the nun’s prayer rule, she is allowed a stricter personal ascetic practice.

Great Schema—The final stage, called "Megaloschemos" or "Great Schema" is reached by nuns whose Abbess feels they have reached a high level of excellence. In some monastic traditions the Great Schema is only given to monks and nuns on their death bed, while in others they may be elevated after as little as 25 years of service.

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Anglican Communion

Anglican religious orders are organizations of laity and/or clergy in the Anglican Communion who live under a common rule. The term "religious orders" must be distinguished from Holy Orders (the sacrament of ordination which bishops, priests, and deacons receive), though many communities do have ordained members.

The structure and function of religious orders in Anglicanism roughly parallels that which exists in Roman Catholicism. Religious communities are divided into orders proper, in which members take solemn vows and congregations, whose members take simple vows.

Religious communities throughout England were destroyed by King Henry VIII when he separated the Church of England from the papacy during the English Reformation (see Dissolution of the Monasteries). Monasteries were deprived of their lands and possessions, and monastics were forced to either live a secular life or flee the country.

With the rise of the Catholic Revival and the Oxford Movement in Anglicanism in the early 19th century came interest in the revival of "religious life" in England. Between 1841 and 1855, several religious orders for nuns were founded, among them the Community of St. Mary at Wantage and the Community of St. Margaret at East Grinstead.

In the United States and Canada, the founding of Anglican religious orders of nuns began in 1845 with the Sisterhood of the Holy Communion (now defunct) in New York.

In the Episcopal Church in the United States, there are two recognized types of religious communities, called Religious Orders and Christian Communities. The differences are as follows:

A Religious Order of this Church is a society of Christians (in communion with the See of Canterbury) who voluntarily commit themselves for life, or a term of years, to holding their possessions in common or in trust; to a celibate life in community; and obedience to their Rule and Constitution. (Title III, Canon 24, section 1)

A Christian Community of this Church is a society of Christians (in communion with the See of Canterbury) who voluntarily commit themselves for life, or a term of years, in obedience to their Rule and Constitution. (Title III, Canon 24, section 2)

In some Anglican orders, there are sisters who have been ordained and can celebrate the Eucharist.

Fiction and dramatizations featuring nuns

Nuns play an important role in the public's imagination. The following list, of works with Wikipedia articles where nuns play a major part, ranges from ''A Time for Miracles'' which is literally hagiography to realistic accounts by Kathryn Hulme and Monica Baldwin to the blatant nunsploitation of ''Sacred Flesh''. All the works use Catholic nuns save ''Black Narcissus'' (Anglican). All are outsiders' views with the exceptions of ''Dead Man Walking'', a film based on a non-fiction book of the same title by Helen Prejean, and ''The Nun's Story'', a book by Kathryn Hulme relating the experiences of ex-nun Marie Louise Habets.

''Agnes of God''

''Alucarda''

''Angels of the Streets''

''Anna''

''The Assisi Underground''

''The Bells of St. Mary's''

''Black Narcissus''

''Brides of Christ''

''Change of Habit''

''Christmas Lilies of the Field''

''Christmas Tree, The''

''Come to the Stable''

''Conspiracy of Hearts''

''Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys, The''

''Dark Waters''

''Dead Man Walking''

''Demonia''

''Devils, The''

''Doubt''

''Entre tinieblas''

''Faustina''

''Flying Nun, The''

''Girls Town''

''Hawk the Slayer''

''Haxan''

''Heaven Help Us''

''Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison''

''Household Saints''

''Killer Nun''

''La Religieuse''

''Last Relic, The''

''Les Miserables''

''Lilies of the Field''

''Little Boy Lost''

''Little Witches''

''Madeline''

''Magdalene Sisters, The''

''Makiusap ka sa Diyos''

''Mother Joan of the Angels''

''Night of the Demons 2''

''Nun and the Sergeant, The''

''Nunsense''

''Nuns on the Run''

''The Nun's Story''

''One Pound Gospel''

''Quiet as a Nun''

