Shirley MacLaine

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Shirley MacLaine (born Shirley MacLean Beaty; April 24, 1934) is an American film, television, and theater actress, dancer, and author.

MacLaine, an Oscar winner, received the American Film Institute's Life Achievement Award in 2012 and the Kennedy Center Honors for her lifetime contributions to American culture through the performing arts in 2013.

She is known for her New Age convictions and is particularly interested in spirituality and reincarnation.

She has written a series of autobiographical books that promote these beliefs, document her world travels, and chronicle her Hollywood experience. In 1955, Alfred Hitchcock's The Trouble With Harry was her first film.

MacLaine, a six-time Academy Award nominee, received a nomination for Best Documentary Feature for The Other Half of the Sky (1975), and Best Actress nominations for Some Came Running (1958).

She twice received the BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Actress (1959), and The Apartment (1960); and she received an Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy-Variety or Music Special for the 1976 TV show Gypsy In My Soul.

She has also received five Golden Globe Awards (from nineteen nominations) and been named the recipient of the Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award at the 1998 awards.

Early life

Shirley MacLean Beaty was born in Richmond, Virginia, on April 24, 1934. She was named after actress Shirley Temple (who was six years old at the time). Ira Owens Beaty's father, a professor of psychology, public school administrator, and a real estate agent, was among the many professions. Kathlyn Corinne (née MacLean), a drama teacher from Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada, was born Kathlyn Corinne (née MacLean). Warren Beatty, MacLaine's younger brother, changed the spelling of his name when he first became an actor. Their parents raised them as Baptists. A. She uncle (her mother's brother-in-law) was A. In the 1940s, A. MacLeod, a Communist member of the Ontario legislature, was a member of the Communist Party. Ira Beaty moved his family from Richmond to Norfolk, then to Arlington and Waverly, then back to Arlington, where he eventually joined Thomas Jefferson Junior High School in 1945. MacLaine played baseball on an all-boys squad, holding the record for most home runs, earning her the nickname "Powerhouse." The family lived in Arlington's Dominion Hills neighborhood during the 1950s.

She had ankles and collapsed over with the slightest omission, so her mother decided to enroll her in ballet classes at the Washington School of Ballet at the age of three. This was the start of her interest in performing. She never missed a class because of ballet. She always played the boys' roles in classical romantic works such as Romeo and Juliet and The Sleeping Beauty, due to her height and the absence of males in the class. She had a large female role in Cinderella as the fairy godmother, but then tightened the ribbons on her toe shoes and continued to dance the role all the way through until calling for an ambulance. She ultimately decided against pursuing a career in ballet because she had grown too tall and was unable to fine tune her technique. She explained that she didn't have the correct body shape, lacking the essential "beautifully built feet" of high arches, high insteps, and a flexible ankle. She moved on to other aspects of dancing, acting, and musical theater, gradually realizing that ballet's all-consuming, but ultimately limited, style.

She attended Washington-Lee High School, where she was on the cheerleading squad and participated in school dramas.

Personal life

MacLaine was married to businessman Steve Parker from 1954 to their divorce in 1982; they now have a daughter, Sachi. Their daughter has claimed that her mother, not Steve Parker, was the real father of Sachi's late teens when she was in her late twenties.

When promoting her new book, I'm Over All That, she told Oprah Winfrey that she had been in a long-term relationship with her husband. MacLaine also told Winfrey that she often fell for the leading men she worked with, with notable exceptions being Jack Lemmon (The Apartment, Irma la Douce) and Jack Nicholson (Terms of Endearment). MacLaine, a politician and two-time Liberal leader Andrew Peacock, had long-running relationships with Lord Mountbatten, whom she encountered in the 1960s and Australia's two-time Liberal leader Andrew Peacock.

"She was the most obnoxious actor I have ever worked with," and Debra Winger (Terms of Endearment).

MacLaine has said she was the sister of a 35,000-year-old spirit named Ramtha channeled by American mystic teacher and author J. Z. Knight.

