Born into a working-class show-business family in Pasadena, California, she experienced difficult circumstances growing up. In her memoir, Field revealed deeply painful details about her childhood, including allegations of abuse by her stepfather. She also wrote about having a secret abortion at the age of 17.
Despite the hardships she experienced, Field went on to build a remarkable career and became known not only for her acting ability but also for the humility and humanity she brought to her public life.
And even after decades in the entertainment industry, Field has continued to work.
In 2020, she appeared as Janice in the television series Dispatches From Elsewhere. Two years later, she took on the role of Jessie Buss in Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty, the popular series chronicling the professional and personal lives surrounding the legendary Los Angeles Lakers of the 1980s.
With Field continuing to make appearances and participate in interviews, fans have occasionally been given glimpses into the actress’s personal memories and experiences from her long career.
One of the most revealing moments came during an episode of Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen.
On Thursday, Dec. 1, Field appeared on the show when a fan submitted a question asking her to identify the worst on-screen kiss she had ever experienced.
The question immediately made her hesitate.
Field looked around and laughed before wondering aloud whether she should really reveal the name.
“Oh boy. Shall I really name names here?” she asked.
Andy Cohen, clearly intrigued by the possibility that she might actually answer, encouraged her to go ahead.
“I think you should,” Cohen replied.
Field eventually gave in.
“Okay. This is going to be a shocker. Hold on folks,” she warned.
Then she revealed the name.
It was Burt Reynolds.
For fans familiar with Hollywood history, the answer was particularly surprising because Reynolds wasn’t simply one of Field’s former co-stars. He was also her former boyfriend.
The pair met while filming Smokey and the Bandit in 1977. Their chemistry on screen quickly became part of the movie’s appeal, and their relationship eventually moved beyond the cameras. Field and Reynolds went on to date for approximately five years.
Yet according to Field, their on-screen kissing experience was far from romantic.
Cohen quickly pointed out the obvious question: weren’t Field and Reynolds actually dating at the time?
Field explained that despite their relationship, she sometimes had to essentially “look the other way” while filming because Reynolds simply wasn’t someone who made the experience particularly enjoyable for her.
She explained that the issue was not necessarily what fans might have imagined from watching the film, but rather something Reynolds did during their intimate scenes that made the experience uncomfortable.
Field also joked about the amount of “drooling” that occurred during Reynolds’ kisses.
Cohen was visibly surprised by the revelation.
“Isn’t that something,” he responded.
For audiences who remember Smokey and the Bandit, the revelation added an unexpected layer to a film that had helped turn Field and Reynolds into one of Hollywood’s most recognizable couples of the era.
Their relationship, however, was complicated, and Field’s feelings about Reynolds became even clearer years after their romance ended.
Reynolds died in 2018 at the age of 82 after suffering cardiac arrest. Before his death, he reportedly reflected on his relationship with Field in his memoir, But Enough About Me, expressing regret about the way their relationship had unfolded and suggesting that he wished he had worked harder to make things last.
Field, however, later made it clear that she viewed their relationship very differently.
In an interview with Variety, she explained why she had stopped speaking with Reynolds during the final three decades of his life.
“He was not someone I could be around,” Field said, explaining that the relationship had ultimately been unhealthy for her.
“He was just not good for me in any way,” she elaborated.
Field also addressed Reynolds’ later reflections about their relationship, saying she believed he had created his own version of their history in his mind.
“He had somehow invented in his rethinking of everything that I was more important to him than he had thought,” she explained. “But I wasn’t.”
According to Field, Reynolds seemed to want something he could no longer have, while she had no desire to reopen that chapter of her life.
“He just wanted to have the thing he didn’t have. I just didn’t want to deal with that,” she said.
Their story remains one of those complicated Hollywood relationships that looked romantic from the outside but contained a much more difficult reality behind the scenes.
For Field, however, the relationship is only one small part of an extraordinary career that has included some of the most memorable performances in American film and television.
From The Flying Nun to Steel Magnolias, Forrest Gump, Mrs. Doubtfire, and beyond, she has repeatedly demonstrated why she is considered one of her generation’s most respected performers.
Her candid admission about her worst on-screen kiss may have surprised fans, but it also offered a rare glimpse into the personal experiences behind one of Hollywood’s most familiar faces.
After all these years, Sally Field remains a beloved figure whose work continues to earn admiration from audiences around the world — and her honesty about her past only adds another fascinating chapter to an already remarkable story.
