
Shirley MacLaine
Biography
Shirley MacLaine (born Shirley MacLean Beaty; April 24, 1934) is an American actress, singer, author, activist, and former dancer. Known for her portrayals of quirky, headstrong, and eccentric women, MacLaine has received numerous accolades throughout her career spanning seven decades, including an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, two British Academy Film Awards, and six Golden Globe Awards.
Born in Richmond, Virginia, MacLaine made her acting debut as a teenager with minor roles in the Broadway musicals Oklahoma! and The Pajama Game. Following minor appearances as an understudy in various other productions, MacLaine made her film debut with Alfred Hitchcock's black comedy The Trouble with Harry (1955), winning the Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year – Actress. She rose to prominence with starring roles in Around the World in 80 Days (1956), Some Came Running (1958), Ask Any Girl (1959), The Apartment (1960), The Children's Hour (1961), Two for the Seesaw (1962), Irma la Douce (1963), and Sweet Charity (1969). A six time Academy Award nominee, MacLaine won the Academy Award for Best Actress for the comedy-drama Terms of Endearment (1983). Her other prominent films include The Turning Point (1977), Being There (1979), Madame Sousatzka (1988), Steel Magnolias (1989), Postcards from the Edge (1990), The Evening Star (1996), Bewitched (2005), In Her Shoes (2005), Valentine's Day (2010), and The Little Mermaid (2018).
MacLaine has been the recipient of many honorary awards. She was awarded the AFI Life Achievement Award in 2012, Gala Tribute from the Film Society of Lincoln Center in 1995, and Kennedy Center Honor in 2013 for her contribution to American culture, through performing arts. In 1998, she was awarded the Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award. Apart from acting, MacLaine has written numerous books regarding the subjects of metaphysics, spirituality, and reincarnation, as well as a best-selling memoir, Out on a Limb (1983).
Acting (116 movies)

The Apartment
1960

Being There
1979

Irma la Douce
1963

Rumor Has It...
2005

Around the World in Eighty Days
1956

Carolina
2003

Steel Magnolias
1989

The Children's Hour
1961

Terms of Endearment
1983

The Evening Star
1996

The Trouble with Harry
1955

Guarding Tess
1994

Postcards from the Edge
1990

Two Mules for Sister Sara
1970

What a Way to Go!
1964

In Her Shoes
2005

Cannonball Run II
1984

Coco Chanel
2008

Defending Your Life
1991

Bewitched
2005

Valentine's Day
2010

Can-Can
1960

Mrs. Winterbourne
1996

Gambit
1966

Wrestling Ernest Hemingway
1993

Closing the Ring
2007

I Love Liberty
1982

The Sensational Shocking Wonderful Wacky 70's
1980

Used People
1992

The Possession of Joel Delaney
1972

Sweet Charity
1969

A Change of Seasons
1980

My Geisha
1962

Artists and Models
1955

Woman Times Seven
1967

The Matchmaker
1958

The Turning Point
1977

Anne of Green Gables: A New Beginning
2008

Some Came Running
1958

The Yellow Rolls-Royce
1964

Get Bruce!
1999

American Dreamer
2022

Bernie
2012

Barbra Streisand: Timeless - Live in Concert
2001

The Sheepman
1958

Ask Any Girl
1959

Two for the Seesaw
1962

Bruno
2000

These Old Broads
2001

Broadway: The Golden Age, by the Legends Who Were There
2003

All in a Night's Work
1961

John Goldfarb, Please Come Home!
1965

Waiting for the Light
1990

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
2013

Bella!
2023

The Other Half of the Sky: A China Memoir
1975

Madame Sousatzka
1988

Hot Spell
1958

Hell on Heels: The Battle of Mary Kay
2002

Career
1959

The Shirley MacLaine Special: Where Do We Go from Here?
1977

Loving Couples
1980

Two Loves
1961

The First 100 Years: A Celebration of American Movies
1995

Elsa & Fred
2014

Irving Berlin's 100th Birthday Celebration
1988

The Bliss of Mrs. Blossom
1968

Ocean's Eleven
1960

Rat Pack
2022

You're the Top: The Cole Porter Story
1990

Be Pretty and Shut Up!
1981

Baryshnikov in Hollywood
1982

Desperate Characters
1971

Mike Wallace Is Here
2019

Richard Attenborough: A Life in Film
2014

Salem Witch Trials
2002

The Last Word
2017

Wild Oats
2016

A Heavenly Christmas
2016

Year of the Woman
1973

The Little Mermaid
2018

The West Side Waltz
1995

Billy Wilder: The Human Comedy
1998

The Celluloid Closet
1996

Vittorio D.
2009

A Smile Like Yours
1997

Best Sellers or: Peter Sellers and 'Dr. Strangelove'
2004

Wide-Awake
2012

Shirley MacLaine: Gypsy in My Soul
1976

The Shirley MacLaine Show
1985

Noelle
2019

Breslin and Hamill: Deadline Artists
2018

Hollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History
2008

The Unknown Peter Sellers
2000

Forever Hollywood
1999

Chita Rivera: A Lot Of Livin' To Do
2015

Jack Paar: Smart Television
2003

Louise Brooks: Looking for Lulu
1998

That's Dancing!
1985

Palme
2012
Directing (2 movies)
| Title | Year | Job |
|---|---|---|
| Shirley MacLaine: If They Could See Me Now | 1974 | Producer |
| The Other Half of the Sky: A China Memoir | 1975 | Writer |
| The Other Half of the Sky: A China Memoir | 1975 | Producer |
| The Shirley MacLaine Special: Where Do We Go from Here? | 1977 | Executive Producer |
| The Shirley MacLaine Show | 1985 | Writer |
| The Last Word | 2017 | Executive Producer |