56 pages • 1 hour read
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Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of child abuse, child sexual abuse, sexual violence and/or harassment, pregnancy loss or termination, substance use, addiction, and illness or death.
Field recalls her first acting experience as a 12-year-old, when she performed as the character Billie Dawn in her school play, Born Yesterday. By losing herself in her performance, Field felt freed from feeling anxious and self-conscious, enjoying the escape that acting provided. The following year, she starred as Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, and she felt gratified that her mother loved her performance.
Growing up, Field had a close bond with her mother, Margaret Morlan. She recalls her difficulty making friends at school because of her sensitivity and social anxiety, and how her mother was a source of comfort. Field explains that her mother was an exceptionally beautiful woman. As a young newlywed, she was scouted by a talent agent and moved to Hollywood to begin acting with a theater company, the Charles Laughton Players.
Soon after, Margaret’s husband returned from serving in World War ll and Field was born. However, Margaret left her husband, and she and her children moved into Field’s grandmother’s cottage in Altadena, California. Field credits three women with raising her mother: her grandmother; her grandmother’s sister, Gladys; and their mother (Mimmie), who was Field’s great-grandmother. Field’s great-aunt, Perle, also lived nearby and was a part of their lives.