Early life

Named after Shirley Temple (who was 6 years old at the time), Shirley MacLean Beaty was born in Richmond, Virginia. Her father, Ira Owens Beaty, was a professor of psychology, public school administrator, and real estate agent, and her mother, Kathlyn Corinne (née MacLean), was a drama teacher, originally from Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada. MacLaine's younger brother is the actor, writer and director Warren Beatty; he changed the spelling of his surname when he became an actor. Their parents raised them as Baptists. Her uncle (her mother's brother-in-law) was A. A. MacLeod, a Communist member of the Ontario legislature in the 1940s. While MacLaine was still a child, Ira Beaty moved his family from Richmond to Norfolk, and then to Arlington and Waverly, eventually taking a position at Arlington's Thomas Jefferson Junior High School. MacLaine played baseball on an all-boys team, holding the record for most home runs which earned her the nickname "Powerhouse". During the 1950s, the family resided in the Dominion Hills section of Arlington.

As a toddler she had weak ankles and would fall over with the slightest misstep, so her mother decided to enroll her in ballet class at the age of three. This was the beginning of her interest in performing. Strongly motivated by ballet, she never missed a class. In classical romantic pieces like Romeo and Juliet and The Sleeping Beauty, she always played the boys' roles due to being the tallest in the group and the absence of males in the class. Eventually she had a substantial female role as the fairy godmother in Cinderella; while warming up backstage, she broke her ankle, but then tightened the ribbons on her toe shoes and proceeded to dance the role all the way through before calling for an ambulance. Ultimately she decided against making a career of professional ballet because she had grown too tall and was unable to acquire perfect technique. She explained that she didn't have the ideal body type, lacking the requisite "beautifully constructed feet" of high arches, high insteps and a flexible ankle. Also slowly realizing ballet's propensity to be too all-consuming, and ultimately limiting, she moved on to other forms of dancing, acting and musical theater.

She attended Washington-Lee High School, where she was on the cheerleading squad and acted in school theatrical productions. The summer before her senior year, she went to New York City to try acting on Broadway, and had some success. After she graduated, she returned and within a year became an understudy to actress Carol Haney in The Pajama Game; Haney broke her ankle, and MacLaine replaced her. A few months after, with Haney still injured, film producer Hal B. Wallis saw MacLaine's performance, and signed her to work for Paramount Pictures. She later sued Wallis over a contractual dispute, a suit that has been credited with ending the old-style studio star system of actor management.

Career

MacLaine made her film debut in Alfred Hitchcock's The Trouble with Harry (1955), for which she won the Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year - Actress. Quickly followed by her role in the Martin and Lewis film Artists and Models (also 1955). Soon afterwards, she had a role in Around the World in 80 Days (1956). This was followed by Hot Spell and a leading role in Some Came Running (both 1958); for the latter film she gained her first Academy Award nomination and a Golden Globe nomination. Her second Oscar nomination came two years later for The Apartment (1960), starring with Jack Lemmon. The film won five Oscars, including Best Director for Billy Wilder. She later said, "I thought I would win for The Apartment, but then Elizabeth Taylor had a tracheotomy." She starred in The Children's Hour (1961) also starring Audrey Hepburn and James Garner, based on the play by Lillian Hellman and directed by William Wyler. She was again nominated, this time for Irma la Douce (1963), which reunited her with Wilder and Lemmon. Don Siegel, her director on Two Mules for Sister Sara (1970) said of her: "It's hard to feel any great warmth to her. She's too unfeminine and has too much balls. She's very, very hard." At the peak of her success, she replaced Marilyn Monroe in Irma la Douce and What a Way to Go! (1964).

MacLaine's documentary film The Other Half of the Sky: A China Memoir (1975), co-directed with Claudia Weill, concentrates on the experiences of women in China. It was nominated for the year's Documentary Feature Oscar. Co-starring with Anne Bancroft in The Turning Point (1977), MacLaine portrayed a retired ballerina much like herself; she was nominated for an Oscar as the Best Actress in a Leading Role. In 1978, she was awarded the Women in Film Crystal Award for outstanding women who, through their endurance and the excellence of their work, have helped to expand the role of women within the entertainment industry. In 1980, she starred in A Change of Seasons alongside Anthony Hopkins. In 1983, she won the Best Actress in a Leading Role Oscar for Terms of Endearment, playing Debra Winger's mother. The film won another four Oscars; Best Actor in a Supporting Role for Jack Nicholson, Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium and Best Director for James L. Brooks, and Best Picture. In 1988, MacLaine won a Golden Globe for Best Actress (Drama) for Madame Sousatzka.

