Sally Kirkland, Oscar Nominee for ‘Anna,’ Dies at 84

Sally Kirkland, the effervescent blonde actress who was Oscar-nominated for the independent film “Anna” in 1987, has died. She was 84.

Her representative, Michael Greene, confirmed to Variety that Kirkland died early Tuesday morning in Palm Springs, Calif. She was put on hospice last week after suffering a fall in the shower in October that resulted in injuries to her ribs and foot, according to her GoFundMe page. She had previously been diagnosed with a bone infection that had also spread to her bloodstream, as well as dementia.

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Beyond her work in film, Kirkland also held recurring roles on TV series like “Felicity,” “Roseanne,” “Valley of the Dolls” and “Days of Our Lives.”

Kirkland surprised Oscar-watchers when her grass-roots campaign led to a best actress nomination in the 1987 modest independent comedy “Anna,” in which she portrayed a Czech actress who mentors a younger actress, played by Paulina Porizkova. Kirkland also won the Golden Globe and L.A. Film Critics award for best actress.

Many years before Andrea Riseborough gained attention for her role in “To Leslie,” Kirkland advocated tirelessly for herself in a time before social media, writing letters to the L.A. Film Critics members and calling in a favor with Andy Warhol, who had a talk show at the time. After running into Rex Reed in a Cannes Film Festival elevator, the critic gave her the quote “Sally Kirkland devours ‘Anna’ like a raw steak and emerges a major star.”

“At the Oscars, there were all these movie stars emerging from their limos, and then there was me. I felt like Cinderella. The greatest part was the feeling to be in the same Oscar category of these women that I was a huge fan of — Meryl, Glenn, Holly Hunter and Cher, who I used to rollerskate with in the ’70s,” she told the Huffington Post in 2012.

“If you’re in independent films, and worked hard for years, and you don’t happen to be part of the mega-billion dollar system, and you’ve got the chutzpah to stand up and say this is who I am, it takes all the humanity out of Hollywood not to appreciate that,” she said in the interview.

Born in New York City, she trained with Lee Strasberg and started her career in off-Broadway productions and avant-garde theater, which led to her joining Andy Warhol’s Factory. Her first film appearance came in Warhol’s “The 13 Most Beautiful Women” in 1964. She went on to appear in the Western “Blue” and in “Coming Apart.”

In the 1970s, she guested on shows including “Kojak,” “Baretta” and “Three’s Company,” and had small roles in major films such as “The Way We Were,” “Cinderella Liberty,” “The Sting” and “A Star Is Born.”

Her first lead role came in the 1984 horror film “Fatal Games.” After “Anna,” Kirkland continued to work in dozens of films including “JFK,” “Bruce Almighty,” and “Hope for the Holidays.”

In 2024, Kirkland starred as herself in “Sallywood,” an indie film about a writer who gets hired as Kirkland’s personal assistant. Director Xaque Gruber — who also wrote the Huffington Post interview with her — based the film on his own story.

Kirkland is survived by her godson Coty Galloway (Bailey); close friends Paige Dylan, Mel England, Leigh Taylor Young, Xaque Gruber and Maggie Wagner; manager Valerie McCaffery and agent Greene; and cousins Brookie, Katherine and Tina Kirkland.

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