--- description: For our 2013 Great Performances portfolio, TIME spoke with Sally Field, nominated for an Oscar as Best Support Actress for her role as Mary Todd Lincoln in Lincoln. title: Great Performance: Sally Field image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltac9905a633acb6df/6987a35bf887dcf234e8c8fc/130218095978low.jpg?branch=production&width=1920&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Great Performance: Sally Field by [TIME Photo Department](/author/time-photo-department/) ## TIME Photo Department Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 7, 2013 12:59 PM CUT  Sally FieldPerformance: Mary Todd Lincoln in Lincoln (Oscar nomination, Best Supporting Actress) “Had there not been a Mary Todd, there wouldn’t have been an Abraham Lincoln,” Field says of the mercurial First Lady. “She was complicated and brilliant, and she had a keen sense of where she would be placed in history — she would not be looked at fondly.” Sally FieldPerformance: Mary Todd Lincoln in Lincoln (Oscar nomination, Best Supporting Actress) “Had there not been a Mary Todd, there wouldn’t have been an Abraham Lincoln,” Field says of the mercurial First Lady. “She was complicated and brilliant, and she had a keen sense of where she would be placed in history — she would not be looked at fondly.”Paola Kudacki for TIME by [TIME Photo Department](/author/time-photo-department/) ## TIME Photo Department Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 7, 2013 12:59 PM CUT **Sally Field** **Performance:** Mary Todd Lincoln in _Lincoln_ (Oscar nomination, Best Supporting Actress) **“Had there not been a Mary Todd, there wouldn’t have been an Abraham Lincoln,” Field says of the mercurial First Lady. “She was complicated and brilliant, and she had a keen sense of where she would be placed in history — she would not be looked at fondly.”** The Performers Speak: --- [Amy Adams](http://wp.me/p1d6cx-gWR "undefined") [Sally Field](http://wp.me/p1d6cx-gWA "undefined") [John Hawkes](http://wp.me/p1d6cx-gWH "undefined") [Quvenzhané Wallis](http://wp.me/p1d6cx-gWC "undefined") [Anne Hathaway & Hugh Jackman](http://wp.me/p1d6cx-gWP "undefined") [Christoph Waltz](http://wp.me/p1d6cx-gWN "undefined") [John Goodman](http://wp.me/p1d6cx-gWJ "undefined") [Naomi Watts](http://wp.me/p1d6cx-gWF "undefined") [Jessica Chastain](http://wp.me/p1d6cx-gWL "undefined") [**See a Compilation of Highlights from the 2013 Great Performers**](http://wp.me/p1d6cx-gUQ "undefined") [**More Portraits of the 2013 Great Performers by Paola Kudacki**](http://wp.me/p1d6cx-gSU "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3796521/great-performance-sally-field/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3796521/great-performance-sally-field/"},"headline":"Great Performance: Sally Field","datePublished":"2013-02-07T12:59:12.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T06:02:07.137Z","description":"For our 2013 Great Performances portfolio, TIME spoke with Sally Field, nominated for an Oscar as Best Support Actress for her role as Mary Todd Lincoln in Lincoln.","url":"https://time.com/3796521/great-performance-sally-field/","keywords":["Oscars"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltac9905a633acb6df/6987a35bf887dcf234e8c8fc/130218095978low.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Photo Department","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-photo-department/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltac9905a633acb6df/6987a35bf887dcf234e8c8fc/130218095978low.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"00020_025_V2_CMYK.JPG","caption":"00020_025_V2_CMYK.JPG","creditText":"Paola Kudacki for TIME","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3796521/great-performance-sally-field/","name":"Great Performance: Sally Field"}}]}] ```