''Rosary Murders, The''

''Runner Stumbles, The''

''The Sands of Time''

''Sacred Flesh''

''Satan Never Sleeps''

''Scandal at Scourie''

''School of the Holy Beast''

''The Sentinel''

''Silent Night, Deadly Night''

''Silent Night, Deadly Night Part 2''

''The Singing Nun''

''Sister Act''

''Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit''

''Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All For You''

''Sister Rose's Passion''

''Song of Bernadette, The''

''Sound of Music, The''

''Story of the First Christmas Snow, The''

''Tales from the Leather Nun''

''Tears of the Sun''

''Thérèse (film)

''Thunder on the Hill''

''A Time for Miracles''

''To the Devil a Daughter''

''Todo Sobre Mi Madre''

''Trouble with Angels, The''

''Viridiana''

''Where Angels Go, Trouble Follows''

''White sister, The''

''Wide Awake''

''World Without End''

See also

Monk, the male monastic

Catholic religious order

References

Sources

Simpson J. A. & Weiner, E. S. C. (1989) ''The Oxford English Dictionary'', Clarendon Press, Oxford

Notes

External links

Blogs by Catholic nuns

Vocation-Network.org information about Catholic religious communities and life as a sister, brother, or priest.

VocationMatch.com helps those discerning a Catholic religious vocation sort through options and find the order or vocation that may be right for them.

DigitalVocationGuide.org digital edition of VISION, the annual Catholic religious vocation discernment guide.

Monastic Matrix: A Scholarly Resource for the Study of Women's Religious Communities 400-1600 C.E.

Full Text + Illustrations, The Hermits and Anchorites of England by Rotha Mary Clay.

Nuns of Medieval England, Full Text + Illustrations.

Religious Orders including Female Religious. Full Text + Illustrations.

Medieval Shrines of British Saints, including sainted women religious. Full Text + Illustrations.

The Catholic Encyclopedia''">Nuns article from ''The Catholic Encyclopedia''

Instruction on the Contemplative Life and on the Enclosure of Nuns ''Verbi Sponsa'' of the Vatican's Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and for Societies of Apostolic Life

A Biography of a Vajrayana Buddhist Nun

Martin Luther's letter To Several Nuns, August 6, 1524. (Two reasons life at the convent and vows may be forsaken)

Sakyadhita — The International Association of Buddhist Women

The Ursulines Sisters

The Dominican Monastery of Saint Jude

Our Lady of the Holy Rosary Monastery in Buffalo NY (A Dominican contemplative monastery with Latin chant)

Category:Asceticism Category:Religious occupations

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Coordinates	15°48′00″N47°54′00″N
birth name	Sally Margaret Field
birth date	November 06, 1946
birth place	Pasadena, California, US
years active	1962–present
occupation	Actress, singer, producer, director, screenwriter
spouse	Steve Craig (1968–1975)Alan Greisman (1984–1993) }}

Sally Margaret Field (born November 6, 1946) is an American actress, singer, producer, director, and screenwriter. In each decade of her career, she has been known for major roles in American TV/film culture, including: in the 1960s, for ''Gidget'' (1965–66) or Sister Bertrille on ''The Flying Nun'' (1967–70); in the 1970s, for ''Sybil'' (1976), ''Smokey and the Bandit'' (1977) and ''Norma Rae'' (1979); in the 1980s, for ''Absence of Malice'', ''Places in the Heart'' (1984) and ''Steel Magnolias''; in the 1990s, for ''Not Without My Daughter'', ''Mrs. Doubtfire'' (1993) and ''Forrest Gump'' (1994); and in the 2000s, on the TV shows ''ER'' and ''Brothers & Sisters''. She has also performed in numerous other roles.

Field won the ''Academy Award for Best Actress'' in a leading role on two occasions, ''Norma Rae'' (1979) and ''Places in the Heart'' (1984). Field's professional achievements also include winning three Emmy Awards: for her role in the TV film ''Sybil'' (1976); her guest-starring role on ''ER'' in 2000; and for her starring role as Nora Holden Walker on ABC's series ''Brothers & Sisters'' in 2007. She has also won two Golden Globes and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actress. She also won the Best Female Performance Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, for ''Norma Rae'' (1979).