She has a keen interest in spirituality and metaphysics, the central theme of some of her best-selling books, including Out on a Limb and Dancing in the Light. She has explored such things as walking the Way of St. James, working with Chris Griscom, and practicing Transcendental Meditation.

Many of her films have a well-known interest in New Age spirituality. The recently deceased lead characters, played by Brooks and Meryl St. Edwards, are surprised to find MacLaine introducing their past lives in Albert Brooks' romantic comedy Defending Your Life (1991). MacLaine performs a version of "I'm Still Here" in Postcards From the Edge (1990), with personalized lyrics written for her by composer Stephen Sondheim. "I'm feeling transcendental, is I here?" One of the lyrics was changed to "I'm feeling transcendental." MacLaine's character in the 2001 television film These Old Broads is a devotee of New Age spirituality.

During 2007–2008, she has a keen interest in UFOs and appeared in numerous interviews on CNN, NBC, and Fox news channels. She wrote Sage-ing When Ageing (2007), she described alien encounters and seeing a Washington, D.C. UFO incident in the 1950s. MacLaine and her neighbor reported numerous UFO incidents at her New Mexico ranch for extended stretches of time on an episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show in April 2011.

MacLaine and her brother, Warren Beatty, acted as a fundraiser and promoter for George McGovern's campaign for president George McGovern's 1972 campaign, raising her profile in key roles. McGovern: The Man and His Beliefs was published in that year. She appeared at her brother's concerts Four for McGovern and Together for McGovern, and she and Sid Bernstein collaborated with Sid Bernstein to produce the woman-focused Star-Spangled Women for the McGovern–Shriver variety show at Madison Square Garden. So much of her time was spent away from acting in 1972 that her talent agent threatened to resign; she turned down film campaigns and invested $250,000 of her own money on political activism, equivalent to $1,620,000 in 2021.

Jackie Kucinich, daughter of former Democratic U.S. Representative Dennis Kucinich, is MacLaine's godmother.

Lucky Me: My Life With – and Without – My Mother Shirley MacLaine, a psychologist from Brazil, was released on February 7, 2013. The book is described as "fully fiction" by MacLaine.

She sparked backlash in 2015 for her remarks on Jews, Christians, and Stephen Hawking. In particular, she said that victims of the Holocaust were enjoying the results of their own karma and that Hawking subconsciously encouraged himself to develop ALS as a way to concentrate more on physics.

MacLaine sued Hal Wallis in 1959 over a labour dispute, a lawsuit that has been blamed on the old-style studio actor system of actor administration.

When the studio renegged on its promise to star MacLaine in a film adaptation of the Broadway musical Bloomer Girl based on the life of Amelia Bloomer, a mid-nineteenth century feminist, suffragist, and abolitionist, MacLaine sued Twentieth Century-Fox in 1966, it was to be shot in Hollywood. In the event, Fox gave MacLaine one week to accept their invitation of the female dramatic lead in the Western Big Country, Big Man series, rather than in Australia. The case was ruled in MacLaine's favour and confirmed on appeal by the California Supreme Court in 1970; the case is often cited in law-school textbooks as a prime example of employment-contract law.

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Career

MacLaine went to New York City to try acting on Broadway during her senior year of high school, where she had minor success in the chorus of Oklahoma. She returned and was in the dancing ensemble of Me and Juliet's Broadway debut (1953-1954). Carol Haney, a young child, appeared in The Pajama Game, but MacLaine replaced her in May 1954; Haney fractured her ankle during a Wednesday matinee; Carol Haney lost her legs, and Haney replaced her; Hal B. Wallis, a film director, saw MacLaine's performance and invited her to work for Just a few months later, with Haney injured, film director Hal B. Wallis catching her performance and committing her to

MacLaine made her film debut in Alfred Hitchcock's The Trouble with Harry (1955), for which she received the Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year – Actress. MacLaine's rise to fame in the Golden Age of Hollywood's later years. The Trouble with Harry was followed quickly by her appearance in the Martin and Lewis film Artists and Models (also 1955). She appeared in Around the World in 80 Days (1956), which earned the Academy Award for Best Picture shortly thereafter. Hot Spell and a leading role in Some Came Running (1958) were both introduced; for the latter film, she received her first Academy Award nomination and a Golden Globe nomination.

