Field received her first Oscar in 1979 as Norma Rae and won again in 1984 for Places In The Heart.

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In 1979's Norma Rae, Field played the title role in the tale of a Southern mill worker's fight to unionise her workplace.

BBC: Sally Field and Daniel Day-Lewis

He also delivered what became known as his "Norma Rae speech, " when he shouted at a union rally: "We will fight for a fair contract!"

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Field, 64, who won best actress Oscars for Norma Rae and Places in the Heart, will play the iconic US president's wife, Mary Todd Lincoln.

BBC: Sally Field and Daniel Day-Lewis

Has nothing changed since the Beau Bridges and Kurt Russell characters abandoned Norma Rae and Karen Silkwood mid-crusade because dinner wasn't being served on time?

ECONOMIST: Activist cinema