Sally Field has signed on to play Mary Todd Lincoln in Stephen Spielberg's new historical drama about Abraham Lincoln. Irish star Daniel Day Lewis has already been confirmed to play the honest man himself.

In a recently released statement Spielberg said "I’m excited to be working with Sally for the first time…I’ve admired her films, and she has always been my first choice to portray all the fragility and complexity that was Mary Todd Lincoln.”

Todd suffered many tragedies in her life including the assassination of her husband and the loss of two of their four sons. One died during Lincoln’s time in the White House and the other died at the age of 18, while she was till alive.

Lincoln's wife was a Kentuckian and many of her relatives were part of the Confederacy during the war. Her family members were fighting against other family members, which weighed heavily on her.

She struggled with depression, or quite possibly a bi-polar disorder. According to some historians she occasionally suffered breakdowns and public outbursts.

Speaking to ET Field said " To have the opportunity to work with Steven Spielberg and Daniel Day-Lewis and to play one of the most complicated and colorful women in American history is simply as good as it gets."

"Lincoln" is set to star filming in fall 2011 and will be premiered in last 2012.