Shirley MacLaine

Shirley MacLaine, born Shirley MacLean Beaty on April 24, 1934, in Richmond, Virginia, is an American actress and author whose career has spanned more than seven decades. Named after child actress Shirley Temple, she is the daughter of Ira Owens Beaty, a psychology professor, public school administrator, and real estate agent, and Kathlyn Corinne Beaty, a Canadian drama teacher originally from Wolfville, Nova Scotia. Her younger brother is filmmaker Warren Beatty, who altered the spelling of his surname for his own career. The family relocated several times during MacLaine's childhood, moving from Richmond to Norfolk, then to Arlington, Waverly, and back to Arlington, Virginia, where she attended Washington-Lee High School and participated in cheerleading and school theatrical productions.

MacLaine's path to performing began at age three, when her mother enrolled her in ballet classes at the Washington School of Ballet to address weak ankles. She trained seriously in ballet for years, taking on boys' roles in classical pieces such as Romeo and Juliet and The Sleeping Beauty because she was the tallest among her peers. She eventually received a substantial female role as the fairy godmother in Cinderella, during which she broke her ankle backstage but completed the performance before seeking medical attention. She ultimately decided against a professional ballet career, concluding that her height and body type were not suited to the demands of the form. She also played baseball on a boys' team during this period, earning the nickname "Powerhouse" for holding the record for the most home runs.

The summer before her senior year of high school, MacLaine traveled to New York City and performed in the chorus of a touring production of Oklahoma! Following graduation, she made her Broadway debut in the ensemble of Me and Juliet during its 1953–1954 run. She subsequently became an understudy to Carol Haney in The Pajama Game. In May 1954, when Haney injured her ankle during a Wednesday matinee, MacLaine stepped into the role. Comedian Jerry Lewis attended a later matinee while Haney remained injured and encouraged film producer Hal B. Wallis to see an evening performance, which led to Wallis signing MacLaine to Paramount Pictures. MacLaine returned to Broadway decades later, appearing in Shirley MacLaine and Shirley MacLaine on Broadway, the latter earning her a Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Actress in a Musical in 1984.

MacLaine made her film debut in Alfred Hitchcock's black comedy The Trouble with Harry in 1955, winning the Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year – Actress. That same year she appeared in the Martin and Lewis film Artists and Models. She went on to take the female lead in Around the World in 80 Days in 1956, which won the Academy Award for Best Picture, and followed that with roles in Hot Spell, The Sheepman, and The Matchmaker, all released in 1958. In Some Came Running that same year, she played Ginny Moorehead opposite Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin, earning her first Academy Award nomination for Best Actress and a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Drama.

Her performance in Billy Wilder's The Apartment in 1960 brought her a second Academy Award nomination for Best Actress, along with the Volpi Cup for Best Actress, the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role, and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Comedy or Musical. The film received ten Academy Award nominations in total, winning five, including Best Picture. MacLaine continued to build a prominent filmography through the 1960s with roles in The Children's Hour, Irma la Douce, and Sweet Charity. She earned the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in Terms of Endearment in 1983, one of six nominations she received from the Academy over the course of her career. Additional notable films include The Turning Point, Being There, Madame Sousatzka, Steel Magnolias, Postcards from the Edge, In Her Shoes, Bernie, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Elsa and Fred, and Noelle.

On television, MacLaine starred in the sitcom Shirley's World from 1971 to 1972 and portrayed fashion designer Coco Chanel in the 2008 television film of the same name, receiving nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a Golden Globe Award for that performance. She also appeared in Downton Abbey from 2012 to 2013, Glee in 2014, and Only Murders in the Building in 2022. Among her many accolades are an Academy Award, an Emmy Award, two BAFTA Awards, six Golden Globe Awards, two Volpi Cups, and two Silver Bears. She has received the Film Society of Lincoln Center Tribute in 1995, the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 1998, the AFI Life Achievement Award in 2012, and the Kennedy Center Honor in 2014. In addition to her performing career, MacLaine has authored numerous books on metaphysics, spirituality, and reincarnation, as well as the best-selling memoir Out on a Limb, published in 1983.