She continued to star in major films, such as Steel Magnolias with Sally Field, Julia Roberts and other stars. In 2000 she made her feature-film directorial debut and starred in Bruno, which was released to video as The Dress Code. Other notable films in which MacLaine has starred include Sweet Charity (1968); Being There (1979) with Peter Sellers; Postcards from the Edge (1990) with Meryl Streep, playing a fictionalized version of Debbie Reynolds with a screenplay by Reynolds's daughter, Carrie Fisher; Used People (1992) with Jessica Tandy and Kathy Bates; Guarding Tess (1994) with Nicolas Cage; Mrs. Winterbourne (1996), with Ricki Lake and Brendan Fraser; Rumor Has It… (2005) with Kevin Costner and Jennifer Aniston; In Her Shoes with Cameron Diaz and Toni Collette; and Closing the Ring (2007) directed by Richard Attenborough and starring Christopher Plummer.

MacLaine has also appeared in numerous television projects including an autobiographical miniseries based upon the book Out on a Limb; The Salem Witch Trials; These Old Broads written by Carrie Fisher and co-starring Elizabeth Taylor, Debbie Reynolds, and Joan Collins; and Coco, a Lifetime production based on the life of Coco Chanel. She had a short-lived television sitcom called Shirley's World. She appeared in the third and fourth seasons of the British drama Downton Abbey as Martha Levinson, mother to Cora, Countess of Grantham (played by Elizabeth McGovern) and Harold Levinson (played by Paul Giamatti) in 2012-2013.

MacLaine was awarded the Kennedy Center Honors for lifetime contributions to American culture through the performing arts in December 2013. She also has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1617 Vine Street and in 1999 was awarded the Honorary Golden Bear at the 49th Berlin International Film Festival.

In February 2016, it was announced that MacLaine will star in the live-action family film A Little Mermaid, based on the Hans Christian Andersen fairytale, to be produced by MVP Studios.

In 2011, the government of France made her a Chevalier de la Legion d'honneur.

Personal life

MacLaine was married to businessman Steve Parker from 1954 until their divorce in 1982; they have a daughter, Sachi. In April 2011, while promoting her new book, I'm Over All That, she revealed to Oprah Winfrey that she had had an open relationship with her husband. MacLaine also told Winfrey that she often fell for the leading men she worked with, with the exceptions of Jack Lemmon (The Apartment) and Jack Nicholson (Terms of Endearment).

MacLaine has also gotten into feuds with such notable co-stars as Anthony Hopkins (A Change of Seasons), who said that "she was the most obnoxious actress I have ever worked with," and Debra Winger (Terms of Endearment).

MacLaine has claimed that, in a previous life in Atlantis, she was the brother to a 35,000-year-old spirit named Ramtha channeled by American mystic teacher and author J. Z. Knight.

She has a strong 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 undertaken such forms of spiritual exploration as walking the Way of St. James, working with Chris Griscom, and practicing Transcendental Meditation.

Her well-known interest in New Age spirituality has also made its way into several of her films. In Albert Brooks's romantic comedy Defending Your Life (1991), the recently deceased lead characters, played by Brooks and Meryl Streep, are astonished to find MacLaine introducing their past lives in the "Past Lives Pavilion". In Postcards from the Edge (1990), MacLaine sings a version of "I'm Still Here", with customized lyrics created for her by composer Stephen Sondheim. One of the lyrics was changed to "I'm feeling transcendental - am I here?" In the television movie These Old Broads, MacLaine's character is a devotee of New Age spirituality.

She has an interest in UFOs, and gave numerous interviews on CNN, NBC and Fox news channels on the subject during 2007-2008. In her book Sage-ing While Age-ing (2007), she described alien encounters and witnessing a Washington, D.C. UFO incident in the 1950s. In the April 2011 edition of the Oprah show MacLaine stated that she and her neighbor observed numerous UFO incidents at her New Mexico ranch for extended periods of time.

