In 1979 he directed the Hollywood-financed "Agatha", featuring Vanessa Redgrave. The majority of Apted's feature films since then were based around a female protagonist. He went to the United States in 1980, where he directed "Coal Miner's Daughter", which received seven Academy Award nominations, winning best actress for Sissy Spacek. Both Spacek and Loretta Lynn, the subject of the film, have said that they believe Apted's outsider point of view was crucial to the movie's success in securing the participation of Appalachian residents and to the avoidance of stereotypes that previously had marred portrayals of mountain culture. In 2019, "Coal Miner's Daughter" was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Film Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".