MacLaine appeared in Billy Wilder's The Apartment (1960), alongside Jack Lemmon, in 1960. The film, which is shot on the Upper West Side, revolves around C.C. Baxter (Lemmon), an insurance clerk who allows his coworkers to use his apartment for their extramarital affairs, is a travel agent. Baxter is attracted to Fran Kubelik (MacLaine), the insurance company's elevator operator who is already having a chat with Baxter's boss (Fred MacMurray). The film, which was a blend of romantic drama and comedy, received ten Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay, Best Original Screenplay, Best Art Direction (Black and White), and Best Film Editing. Despite being the odds-on favorite, MacLaine was unable to win the Best Actress award. "I thought I'd win for The Apartment," Elizabeth Taylor [who triumphed] had a tracheotomy." MacLaine's signature role has been highlighted in Roger Ebert's list of the 101 Great Movies in 2001, which has remained his favorite film. Charlize Theron, a 89th Academy Awards winner, lauded MacLaine's performance as "raw and funny," as well as saying "this black and white movie looks like it's in color."

Audrey Hepburn and James Garner appeared in The Children's Hour (1961), which was also based on Lillian Hellman's script and directed by William Wyler. She was re-nominated again, this time for Irma la Douce (1963), which brought her reunited with Wilder and Lemmon.

In her debut memoir, Don't Fall Off the Mountain (1970), MacLaine devoted several pages to a 1963 incident in which she marched into The Hollywood Reporter's Los Angeles headquarters and punched columnist Mike Connolly in the mouth. She was enraged by what he had written in his column about her pending labor dispute with producer Hal Wallis, who had introduced her to the film business in 1954 and later sued successfully for breaching the terms of their employment. On the front page of the New York Post on June 11, 1963, Connolly's incident earned a headline. The complete story appeared on page 5 under the heading "Shirley Delivers A Punchy Line" byline Bernard Lefkowitz.

Marilyn Monroe was in two projects in which Monroe had planned at the end of her life, including Irma la Douce (1963) and What a Way to Go. (1964): A.K.A. (1964) MacLaine was a student at the University of Gambit (1966).

MacLaine appeared in the film version of the musical Sweet Charity directed by Bob Fosse and based on the script for Fellini's Nights of Cabiria, which appeared a decade earlier. Gwen Verdon, who performed onstage, had hoped to appear in Charity in the film version, but MacLaine was given the role due to her name being more well known to audiences at the time. Verdon took over as assistant choreographer, helping MacLaine's dances and guiding the camera through some of the more difficult routines. MacLaine was nominated for Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical by the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical. Although not a financial success, Fosse's film directing career began with Cabaret (1972), his next film being Cabaret (1972).

Don Siegel, MacLaine's director on Sister Sara (1970), said of her: "It's impossible to feel any warmth to her." She's too unfeminine and has way too many balls. She's very, very difficult."

In a short-lived television sitcom Shirley's World (1971-1972), sheldon Leonard and ITC co-produced and shot in the United Kingdom, MacLaine was cast as a photojournalist. Claudia Weill's documentary film The Other Half of the Sky: A China Memoir (1975), co-directed with Claudia Weill, focuses on women in China. It was nominated for the year's Documentary Feature Oscar. MacLaine appeared in a string of concerts at the London Palladium and New York's Palace Theatre in 1976. The latter of these recordings was released as part of Shirley MacLaine Live at the Palace, a critically acclaimed live collection. In The Turning Point (1977), MacLaine portrayed a former ballerina much like herself; she was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role. In 1978, she was given the Women in Film Crystal Award for outstanding women who, through their perseverance and their exceptional work, have helped to expand the role of women in the entertainment industry.