Early life

Sally Field was born in Pasadena, California, daughter of Richard Dryden Field, an Army officer, and his wife, actress Margaret Field. Her parents divorced in 1950, and her mother later married actor and stuntman Jock Mahoney.

Field attended Portola Middle School, followed by Birmingham High School in Van Nuys, where she was a cheerleader. Her classmates included infamous financier Michael Milken, actress Cindy Williams (of ''Laverne & Shirley'' fame) and Michael Ovitz of CAA and Walt Disney Studios fame.

Career

Television

Field got her start on television as the boy-crazy surfer girl in the mid-1960s surf culture sitcom series, ''Gidget''. She went on to star as Sister Bertrille in ''The Flying Nun''. In an interview included on the DVD release of ''The Flying Nun'', she said that she would have preferred to continue playing Gidget. Field hated being on ''The Flying Nun'' because she wasn't treated with respect. After her iconic role on ''The Flying Nun'', she had become typecast. Later, she starred opposite John Davidson in a short-lived series called ''The Girl with Something Extra'' (1973–74).

In 1971, Field starred in ''Maybe I'll Come Home in the Spring'' with David Carradine and a soundtrack by Linda Ronstadt. She played the role of a discouraged teen runaway who returned home after a year on the road with a bearded drug-abusing hippie named "Flack" (David Carradine).

She made several guest appearances, including a recurring role on the western comedy ''Alias Smith and Jones'', starring Pete Duel (with whom she had worked on ''Gidget'') and Ben Murphy, plus the ''Rod Serling's Night Gallery'' episode "Whisper".

Having played mostly comedic characters on television, Field had a difficult time being cast in dramatic roles. She studied with famed acting teacher Lee Strasberg, who had previously helped Marilyn Monroe go beyond the "bimbo" roles with which her career had begun.

Soon afterward, Field landed the title role in the 1976 TV film ''Sybil'', the first of two films based on the book written by Flora Rheta Schreiber. Field's dramatic portrayal of Sybil, a young woman afflicted with Dissociative Identity Disorder, previously known as multiple personality disorder, in the TV film not only garnered her an Emmy Award (in 1977) but also enabled her to break through the typecasting she had experienced from her television sitcom roles.

Music

While starring on ''The Flying Nun'', Sally tried her hand at singing. Sally Field sang on the Soundtrack for ''The Flying Nun'' in 1967 and she even sang ''The Flying Nun'' theme song "Who Needs Wings to Fly". The same year, she cracked the Billboard Hot 100 with one single, ''Felicidad''. Sally revived her singing career in 2008 when she sang on the soundtrack for "The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning".

Film

Field had made her film debut in 1962 with a small part in ''Moon Pilot''. Her first major film role was in ''The Way West'' (1967). In 1977, she co-starred with Burt Reynolds, Jackie Gleason and Jerry Reed in that year's #2 grossing film, ''Smokey and the Bandit.'' In 1979, she played a union organizer in ''Norma Rae,'' a successful film that established her status as a dramatic actress. Vincent Canby, in his review of the film for the ''New York Times,'' wrote: "''Norma Rae'' is a seriously concerned contemporary drama, illuminated by some very good performances and one, Miss Field's, that is spectacular." She won the Best Female Performance Prize at the Cannes Film Festival and the Academy Award for Best Actress.

Field did three more of Reynolds' films (''The End'', ''Hooper'' and ''Smokey and the Bandit II''), none particularly an acting challenge. In 1981, Field continued to change her image, playing a foul-mouthed prostitute opposite Tommy Lee Jones in the South-set film ''Back Roads,'' which received middling reviews and grossed $11 million at the box office. She won Golden Globe nominations for the 1981 drama ''Absence of Malice'' and 1982 comedy ''Kiss Me Goodbye''.

