Sally Field has revealed that her son Sam has long joked that his sexuality is a result of growing up on the set of the 1989 film 'Steel Magnolias'. The 79-year-old actress said her youngest child often attributes his being gay to spending time with the film's all-female cast, including Shirley MacLaine, Dolly Parton, Julia Roberts, Daryl Hannah and Olympia Dukakis.
Field told People magazine about a photo from the film's wrap party, in which she is holding six-month-old Sam on her chest. 'Sam has always said that that's probably why he's gay,' she said. The actress described the experience of making the film as 'wonderful, wonderful', noting that her castmates helped care for Sam on set.
Field, who also has sons Peter and Eli from her first marriage to Steven Craig, recalled the close bond among the cast. 'We all just completely adored each other, and we would go shopping on the weekends, all together — even Dolly sometimes,' she said.
Sam, now an adult, has previously written about his close relationship with his mother and how her career shaped his childhood. In a 2023 essay, he mentioned that a conversation about his queerness was used verbatim in a scene between Field and Matthew Rhys.
In 2012, Field publicly praised all three of her sons at the Human Rights Campaign annual national dinner, singling out Sam as 'glorious, smart, funny, sweet'. She said, 'Nature made Sam, it wasn't a choice. He was always, always Sam.'
