Friends of Sally Kirkland are rallying around the actress in an effort to help her cover the costs of her medical expenses. On Monday, the Academy Award-nominated actress’ friends Paige Dylan, Coty Galloway, and Mel England launched a GoFundMe page hoping to raise $65,000 for the 83-year-old, who faces an “urgent need” of assistance after suffering two “life-threatening infections” and fracturing four bones in her neck, wrist, and hip.
“This past year Sally fractured her four bones in her neck, right wrist and her left hip. While recovering she developed two separate life-threatening infections,” the GoFundMe states. “The combination of these injuries and infections have required extensive hospitalizations and rehab beyond the 100 days insurance will cover. As the days pass, lack of proper care greatly diminishes Sally’s chance of a full recovery. However, with the right medical support, we know she has a strong chance of overcoming this setback and returning to the work she loves.”
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Kirkland is a beloved veteran actress with more than 250 acting credits to her name, including The Sting, Private Benjamin, Bruce Almighty, The Haunted, Best of The Best, Roseanne, and A Brave New World, per her IMDb profile. She is best remembered for her starring in the title role in the 1988 Yurek Bogayevicz-directed movie Anna, for which she earned a best actress Oscar nomination. She also took home the Best Actress Golden Globe Award for her role in the film.
Despite her decades-long prolific acting career, Kirkland has been left unable to afford her medical care. Her friends said that due to “bad advice from a financial advisor-business manager in 2007,” she lost “the bulk of her investments and the money she made during the peak of her career” during the market crash, and a SAG-AFTRA insurance policy has left her with “extensive out of pocket costs that have exceeded her savings and monthly pension income.”
“As a result today, she finds herself facing a significant health crisis—one that has not only affected her well-being but also requires urgent and quality medical care that she can no longer afford,” the page reads. “As the days pass, lack of proper care greatly diminishes Sally’s chance of a full recovery. However, with the right medical support, we know she has a strong chance of overcoming this setback and returning to the work she loves.”
Titled “Support Sally Kirkland’s Urgent Medical Care,” the GoFundMe is hoping to raise $65,000 “to ensure she gets the treatment she needs at this crucial time in her health journey.” The page’s creators said that “every donation, no matter the size, will help bring her one step closer to recovery and, we hope, back to doing what she loves most—acting.” The page has raised more than $26,000.
