Profile of Shirley MacLaine on Famous Like Me

Shirley MacLaine, born Shirley MacLean Beaty (born April 24, 1934 in Richmond, Virginia), is an American actress of Scotch-Irish descent, well-known not only for her acting but for her devotion to her belief in reincarnation. She is also the writer of a large number of autobiographical works, many dealing with her new age beliefs as well as her Hollywood career. She is the older sister of Warren Beatty (Beatty changed his name from Beaty to Beatty).

Upon graduating from high school, MacLaine moved to New York City to live out her dream of being a Broadway actress. She achieved her goal when she became understudy to actress Carol Haney in The Pajama Game; Haney broke her ankle and MacLaine replaced her. A few months thereafter, with Haney still out of commission, director/producer Hal B. Wallis was in the audience, took note of MacLaine, and signed her to go to Hollywood to work for Paramount Pictures.

Her first film was the Alfred Hitchcock film The Trouble with Harry in 1955. She stayed busy over the next several years, garnering an Academy Award nomination in 1960 for The Apartment. In 1975, she received a nomination for Best Documentary Feature for her documentary The Other Half of the Sky: A China Memoir.

MacLaine was also the only female member of the infamous Rat Pack, alongside Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis, Jr..

In political circles, MacLaine is known for her close friendship with Ohio congressman Dennis Kucinich, a candidate for the 2004 Democratic presidential nomination.

Filmography

• The Trouble with Harry (1955)
• Artists and Models (1955)
• Around the World in Eighty Days (1956)
• The Sheepman (1958)
• The Matchmaker (1958)
• Hot Spell (1958)
• Some Came Running (1958)
• Ask Any Girl (1959)
• Premier Khrushchev in the USA (1959) (documentary)
• Career (1959)
• Can-Can (1960)
• The Apartment (1960)
• Ocean's Eleven (1960) (Cameo)
• All in a Night's Work (1961)
• Two Loves (1961)
• The Children's Hour (1961)
• My Geisha (1962)
• Two for the Seesaw (1962)
• Irma la Douce (1963)
• What a Way to Go! (1964)
• The Yellow Rolls-Royce (1964)
• The Car That Became a Star (1965) (short subject)
• John Goldfarb, Please Come Home (1965)
• Gambit (1966)
• Woman Times Seven (1967)
• The Bliss of Mrs. Blossom (1968)
• Sweet Charity (1969)
• Two Mules for Sister Sara (1970)
• Desperate Characters (1971)
• The Possession of Joel Delaney (1972)
• Year of the Woman (1973) (documentary)
• The Other Half of the Sky: A China Memoir (1975) (documentary) (also producer, writer, and director)
• The Turning Point (1977)
• Being There (1979)
• Loving Couples (1980)
• A Change of Seasons (1980)
• Want to Be Beautiful (1981) (documentary)
• Terms of Endearment (1983)
• Cannonball Run II (1984)
• Madame Sousatzka (1988)
• Steel Magnolias (1989)
• Waiting for the Light (1990)
• Postcards from the Edge (1990)
• Defending Your Life (1991) (Cameo)
• Used People (1992)
• Wrestling Ernest Hemingway (1993)
• A Century of Cinema (1994) (documentary)
• Guarding Tess (1994)
• The Celluloid Closet (1995) (documentary)
• Mrs. Winterbourne (1996)
• The Evening Star (1996)
• A Smile Like Yours (1997)
• Get Bruce (1999) (documentary)
• Bruno (2000) (also director)
• Broadway, the Golden Age: by the Legends Who Were There (2003) (documentary)
• Carolina (2003)
• Bewitched (2005)
• In Her Shoes (2005)
• Rumor Has It (2005)

TV work

• Shirley's World (1971-1972)
• Out on a Limb (1987)
• The West Side Waltz (1995)
• Joan of Arc (1999)
• These Old Broads (2001)
• Hell on Heels: The Battle of Mary Kay (2002)
• Salem Witch Trials (2002) (miniseries)

Academy Awards and Nominations

• 1984 - Won Best Actress in a Leading Role - Terms of Endearment
• 1978 - Nominated Best Actress in a Leading Role - The Turning Point
• 1976 - Nominated Best Documentary, Features - The Other Half of the Sky: A China Memoir
• 1964 - Nominated Best Actress in a Leading Role - Irma la Douce
• 1961 - Nominated Best Actress in a Leading Role - The Apartment
• 1959 - Nominated Best Actress in a Leading Role - Some Came Running

She was named after Shirley Temple.

MacLaine has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1615 Vine Street.

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