Then came a second Oscar for her starring role in the 1984 drama ''Places in the Heart''. Field's gushing acceptance speech is well remembered for its earnestness. She said, "I haven't had an orthodox career, and I've wanted more than anything to have your respect. The first time I didn't feel it, but this time I feel it, and I can't deny the fact that you like me, right now, you like me!" The line ending in "...I can't deny the fact that you like me, right now, you like me!" is often misquoted as simply, "You like me, you really like me!" which has subsequently been the subject of many parodies. (Field parodied the line herself in a commercial.) The phrase, "You like me" was originally from her wry, understated, famous reply in the film ''Norma Rae'', but many people totally missed the subtle connection in her acceptance speeches, with that point in the film.

The following year, she co-starred with James Garner in the romantic comedy ''Murphy's Romance.'' In A&E;'s biography of Garner, she cited her on-screen kiss with Garner as the best cinematic kiss she had ever had.

Field appeared on the cover of the March 1986 issue of ''Playboy'' magazine, in which she was the interview subject. She did not appear as a pictorial subject inside the magazine, although she did wear the classic leotard and bunny-ears outfit on the cover. That same year she was awarded the Women in Film Crystal Award.

For her role as the matriarch, M'Lynn, in the film version of ''Steel Magnolias'' (1989), she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress. She had supporting roles in a number of other movies, including ''Mrs. Doubtfire'' (1993) in which she played Miranda Hillard, the wife of Robin Williams's character and the love interest of Pierce Brosnan's character Stuart 'Stu' Dunmyer. She followed this with the role of Forrest Gump's mother in ''Forrest Gump'' (1994), even though she is only 10 years older than Tom Hanks, with whom she had co-starred six years earlier in ''Punchline.''

Her other films in the 1990s included ''Not Without My Daughter'', a controversial suspense film, and ''Soapdish'', a comedy in which Field plays the pampered star of a television soap opera. She played Natalie Portman's mother in ''Where the Heart Is'' (2000) and appeared opposite Reese Witherspoon in ''Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde'' (2003).

Recent roles

In November 2009, Sally appeared on an episode of ''The Doctors'' to talk about osteoporosis and her Rally With Sally Foundation.

On television, Field had a recurring role on ''ER'' in the 2000-01 season as Dr. Abby Lockhart's mother Maggie, who is struggling to cope with bipolar disorder, a role for which she won an Emmy Award in 2001. After her critically acclaimed stint on the show, she returned to the role in 2003 and 2006. She also starred in the very short-lived 2002 series ''The Court''.

Field's directorial career began with the television film ''The Christmas Tree'' (1996). She also directed the feature film ''Beautiful'' (2000) as well as an episode of the critically acclaimed TV mini-series ''From the Earth to the Moon'' (1998).

Field was a late addition to the ABC drama ''Brothers & Sisters'', which debuted in September 2006. In the show's pilot, the role of matriarch Nora Walker had been played by actress Betty Buckley. However, the producers of the show decided to take the character of Nora in another direction, and Field was cast in the role. She won the 2007 Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series in her role as Nora Walker. The blockbuster soap also stars familiar actresses such as Calista Flockhart and Rachel Griffiths, in the roles of Nora's adult daughters, Kitty Walker and Sarah Walker, respectively, as well as unfamiliar actors, such as Welsh film actor Matthew Rhys tackling the very American role of Nora's son, Kevin Walker, and Dave Annable as Nora's youngest son, Justin Walker.

Field recently had a voice role as Marina del Rey, the primary antagonist in Disney's ''The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning'', which was released in August 2008.

Currently, Field can be seen on television as the compensated spokesperson for Roche Laboratories' postmenopausal osteoporosis treatment medication, Boniva.

She has been cast to portray Aunt May in the upcoming Marvel Comics film ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' and Mary Todd Lincoln in Steven Spielberg's upcoming film ''Lincoln'', written by Tony Kushner.