MacLaine is godmother to the daughter of former Democratic U.S. Representative Dennis Kucinich.

Along with her brother, Warren Beatty, MacLaine used her celebrity status in instrumental roles as a fundraiser and organizer for George McGovern's campaign for president in 1972. That year, she authored the book McGovern: The Man and His Beliefs.

On February 7, 2013, Penguin Group USA published Sachi Parker's autobiography Lucky Me: My Life With - and Without - My Mom, Shirley MacLaine. MacLaine has called the book "virtually all fiction".

In 2015, she sparked criticism for her comments on Jews, Christians, and Stephen Hawking. In particular she claimed that victims of the Nazi Holocaust were experiencing the results of their own karma, and suggested that Hawking subconsciously caused himself to develop ALS as a means to focus better on physics.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1955	Trouble with Harry, TheThe Trouble with Harry	Jennifer Rogers	Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year - Actress Nominated - BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Actress
1955	Artists and Models	Bessie Sparrowbrush
1956	Around the World in 80 Days	Princess Aouda
1958	Some Came Running	Ginnie Moorehead	Nominated - Academy Award for Best Actress Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama
1958	Sheepman, TheThe Sheepman	Dell Payton
1958	Hot Spell	Virginia Duval
1958	Matchmaker, TheThe Matchmaker	Irene Molloy
1959	Ask Any Girl	Meg Wheeler	BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Actress Silver Bear for Best Actress - Berlin International Film Festival Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
1959	Career	Sharon Kensington
1960	Ocean's 11	Tipsy girl	uncredited cameo
1960	Can-Can	Simone Pistache
1960	Apartment, TheThe Apartment	Fran Kubelik	BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Actress Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy Volpi Cup - Venice International Film Festival Nominated - Academy Award for Best Actress
1961	Children's Hour, TheThe Children's Hour	Martha Dobie	Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama
1961	All in a Night's Work	Katie Robbins
1961	Two Loves	Anna Vorontosov
1962	Two for the Seesaw	Gittel Mosca
1962	My Geisha	Lucy Dell/Yoko Mori
1963	Irma la Douce	Irma la Douce	Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy Nominated - Academy Award for Best Actress Nominated - BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Actress
1964	Yellow Rolls-Royce, TheThe Yellow Rolls-Royce	Mae Jenkins
1964	What a Way to Go!	Louisa May Foster	Nominated - BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Actress
1965	John Goldfarb, Please Come Home	Jenny Erichson
1966	Gambit	Nicole Chang	Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
1967	Woman Times Seven	Paulette/Maria Teresa/Linda/Edith/ Eve Minou/Marie/Jeanne	Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
1968	Bliss of Mrs. Blossom, TheThe Bliss of Mrs. Blossom	Harriet Blossom
1969	Sweet Charity	Charity Hope Valentine	Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
1970	Two Mules for Sister Sara	Sara
1971	Desperate Characters	Sophie Bentwood	Silver Bear for Best Actress - Berlin International Film Festival
1972	Possession of Joel Delaney, TheThe Possession of Joel Delaney	Norah Benson
1975	Other Half of the Sky: A China Memoir, TheThe Other Half of the Sky: A China Memoir	Herself	Documentary; writer, co-director, producer Nominated - Academy Award for Best Feature Documentary
1977	Turning Point, TheThe Turning Point	Deedee Rodgers	Nominated - Academy Award for Best Actress
1979	Being There	Eve Rand	Nominated - BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
1980	Change of Seasons, AA Change of Seasons	Karyn Evans
1980	Loving Couples	Evelyn
1983	Terms of Endearment	Aurora Greenway	Academy Award for Best Actress David di Donatello for Best Foreign Actress Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress National Board of Review Award for Best Actress New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress Nominated - BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role
1984	Cannonball Run II	Veronica
1987	Out on a Limb	Herself	Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Miniseries or Television Film
1988	Madame Sousatzka	Madame Yuvline Sousatzka	Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama Volpi Cup - Venice International Film Festival
1989	Steel Magnolias	Louisa "Ouiser" Boudreaux	Nominated - American Comedy Award for Funniest Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture Nominated - BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role Nominated - Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress
1990	Postcards from the Edge	Doris Mann	Nominated - BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture
1990	Waiting for the Light	Aunt Zena
1991	Defending Your Life	"Past Lives Pavilion" host
1992	Used People	Pearl Berman	Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
1993	Wrestling Ernest Hemingway	Helen Cooney
1994	Guarding Tess	Tess Carlisle	Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
1995	West Side Waltz, TheThe West Side Waltz	Margaret Mary Elderdice
1996	Evening Star, TheThe Evening Star	Aurora Greenway
1996	Mrs. Winterbourne	Grace Winterbourne	Nominated - Satellite Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
1997	A Smile Like Yours	Martha	uncredited
2000	The Dress Code	Helen	Also director
2001	These Old Broads	Kate Westbourne
2002	Salem Witch Trials	Rebecca Nurse
2002	Hell on Heels: The Battle of Mary Kay	Mary Kay	Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Miniseries or Television Film
2003	Carolina	Grandma Millicent Mirabeau
2005	Rumor Has It…	Katharine Richelieu
2005	Bewitched	Iris Smythson/Endora
2005	In Her Shoes	Ella Hirsch	Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture Nominated - Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture
2007	Closing the Ring	Ethel Ann
2008	Coco Chanel	Coco Chanel	Nominated - Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress - Miniseries or a Movie Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Miniseries or Television Film Nominated - Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie
2008	Anne of Green Gables: A New Beginning	Amelia Thomas
2010	Valentine's Day	Estelle Paddington
2011	Bernie	Marjorie Nugent
2013	The Secret Life of Walter Mitty	Edna Mitty
2014	Elsa & Fred	Elsa Hayes
2015	Wild Oats	Eva

