Sally Field's first Emmy win came in 1976 for the NBC television film "Sybil," in which she played a woman with dissociative identity disorder, a role that marked her transition from lighter fare such as "Gidget" and "The Flying Nun" into serious dramatic work. The article revisits the milestone as Field, now nominated again for playing Tova Sullivan in Netflix's "Remarkably Bright Creatures," could add a fourth Emmy to her collection, having gone on to win two further Emmys and two Oscars over her career.

In "Sybil," Field portrayed a woman with 16 distinct personalities alongside Joanne Woodward as her psychiatrist, with the two-night special earning four Emmys overall and a nomination for Woodward. The Hollywood Reporter's original review praised Field's performance for its fluid shifts between personalities, and the role is credited with boosting her film career, including her turn opposite Burt Reynolds in "Smokey and the Bandit" the following year, as well as reshaping public perceptions of dissociative identity disorder.