Deadline is reporting that Sally Kirkland, the Golden Globe-winning actress of Anna, has passed away at the age of 84. Kirkland passes after a long battle with health issues. The actress had just checked into a hospice in Palm Springs days ago, following a period of ill health in recent years and suffering a number of falls. Michael Greene, who is Kirkland’s representative, confirmed the news to TMZ this morning. Reports have revealed that Kirkland battled dementia for the past year. A GoFundMe page that was set up to help support her fight against the illness had noted that she had struggled to pay for medical care since SAG-AFTRA cancelled supplement insurance for members over the age of 65 in 2021.
According to Deadline, the GoFundMe page also said “she had fractured four bones in her neck, right wrist and left hip and ‘developed two separate life-threatening infections’ in the past year.”
Kirkland’s early career highlights include being a part of Andy Warhol’s art studio, The Factory, and a player in avant-garde theater. Her role in the 1987 indie-dramedy, Anna, would gain her recognition, and she would win the Golden Globe for Best Actress and earn an Academy Award nomination. In the film, she played a Czech actress who travels to New York to find an acting icon from her country.
The actress had appeared in over 250 films and TV shows throughout her career. She starred in Days of Our Lives and Valley of the Dolls, and her list of cameos includes Kojak, Starsky and Hutch and the Charlie’s Angels television series. Her film work includes titles like the Charlie’s Angels movie adaptation, JFK and Bruce Almighty. She was also a supporting co-star in one of our favorite films here at the site, Best of the Best, which starred Eric Roberts and Phillip Rhee. In the 1989 film, she played a spiritual coach of the American National Taekwondo team, where she also got to show off some of her physical skills.
Her career had taken a slower pace at the beginning of the millennium, with roles in films like of The Agency in 2010, Extinction (2017), Invincible (2020) and last year, she co-starred in Sallywood, which examined director Xaque Gruber’s relationship with her.
