Sam Greisman, Sally Field’s youngest son, believes his time on the set of Steel Magnolias made him gay.
The 79-year-old actress recalled her experience filming People in 1989, saying it was “an amazing, amazing experience.”
“We loved each other, all of us, completely adored each other,” she said of the iconic female cast, which included Julia Roberts, Shirley MacLaine, Dolly Parton, Daryl Hannah and Olympia Dukakis.
“We all went shopping on the weekends, and even Dolly sometimes went to the market, played games, or got together at someone’s house,” she said.
She added that her office has a photo of her with Parton, McClain and Roberts at a wrap party.
“We had a big band so all our headshots were tight and I have my little son Sam on my chest,” she explained of her 38-year-old son with ex-husband Alan Greisman.
“He’s six months old and he’s holding his head because he’s trying to protect his ears because he was so loud. He was always on set and my friends took care of him. Sam always said that’s probably why he’s gay,” Field added with a laugh.
The Mrs. Doubtfire actress, who has been single since divorcing Greisman in 1994, has sons Peter, 56, and Eli, 53, with her first husband, Stephen Craig.
All three of Field’s sons have followed in her footsteps and gone on to careers in Hollywood. Sam is a writer and producer.
In an essay published in People magazine in 2023, Sam passionately talked about his connection to his mother, calling himself a “mother girl.”
He explained why he was “probably too attached to her” and said, “Maybe it was because I was the youngest, 16 years old. Maybe it was because I was a shy child and my mother was my safe place and I was attached to.”
He added: “Perhaps it’s because gay men feel an undeniable love for the award-winning actress. Who knows? Whatever it is, we’ve always been incredibly close.”
Sam said he was “so connected” to his mother that he was able to trace his life through her mother’s career.
“While she was filming ‘Mrs. Doubtfire,’ I was building model airplanes and hanging them all over our rented house in San Francisco. While filming ‘Forrest Gump,’ I was able to buy things at a toy store in Beaufort, South Carolina,” he wrote.
“Then we had a frank and heartfelt conversation about my queerness that was used directly in a scene between her and Matthew Rhys. To be honest, I’m still waiting for the retroactive screenwriting credits,” she joked, referring to the time she was working on Brothers & Sisters.
In a speech at the 2012 Human Rights Campaign Annual National Dinner, the actress said of motherhood, “The three people I am most proud of in my life are my sons Peter, Eli, and Sam. They are kind, loving, and productive human beings. Each one is completely different from the other.”
Of Sam in particular, Field added, “Sam has a color and natural awareness that his older brothers don’t have. He has a gentle personality, and that’s a gift.”
“Nature created Sam. It wasn’t a choice. He was always, always Sam, wonderful, smart, funny, kind Sam.”
