Dying for Sex

"Gail," portrayed by Sissy Spacek, is Molly's mother. A complicated woman with a history of drug addiction, Gail carries a great deal of guilt about her past.

Career Highlights

Sissy Spacek has been one of the industry's most respected actresses in a career spanning six decades. Her many honors include an Academy Award® (with five additional Oscar® nominations), Screen Actors Guild Award, a GRAMMY® nomination, three Golden Globe® Awards and numerous other awards.Spacek first gained the attention of critics and audiences with her performance in Terrence Malick's widely praised 1973 drama Badlands, in which she starred opposite Martin Sheen. In 1976, she earned her first Academy Award nomination and won a National Society of Film Critics Award for her chilling performance in the title role of Brian De Palma's Carrie, based on the Stephen King novel. The following year, she won the New York Film Critics Circle Award for her work in Robert Altman's 3 Women.In 1980, Spacek starred as Loretta Lynn in the acclaimed biopic Coal Miner's Daughter, winning Oscar and Golden Globe Awards for her performance. Spacek also swept the New York Film Critics Circle, Los Angeles Film Critics Association, National Board of Review and National Society of Film Critics Awards for her portrayal of the country music legend.Spacek received another Golden Globe nomination the next year for her work in Raggedy Man, directed by her husband, Jack Fisk. She earned her third Oscar and Golden Globe nominations for her role in Costa-Gavras' 1982 drama Missing, opposite Jack Lemmon, and her fourth Oscar and Golden Globe nominations for her work in 1984's The River, in which she starred with Mel Gibson.In 1987, Spacek gained her fifth Academy Award nomination and won another Golden Globe and New York Film Critics Circle Award for her performance in the dark comedy Crimes of the Heart. Her most recent Oscar nomination came from her portrayal of a mother grieving for her murdered son in the drama In the Bedroom, for which she also won a Golden Globe Award, Film Independent Spirit Award and AFI Film Award for Actor of the Year. In addition, she garnered Best Actress Awards from several critics' organizations, including the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, New York Film Critics Circle and Broadcast Film Critics Association. Her work in In the Bedroom also brought Spacek two Screen Actors Guild Award nominations, one for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role in a Motion Picture and another for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture, shared with the rest of the film's ensemble.Some of Spacek's other film credits include The Straight Story, A Home at the End of the World, Affliction, JFK, The Long Walk Home, Hot Rod, Get Low, The Help and The Old Man &amp; The Gun.

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Gail is Molly’s mother and carries a great deal of guilt about her past.

Headshot of Sissy Spacek playing Gail, wearing a plaid shirt in a hospital.

Sissy Spacek as Gail | FX’s Dying for Sex

Dying for Sex

Career Highlights

David Rasche
as Dr. Pankowitz

Esco Jouléy
as Sonya

Michelle Williams
as Molly Kochan / Executive Producer

Sissy Spacek as Gail | FX’s Dying for Sex

Esco Jouléyas Sonya

Michelle Williamsas Molly Kochan / Executive Producer

Esco Jouléy
as Sonya

Michelle Williams
as Molly Kochan / Executive Producer