She appeared in Hal Ashby's satirical film Being There in 1979. Chance (Sellers), a simpleminded, sheltered gardener who becomes a surprising trusted advisor to a wealthy businessman and an insider in Washington politics, is the subject of the film's wealth. Roger Ebert wrote a huge acclaim for the film's "for having the courage to bring this completely bizarre concept to a close and tragic conclusion." Despite not receiving an Academy Award nomination, MacLaine was nominated for a British Academy Film Award and a Golden Globe Award for her role.

MacLaine appeared in A Change of Seasons (1980) with Anthony Hopkins in 1980. The two youngsters did not get along with each other, and the film was not a hit due to what critics criticized as the screenplay. MacLaine, on the other hand, had positive feedback from critics. In his The New York Times article, Vincent Canby said that the film "exhibits no sense of humor or no appreciation for the ridiculous... the screenplay [is] often dreadful... the only appealing appearance is Miss MacLaine's, and she's too sweet to be true." A change of seasons isn't the only thing, but it does mean one thing. A farce about characters who have been stripped of their traditional duties quickly becomes pointless."

MacLaine appeared in James L. Brooks' comedy-drama film Terms of Endearment (1983), portraying Debra Winger's mother. The film focuses on a difficult love between mother and daughter over the past 30 years. Jack Nicholson, Jeff Daniels, and John Lithgow appeared in the film. The film was a huge critical and commercial success, grossing $108.4 million at the domestic box office and becoming the second-highest-grossing film of 1983. At the 56th Academy Awards, the film received five nominations, five of which included Best Picture. MacLaine received her first Academy Award for her work.

MacLaine has continued to appear in major films, including Herbert Ross' family's Steel Magnolias (1989) directed by Herbert Ross, as well as starring Sally Field, Julia Roberts, and Dolly Parton. The film explores a family's bond in a small-town Southern community and how they cope with the death of a loved one. The film was a box office hit, earning $96.8 million off a budget of $15 million. MacLaine was given a British Academy Film Award for her work. She appeared in Mike Nichols' film Postcards from the Edge (1990), alongside Meryl Streep, in which she played a fictionalized Debbie Reynolds from a screenplay starring Reynolds' daughter Carrie Fisher. Fisher created the screenplay based on her novel. MacLaine received another Golden Globe Award nomination for her work.

MacLaine continued to act in films including Used People (1992), with Jessica Tandy and Kevin Bates; Guarding Tess (1994), with Kevin Costner and Barbaran Fraser; and The Evening Star (2005), directed by Richard Attenborough and starring Christopher Plummer; Also starring Stephen Plummer (1995), with Kevin Costner and Margaret Cove; and The Evening Star (1994), with Lisa Tandy and Deborah Blair; and Finally, With Nicolas Cage (1992); In the 2014 comedy film Elsa & Fred directed by Michael Radford, she will reunite with Plummer. She made her feature-film directorial debut in 2000 and appeared in Bruno, which was renamed to YouTube as The Dress Code. MacLaine appeared in Richard Linklater's dark comedy film Bernie, alongside Jack Black and Matthew McConaughey.

MacLaine has appeared in several television shows, including an autobiographical miniseries based on the book Out on a Limb; The Salem Witch Trials; Carrie Fisher's These Old Broads starring Elizabeth Taylor, Debbie Reynolds, and Joan Collins; In 2009, she appeared in Coco Before Chanel, a Lifetime production based on Coco Chanel's life, earning her Primetime Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award nominations. Martha Levinson, mother to Cora, Countess of Grantham (played by Elizabeth McGovern), and Harold Levinson (played by Paul Giamatti) appeared in the third and fourth seasons of the acclaimed British drama Downton Abbey in 2013.

MacLaine appeared in Wild Oats with Jessica Lange in 2016. In 2018, she appeared in the live action family film The Little Mermaid, based on the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale. In 2022, she returned to the small screen in the film Only Murders in the Building.

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