Editing Sissy Spacek (section)

==Early life and education==
Mary Elizabeth Spacek was born on [[Christmas Day]] 1949, in [[Quitman, Texas|Quitman]], [[Texas]], the daughter of Virginia Frances ([[née]] Spilman, 1917–1981)<ref>[https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/99019958:60525 Virginia Spacek death register] Ancestry.com</ref> and Edwin Arnold Spacek Sr.,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.familytreenow.com/record/lIQtehoqzdzW1c1twBj0NA|title=Edwin A Spacek – US Social Security Death Index|access-date=June 6, 2016}}</ref>  a [[Wood County, Texas|Wood County]] agricultural agent in Quitman. Her father was of three quarters Czech (Moravian) and one quarter [[Sudeten Germans|Sudeten-German]] ancestry; her paternal grandparents were Mary (née Cervenka) and Arnold A. Spacek (who served as mayor of [[Granger, Texas]] in Williamson County).<ref name=sti>{{cite news|title=Sissy Spacek The Coal Miner's Daughter|newspaper=New Straits Times|date=October 9, 1981|url=https://news.google.ca/newspapers?id=f7QTAAAAIBAJ&sjid=4I8DAAAAIBAJ&pg=6364,1798627&dq=sissy-spacek-the-coal-miner's-daughter&hl=en|access-date=July 28, 2010}}</ref><ref>[http://www.wargs.com/other/spacek.html ''Ancestry of Sissy Spacek'']. Wargs.com.</ref> [[Rip Torn]] was her first cousin;<ref>{{Cite news|first=Simon|last=Hattenstone |date=May 9, 2022 |title='I'd carry the misery around with me all day': Sissy Spacek on acting, grief and her sci-fi debut at 72 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/may/09/sissy-spacek-acting-grief-sci-fi-debut-72-badlands-coal-miners-daughter-carrie |access-date=January 9, 2023 |newspaper=The Guardian}}</ref> his mother Thelma Torn (née Spacek) was an elder sister of Sissy's father Edwin.<ref>Texas Monthly, vol. 19, no. 2, Feb. 1991, p. 124</ref> Spacek's mother, who was of [[England|English]] and [[Ireland|Irish]] descent, was from the [[Lower Rio Grande Valley|Rio Grande Valley]] of Texas.<ref name=tca>Stated on ''[[Inside the Actors Studio]]'', 2002</ref>

At the age of six, Spacek performed on stage for the first time in a local talent show.<ref name="biography.com" /> Although her birth name was Mary Elizabeth, she was always called Sissy by her brothers, which led to her nickname. She attended [[Quitman High School (Texas)|Quitman High School]].<ref name="biography.com" />

Spacek was greatly affected by the 1967 death of her 18-year-old brother Robbie from [[leukemia]], which she has called "the defining event of my whole life."<ref name = "Toronto Star-Ouzounian-2012-04-27">
{{cite news | first = Richard | last = Ouzounian | title = Big Interview: Sissy Spacek | url = https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/2012/04/27/big_interview_sissy_spacek.html | work = Toronto Star | date = April 27, 2012 | access-date = October 23, 2015 }}</ref> She has said the tragedy made her fearless in her acting career: {{blockquote|"I think it made me brave. Once you experience something like that, you've experienced the ultimate tragedy. And if you can continue, nothing else frightens you. That's what I meant about it being rocket fuel—I was fearless in a way. Maybe it gave more depth to my work because I had already experienced something profound and life-changing."|Sissy Spacek (2015)<ref>{{cite news|first=Alex|last=Godfrey|url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/19/sissy-spacek-bloodline-interview-fearless|title=Sissy Spacek: "I was fearless"|newspaper=The Guardian|date=March 19, 2015|access-date=December 21, 2015}}</ref>}}

Spacek initially aspired to a singing career. In 1968, under the [[stage name]] Rainbo, she recorded a [[Single (music)|single]], "John You Went Too Far This Time", the [[lyrics]] of which chided [[John Lennon]] for his and [[Yoko Ono]]'s nude album cover for ''[[Two Virgins]]''. When sales of her music sputtered, Spacek was dropped by her [[record label]]. She switched her focus to acting, enrolling at the [[Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute]].