Activism

During her 2007 acceptance speech for her 2006-07 Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series, Field made an anti-war statement: "If the mothers ruled the world, there would be no goddamn wars in the first place!" Though the crowd present at the Emmy Awards heard it, viewers watching the telecast in the United States only heard "if mothers ruled the world there would be no ... ," due to the censoring of the rest of the statement (in Canada, her remark was not bleeped). In the 2008 presidential election, she supported Hillary Clinton in her bid for the Democratic Party nomination.

Field is also a dedicated advocate for women's rights. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of Vital Voices Global Partnership, an international women's NGO, and has co-hosted the Global Leadership Awards six times.

Personal life

Field married Steven Craig in 1968. The couple had two sons, Peter Craig, a novelist, and Eli Craig, an actor and director. They divorced in 1975. Sally Field was romantically involved with Burt Reynolds for many years, during which time they co-starred in several movies, including ''Smokey and the Bandit'', ''Smokey and the Bandit II'', and ''The End''. In 1984, she married film producer Alan Greisman. They had one son, Sam. Field and Greisman divorced in 1993.

On October 29, 1988, she and her family survived a crash after their charter plane lost power on takeoff. They all survived with minor injuries.

Field suffers from osteoporosis, and has appeared in commercials promoting prescription medication designed to prevent and/or alleviate the effects of the disease.

Filmography

Film

! Year	! Film	! Role	! Notes
1962	''Moon Pilot''	Beatnik girl in lineup
1967		Mercy McBee
1976		Mary Tate Farnsworth
		Carrie / 'Frog'	Nominated – Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
	Carol Bell
		Mary Ellen
	Gwen Doyle
	''Norma Rae''	Norma Rae	Academy Award for Best ActressGolden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture DramaPrix d'interprétation féminine
''[[Beyond the Poseidon Adventure''	Celeste Whitman
1980	''Smokey and the Bandit II''	Carrie / 'Frog'
		Amy Post
''Absence of Malice''	Megan Carter	Nominated – Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama
1982		Kay Villano	Nominated – Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
1984	''Places in the Heart''	Edna Spalding	Academy Award for Best ActressGolden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama
1985	''Murphy's Romance''	Emma Moriarty	Nominated – Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
1987		Daisy Morgan
1988		Lilah Krytsick
1989	''Steel Magnolias''	M'Lynn Eatenton	Nominated – Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama
	''Not Without My Daughter''	Betty Mahmoody
''Soapdish''	Celeste Talbert / Maggie
	''Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey''	Sassy	voice
''Mrs. Doubtfire''	Miranda Hillard
	''A Century of Cinema''	Herself	documentary
''Forrest Gump''	Mrs. Gump
		Karen McCann
''Homeward Bound II: Lost in San Francisco''	Sassy	voice
		Mama Lil
		directorial debut
2001		Valdine Wingfield
	''Legally Blonde 2: Red, White and Blonde''	Rep. Victoria Rudd
''Going Through Splat: The Life and Work of Stewart Stern''	Herself	documentary
2006	''Two Weeks''	Anita Bergman
2008	''The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning''	Marina Del Ray	(voice-over; animated)
2012			Filming
2012		Mary Todd Lincoln	Filming