Television work

• Shirley's World (1971-1972) and a 1977 one-hour special
• Where Do We Go From Here? (1978); winner of the Rose D'Or
• Out on a Limb (1987)
• Joan of Arc (1999)
• Downton Abbey (2012-2013)
• Glee (2014); June Dolloway

Bibliography

• MacLaine, Shirley (1970). Don't Fall Off the Mountain. New York: W.W. Norton & Company Limited. ISBN 978-0-393-07338-6.
• MacLaine, Shirley (1972). McGovern: The Man and His Beliefs. New York: W.W. Norton & Company Limited. ISBN 978-0-393-05341-8.
• MacLaine, Shirley (1975). You Can Get There from Here. New York: W.W. Norton & Company Limited. ISBN 978-0-393-07489-5.
• MacLaine, Shirley (1983). Out on a Limb. New York: Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-553-05035-6.
• MacLaine, Shirley (1986). Dancing in the Light. New York: Bantam Books. ISBN 978-0-553-76196-2.
• MacLaine, Shirley (1987). It's All in the Playing. New York: Bantam Books. ISBN 978-0-553-05217-6.
• MacLaine, Shirley (1990). Going Within: A Guide to Inner Transformation. New York: Bantam Books. ISBN 978-055-328-3310.
• MacLaine, Shirley (1991). Dance While You Can. New York: Bantam Books. ISBN 978-0-553-07607-3.
• MacLaine, Shirley (1995). My Lucky Stars: A Hollywood Memoir. New York: Bantam Books. ISBN 978-0-553-09717-7.
• MacLaine, Shirley (2000). The Camino: A Journey of the Spirit. New York: Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-7434-0072-5. (Published in Europe as: MacLaine, Shirley (2001). The Camino: A Pilgrimage of Courage. London: Pocket Books. ISBN 0-7434-0921-3. )
• MacLaine, Shirley (2003). Out on a Leash: Exploring the Nature of Reality and Love. New York: Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-7434-8506-7.
• MacLaine, Shirley (2007). Sage-ing While Age-ing. New York: Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing Group. ISBN 978-1-4165-5041-9.
• MacLaine, Shirley (2011). I'm Over All That: And Other Confessions. New York: Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing Group. ISBN 978-1-4516-0729-1.
• MacLaine, Shirley (2013). What If ...: a lifetime of questions, speculations, reasonable guesses, and a few things I know for sure. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-1-47113-139-4.

[ Source: Wikipedia ]