Sally Kirkland, the feisty blonde actress who was nominated for an Oscar for her role in the 1987 independent film “Anna,” has died. She was 84 years old.
Her agent, Michael Green, confirmed to Variety that Kirkland died early Tuesday morning in Palm Springs, California. According to Kirkland’s GoFundMe page, he fell in the shower in October, injuring his ribs and leg, and was admitted to hospice care last week. She had previously been diagnosed with a bone infection that spread to her bloodstream and dementia.
In addition to her work in movies, Kirkland also had recurring roles in television series such as “Felicity,” “Roseanne,” “Valley of the Dolls,” and “Days of Our Lives.”
Ms. Kirkland surprised Oscar fans when her grassroots campaign earned her a Best Actress nomination for her role in the modest 1987 independent comedy “Anna.” In it, Ms. Kirkland played a Czech actress who mentors a young actress played by Paulina Porizkova. Kirkland also won the Golden Globe Award and the Los Angeles Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress.
Years before Andrea Riseborough gained attention for her role in Dear Leslie, Kirkland vigorously asserted herself in the pre-social media era, writing letters to members of the LA Film Critics and courting Andy Warhol, who was doing a talk show at the time. After running into Rex Reid in an elevator at the Cannes Film Festival, a critic gave her the words, “Sally Kirkland devours ‘Anna’ like it’s a raw steak, and it’s the arrival of a big star.”
“At the Oscars, all the movie stars were coming out of limousines, and then there was me. I felt like Cinderella. The biggest thing was the feeling of being put in the same Oscar category as the women I was a huge fan of, like Meryl, Glenn, Holly Hunter, and Cher, who I used to roller skate with in the ’70s,” she told HuffPost in 2012.
“If you’re someone who’s been in an independent film and you’ve worked hard for years and you don’t happen to be part of the mega-billion dollar system and you have the chutzpah to stand up and say this is me, it behooves all of us in Hollywood not to appreciate that,” she said in an interview.
Born in New York City, she trained with Lee Strasberg and began her career in off-Broadway productions and avant-garde theater, which led to her joining Andy Warhol’s Factory. Her first film role was in Warhol’s 13 Most Beautiful Women in 1964. She then appeared in the westerns Blue and Coming Apart.
In the 1970s, she guest starred on shows such as “Kojak,” “Baretta,” and “Three’s Company,” and had bit parts in major films such as “The Way We Were,” “Cinderella Liberty,” “The Sting,” and “A Star Is Born.”
Her first leading role was in the 1984 horror film ‘Fatal Game’. After “Anna,” Kirkland continued to appear in dozens of films, including “JFK,” “Bruce Almighty,” and “Hope for the Holidays.”
In 2024, Kirkland played himself in the independent film Sallywood, about a writer who is hired as Kirkland’s personal assistant. Director Sirk Gruber, who also wrote an interview with her for the Huffington Post, based the film on her own story.
Kirkland is survived by his godson, Coty Galloway (Bailey); Close friends Paige Dylan, Mel England, Lee Taylor Young, Zach Gruber, and Maggie Wagner. Manager Valerie McCaffery and agent Green. and cousins Brookie, Katherine and Tina Kirkland.
