Oscar Winner Sally Field Talks New Stage of Life, Past Loves & More With AARP The Magazine

Two-time Academy Award winning actress Sally Field spent years living in a rambling ranch house in the Malibu Hills with a swimming pool, plenty of room for her three sons and, later, her cancer-stricken mom, and a lifetime of accumulated stuff. Following the death of her mother at age 89, empty nester Field has settled into a new stage of life with a new way of thinking.

In an insightful interview with AARP The Magazine, Field discusses her early days feeling lonely at her first acting jobs and how work eventually became the most gratifying part of her life outside of family. Despite her love of acting, Field has been disappointed with how few great films have been coming along for aging actresses. Before being cast in Lincoln, Field had to fight for her role portraying Mary Todd Lincoln, a historical character 20 years younger than the actress. In her new role in the movie Hello, My Name Is Doris, Field plays a three-dimensional older female character who kisses a younger character in the movie's fantasy sequences. Field felt self-conscious about making out with NEW GIRL actor Max Greenfield, given their 30-year difference in age.

The following are excerpts from the April/May issue of the AARP The Magazine cover story featuring Sally Field, available in homes today and online now at www.aarp.org/magazine/

On kissing much-younger actor Max Greenfield in Hello, My Name Is Doris:
"I am more than 30 years older than he is, and we do these scenes whereeven though it's supposed to be her fantasywe really did shoot those kissing scenes. I would go, 'I'm really sorry. I'm really embarrassed,' and he would go, 'Forget about it, please. No apology necessary.' We are taught as females in this country that when we have an older face or body, we should feel shame."

On the roles she is offered:
"I'm in a place in my life where stuff that comes to me is just so generic, and you're like, 'Oh-kay.' It's the mother with all the kids, and the story is really about all the kids, and the mother is just there."

On LIFE AFTER years of being her mother's caregiver:
"In so many ways I feel like I'm new to myself. I believe all of us, in every stage of our lives, are coming of age."

On the old adage that no one ever says on their deathbed they wish they'd worked more:
"That's bull. That's the person who didn't want to go to work. Work was just something they had to do because it was the means with which to make money. My work has never been that."

On her love relationships:
She married young and divorced young, and then married and divorced again. "Obviously, I'm not very good at marriage," she says. She recently read Gloria Steinem's new memoir, and something Steinem wrote rang true to Field. "She said, if you never really had a productive connection with the father or fathers in your life, you have a hard time recognizing what the connection is. I don't think I have ever really understood what that connection is on a male and female level."

About AARP The Magazine
With nearly 36 million readers, AARP The Magazine is the world's largest circulation magazine and the definitive lifestyle publication for Americans 50+. AARP The Magazine delivers comprehensive content through health and fitness features, financial guidance, consumer interest information and tips, celebrity interviews, and book and movie reviews. AARP The Magazine was founded in 1958 and is published bimonthly in print and continually online. Learn more at www.aarp.org/magazine/. Twitter: twitter.com/AARP

About AARP
AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization, with a membership of nearly 38 million that helps people turn their goals and dreams into 'Real Possibilities' by changing the way America defines aging. With staffed offices in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, AARP works to strengthen communities and promote the issues that matter most to families such as healthcare security, financial security and personal fulfillment. AARP also advocates for individuals in the marketplace by selecting products and services of high quality and value to carry the AARP name. As a trusted source for news and information, AARP produces the world's largest circulation magazine, AARP The Magazine and AARP Bulletin. AARP does not endorse candidates for public office or make contributions to political campaigns or candidates. To learn more, visit www.aarp.org or follow @aarp and our CEO @JoAnn_Jenkins on Twitter.

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SOURCE AARP