Imagine Sally Field in ‘The First Wives Club’? Here’s Why It Never Happened

Mara ReinsteinSat, April 25, 2026 at 11:07 AM UTC

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Picture it: Sally Field in an all-white suit singing and dancing to "You Don’t Own Me" with Bette Midler and Goldie Hawn in the rousing final moments of The First Wives Club.

In theory, it could have happened. But in this week’s exclusive cover story (coming Wednesday, April 29!), Field tells Parade that she passed on the chance to play newly single Annie Paradis in the hit 1996 comedy. "I loved all those actors," she says. "But I did turn it down."

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As the two-time Oscar winner and three-time Emmy winner explains it, she had an issue with the movie’s central plot: Prompted by the suicide of their college friend (Stockard Channing), three affluent middle-aged women in New York City plot financial revenge against their exes because they left them for a younger model. The movie was adapted from Olivia Goldsmith's hit 1992 novel.

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"I have always had a problem with older women either wanting to get a date or looking to, like, you know, have more sex with their husband," she says. "I just feel like there’s more for women to say, so that was just never my cup of tea."

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Instead of filming The First Wives Club, Sally Field co-starred with Ed Harris in Eye for an Eye.Photo by Archive Photos on Getty Images

The role of the high-strung Paradis—her estranged husband (Stephen Collins) ends up having an affair with their couples counselor (Marcia Gay Harden)—ultimately went to the late Oscar-winning rom-com queen Diane Keaton. The movie grossed over $180 million worldwide and its composer—Marc Shaiman—earned an Oscar nomination.

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And though The First Wives Club is filled with memorable scenes, lines ("Honey, she’s a quilt!") and cameos from the likes Ivana Trump, Heather Locklear and Kathie Lee Gifford, it achieved iconic status thanks to the scene when the heroines celebrate the black-tie opening of their women’s crisis center by belting out that 1963 anthem (originally recorded by Lesley Gore). Turns out that the musical number is another reason why Field has no regrets about her decision. "I couldn’t have done that role," she adds, "because I don’t sing and they all do at the end."

Field adds that Keaton—who died in October 2025 at age 79—was the perfect casting choice. "I would never have been as good. I mean, it was absolutely right for Keaton—not for me."

And Field? She made the 1996 thriller Eye for an Eye and directed and executive produced the ABC movie The Christmas Tree with Julie Harris and Andrew McCarthy. In her latest film, Remarkably Bright Creatures, Field plays a widow working at an aquarium who forges a special connection with a new guy in town (Lewis Pullman). It streams on Netflix starting on May 8.

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This story was originally published by Parade on Apr 25, 2026, where it first appeared in the Celebs section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”