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Sally Kirkland, the veteran actress known for her Oscar-nominated performance in the 1987 film “Anna,” died Tuesday at 84, TMZ reports.
Kirkland, who was reportedly diagnosed with dementia a year ago, had just this week entered hospice care after suffering “life-threatening infections.” She had been the subject of an urgent GoFundMe campaign.
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According to the GoFundMe, Kirkland “had a fall in the shower, when she was left unattended; injuring her ribs, foot, along with cuts and bruises.”
Kirkland was born October 31, 1941, in NYC.
She began acting off-Broadway in 1963, and soon became a part of Andy Warhol’s famed Factory. That included appearing in his experimental “The 13 Most Beautiful Women” (1964), in which she was tied to a chair, nude, for the better part of the film.
Other early work included the movies “Blue” (1968) and “Coming Apart” (1969), with which she established herself as part of the underground, counter-culture film movement.
After working steadily in such films as “The Way We Were” (1973), “Cinderella Liberty” (1973), “The Sting” (1973), Barbra Streisand’s “A Star Is Born” (1976), and “Private Benjamin” (1980), Kirkland enjoyed a major career revival with “Anna,” in which she played a washed-up actress, snagging a Golden Globe and a coveted Best Actress Oscar nomination.
She later appeared in a TV adaptation of “Steel Magnolias” (1990) and was Golden Globe-nominated for her work in the TV movie “The Haunted” (1991).
Among her best-known later films, she acted in “JFK” (1991), “The Player” (1992), “Bruce Almighty” (2003), “Adam & Steve” (2005), and “80 for Brady” (2023).
An acting coach, she was said to have worked with everyone from Sandra Bullock to Roseanne Barr.
In 1998, Kirkland founded the Kirkland Institute for Implant Survival Syndrome after having her breast implants removed. Her other pursuits outside acting included yoga and painting.
Kirkland was married briefly in the ’70s and had no children.
On Monday, a new fictionalized version of her life, “Sallywood,” bowed on Amazon Prime. The film, featuring appearances by Jennifer Tilly, Eric Roberts and more of Kirkland’s famous friends, is about her heart-warming connection with a fan she hires to be her assistant.
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