Television

! Year	! Production	! Role	! Notes
1965–66		Frances Elizabeth "Gidget" Lawrence	32 episodes
1966–67	''Hey, Landlord''	Bonnie Banner	4 episodes
1967–70	''The Flying Nun''	Elsie Ethrington "Sister Bertrille"	82 episodes
	''Maybe I'll Come Home in the Spring''	Denise "Dennie" Miller
''Hitched''	Roselle Bridgeman
''Marriage: Year One''	Jane Duden
1972	''Home for the Holidays''	Christine Morgan
1973–74	''The Girl with Something Extra''	Sally Burton	22 episodes
		Jennifer Melford
	Sybil Dorsett
1977	''Merry Christmas, George Bailey''	Mrs. Bailey/Narrator
1995	''A Woman of Independent Means''	Bess Alcott Steed Garner
1998		Trudy Cooper	miniseries
1999	''A Cooler Climate''	Iris	Nominated – Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress - Miniseries or a MovieNominated – Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Female Actor - Miniseries or Television Film
2000		Aunt Betsey Trotwood	Nominated – Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Female Actor - Miniseries or Television Film
2000–06		Maggie Wyczenski	Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress - Drama Series (2001)Nominated – Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress - Drama Series (2003)Nominated – Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series (2000)	Recurring role
2002	''The Court''	Justice Kate Nolan	Cancelled after 6 episodes
2005	''Conviction''
2006 – 2011		Nora Walker	Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress - Drama Series (Won in 2007, Nominated 2008-2009)Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series (Nominated in 2008, Won in 2009)
Year	Title	Chart positions
!width="40"
	''[[The Flying Nun">Prism Award	109 episodes

Discography

Year	Title	Chart positions
!width="40"
	''[[The Flying Nun''	*Released: 1967	Colgems Records>Colgems COM-106 (Mono)/COS-106 (Stereo)
		*Released: 2008	*Label: Walt Disney Records

Singles

"Felicidad" (''Billboard Hot 100'' #94) / "Find Yourself A Rainbow" -- Colgems (1967)

"Golden Days" / "You're a Grand Old Flag" -- Colgems (1968)

"Gonna Build A Mountain" / "Months of The Year" -- Colgems (1968)

"Just One Mistake" -- Walt Disney Records (2008)

"Just One Mistake (Reprise)" -- Walt Disney Records (2008)

References

External links

''Actress Sally Field On Hollywood, Family and Aging'', an NPR Interview, June 3, 2009 (streaming audio)

''Two Weeks'' movie site

Category:1946 births Category:American child actors Category:American female singers Category:Female film directors Category:American film directors Category:American film actors Category:American television actors Category:Best Actress Academy Award winners Category:Best Drama Actress Golden Globe (film) winners Category:Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series Screen Actors Guild Award winners Category:Actors from California Category:Emmy Award winners Category:Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute alumni Category:Living people Category:People from Pasadena, California Category:American voice actors

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Coordinates	15°48′00″N47°54′00″N
name	The Singing Nun
background	solo_singer
birth name	Jeanne-Paule Marie Deckers
alias	Sœur SourireLuc Dominique
born	October 17, 1933Brussels, Belgium
died	March 29, 1985Wavre, Wallonia, Belgium
instrument	Vocals, guitar
genre	Folk
label	Philips Records }}

Jeanine Deckers (October 17, 1933 – March 29, 1985), known in English as The Singing Nun, was a Belgian nun, and a member (as Sister Luc Gabriel) of the Dominican Fichermont Convent in Belgium. She became internationally famous in 1963 as Sœur Sourire (Sister Smile) when she scored a hit with the song "Dominique". In the English-language world, she is credited on her records as "The Singing Nun".

Biography

Early years

Born Jeanne-Paule Marie Deckers, she was a nun in the Dominican Fichermont Convent in Waterloo, Belgium. While in the convent, she wrote, sang and performed her own songs, which were so well received by the order and at retreats that the monastery decided to let her record an album, which visitors and retreatists to the monastery would be able to purchase.

In 1963, the album was recorded in Brussels at Philips. The single "Dominique" became an international hit. Many radio stations in the U.S. played it and other softer hits more often in the wake of the John F. Kennedy assassination. Overnight, the Dominican nun was an international celebrity with the stage name of (Sister Smile). She gave concerts and appeared on the ''Ed Sullivan Show'' on 5 January 1964. , "Dominique" is the only Belgian song that has ever been a number one hit single in the United States.

Effects of fame and further musical career

In 1966, a movie called ''The Singing Nun'' was made about her, starring Debbie Reynolds in the title role. Deckers rejected the film as "fiction".

Deckers did not gain much from this international fame, and her second LP, ''Her Joys, Her Songs'', did not get much attention and disappeared almost as soon as it was released. Most of her earnings were in fact taken away by Philips, her producer, while the rest would go to the convent. In 1967, Deckers left her monastery to continue her musical career under the name Luc Dominique. She could not keep her initial name "", as Philips owned the rights. She released an album called ''I Am Not a Star in Heaven''. Her repertoire consisted of religious songs and songs for children. Despite her renewed musical emphasis, Deckers gradually faded into obscurity, possibly because of her own disdain for fame: she was never able to duplicate the success of her one hit.

Political views

Deckers became increasingly critical of Catholic doctrines and eventually became a public advocate for contraception. She also agreed with John Lennon's statements about Jesus in 1966. In 1967, she recorded a song entitled "Glory Be to God for the Golden Pill" — a paean to artificial birth control under the name Luc Dominique. It was a commercial failure.

Last years

Her musical career over, Deckers opened a school for autistic children in Belgium. In the late 1970s, the Belgian government claimed that she owed approximately $63,000 USD in back taxes. Deckers countered that the royalties from her recording were given to the convent and therefore she was not liable for payment of any personal income taxes. Lacking any receipts to prove her donations to the convent and her religious order, Deckers ran into heavy financial problems. In 1982, she tried, once again as Sœur Sourire, to score a hit with a disco synthesizer version of "Dominique", but this last attempt to resume her singing career failed.

Citing their financial difficulties in a note, she and her companion of ten years, Annie Pécher, both committed suicide by an overdose of barbiturates and alcohol on 29 March 1985. She was 51.

Theatrical portrayals

In 1996, ''The Tragic and Horrible Life of the Singing Nun'' premiered Off-Broadway at The Grove Street Playhouse. The play, which was written and directed by Blair Fell, was loosely based on the events in Deckers' life. The production, which featured several musical numbers, followed the renamed character Jeanine Fou's life from her entry into the convent until her death with Pécher. The ''New York Times'' review stated the play "milks much of its comic mileage from the incongruous, and willfully tasteless, pairing of its holy setting and its trashy, Jacqueline Susann-style dialogue...In dressing up despair in barbed frivolity, Mr. Fell provides his own skewed equivalent of tragic catharsis." The Catholic League spoke out publicly against the production.

In 2006, a musical version of Fell's play was staged during the New York Musical Theater Festival, produced by George DeMarco and David Gerard, both of whom produced the 1996 production. The musical featured music and lyrics by Andy Monroe and a book by Fell (who also contributed additional lyrics); it was directed by Michael Schiralli.

In 2009, ''Sœur Sourire'', a Franco-Belgian biopic starring Cécile de France as Deckers, was released in cinemas.

Further reading

Luc Maddelein & Leen van den Berg, ''Sœur Sourire. Zie me graag'', Leuven, Davidsfonds, 2005, ISBN 90-5826-330-4

Chadwick, D.A.: "The Singing Nun Story: The Life and Death of Soeur Sourire" 2010, ISBN 1453710965

References

Florence Delaporte: ''Sœur Sourire: Brûlée aux feux de la rampe'' (1996)

External links

[ The Singing Nun] at Allmusic

The Singing Nun at Discogs

:fr:Sœur Sourire French Wikipedia article with lyrics of first verse of "Dominique"

Category:1933 births Category:1985 deaths Category:Belgian female singers Category:Belgian Roman Catholics Category:Belgian Roman Catholic nuns Category:Dominican nuns Category:Drug-related suicides in Belgium Category:Female suicides Category:French-language singers Category:Lesbian musicians Category:Monks and nuns who committed suicide Category:Musicians who committed suicide

de:Sœur Sourire es:Sor Sonrisa fr:Sœur Sourire ko:노래하는 수녀 is:Jeanine Deckers it:Jeanine Deckers lb:Soeur Sourire nl:Sœur Sourire ja:スール・スーリール no:Jeanine Deckers pl:Jeanine Deckers pt:Jeanine Deckers ru:Деккерс, Жаннин fi:Jeanine Deckers sv:Soeur Sourire