Shirley MacLaine
| Shirley MacLaine | |
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.jpg) Shirley MacLaine at the 2005 Toronto International Film Festival |
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| Born | Shirley MacLean Beaty April 24, 1934 Richmond, Virginia, United States |
| Occupation | Actress, dancer, author, activist |
| Years active | 1953–present |
| Spouse | Steve Parker (1954–1982) |
Shirley MacLaine (born April 24, 1934) is an American film and theater actress, dancer, activist, and author, well-known for her beliefs in new age spirituality and reincarnation. She has written a large number of autobiographical works, many dealing with her spiritual beliefs as well as her Hollywood career. In 1983, she won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in Terms of Endearment. She is the elder sister of actor Warren Beatty.
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Early life
Named after Shirley Temple, MacLaine was born Shirley MacLean Beaty in Richmond, Virginia. Her father, Ira Owens Beaty,[1] was a professor of psychology, public school administrator, and real estate agent, and her mother, Kathlyn Corinne (née MacLean), was a drama teacher born in Nova Scotia, Canada; MacLaine's grandparents were also teachers. The family was devoutly Baptist.[2][3] While she was still a child, MacLaine's father moved the family from Richmond to Norfolk, and then to Arlington, Virginia and Waverly, eventually taking a position at Arlington's Thomas Jefferson Junior High School.
Shirley had very weak ankles as a child, so her mother decided to enroll her in ballet class. Strongly motivated by ballet throughout her youth, she never missed a class. In classical romantic pieces like "Romeo & Juliet" and "Sleeping Beauty," being the tallest in the class, she always played the boys' role. Eventually, MacLaine decided that professional ballet wasn't for her. In her own words, she grew too tall (she would be over 6-feet tall en Pointe) and did not have the "beautifully constructed feet" (high arches, high insteps). After leaving ballet, MacLaine pursued Broadway dancing. Eventually, she turned to acting.
She attended Washington-Lee High School, where she was on the cheerleading squad and acted in the school's productions. The summer before her senior year, she was in New York to try acting on Broadway with some success. After she graduated, she returned and within a year she 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 out of commission, film producer Hal B. Wallis was in the audience, took note of MacLaine, and signed her to work for Paramount Pictures. She later sued Wallis over a contractual dispute, a suit that is credited with ending the old-style studio star system of actor management.[4]
Career
MacLaine made her debut in the Alfred Hitchcock film The Trouble with Harry (1955), for which she won the Golden Globe Award for New Star Of The Year - Actress. In 1956, she had roles in Hot Spell and Around the World in Eighty Days. At the same time, she starred in Some Came Running, the film that gave her her first Academy Award nomination - one of five that the film received - and a Golden Globe nomination.
Her second nomination came two years later for The Apartment, starring with Jack Lemmon. The film won 5 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, based on the play by Lillian Hellman. She was again nominated, this time for Irma la Douce (1963), for which she reunited with Wilder and Lemmon. Don Siegel her director on Two Mules for Sister Sara (1970) in which she starred opposite Clint Eastwood, once said, "It's hard to feel any great warmth to her. She's too unfeminine and has too much balls. She's very, very hard."[5]
In 1975, she received a nomination for Best Documentary Feature for her documentary film The Other Half of the Sky: A China Memoir. Two years later, she was once again nominated for The Turning Point co-starring Anne Bancroft, in which she portrayed a retired ballerina much like herself. In 1983 she won her first Oscar for Terms of Endearment. The film won another four Oscars; one for Jack Nicholson and three for director James L. Brooks. 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 Julia Roberts. She made her feature-film directorial debut in Bruno, MacLaine starred as Helen in this film, which was released to video as The Dress Code. In 2007 she completed Closing the Ring, directed by Richard Attenborough and starring Christopher Plummer. Other notable films in which MacLaine has starred include Sweet Charity (1968), Being There (1979) with Peter Sellers, Postcards From the Edge (1990) with actress Meryl Streep, playing a fictionalized version of Debbie Reynolds with a screenplay by Reynolds's daughter, Carrie Fisher, Used People with Jessica Tandy and Kathy Bates, Guarding Tess (1994) with Nicolas Cage, Rumor Has It… (2005) with Kevin Costner and Jennifer Aniston and In Her Shoes with Cameron Diaz.
MacLaine is also set to star in Poor Things, a drama.
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 also had a short-lived sit-com called Shirley's World.
MacLaine has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1165 Vine Street.
Personal life
MacLaine was married to businessman Steve Parker until they divorced in 1982. They had a daughter, Sachi Parker (born 1956).
MacLaine has a strong and enduring interest in spirituality. Many of her best-selling books, such as Out on a Limb and Dancing in the Light, have it as their central theme. Her interests have led her to such forms of spiritual exploration as walking El Camino de Santiago, working with Chris Griscom, and practicing Transcendental Meditation.[6]
Her well-known interest in New Age spirituality has made its way into several of her films. In Albert Brooks's 1991 romantic comedy Defending Your Life, 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 the 2001 made-for-television movie These Old Broads, starring MacLaine, Debbie Reynolds, Joan Collins, and Elizabeth Taylor, and written by Reynolds's daughter, Carrie Fisher, MacLaine's character is a devotee of New Age spirituality.
MacLaine found her way into many law casebooks when she sued Twentieth Century-Fox for breach of contract. She was to play a role in a film titled Bloomer Girl, but the production was canceled. Twentieth Century-Fox offered her a role in another film, Big Country, Big Man, in hopes of getting out of its contractual obligation to pay her for the canceled film. MacLaine's refusal led to an appeal by Twentieth Century-Fox to the Supreme Court of California in 1970, where the Court ruled against Fox. Parker v. Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corp., 474 P.2d 689 (Cal. 1970).
She also is godmother to the daughter of U.S. Representative Dennis Kucinich, a Democrat and former mayor of Cleveland, Ohio.[7]
Filmography
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1955 | The Trouble with Harry | Jennifer Rogers | Nominated — BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Actress |
| 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 |
| The Sheepman | Dell Payton | ||
| Hot Spell | Virginia Duval | ||
| The Matchmaker | Irene Molloy | ||
| Ask Any Girl | Meg Wheeler | BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Actress 9th Berlin International Film Festival: Silver Bear for Best Actress[8] Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy |
|
| 1959 | Career | Sharon Kensington | |
| 1960 | Ocean's Eleven | Tipsy girl | uncredited cameo |
| Can-Can | Simone Pistache | ||
| The Apartment | Fran Kubelik | BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Actress Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy Volpi Cup Nominated — Academy Award for Best Actress |
|
| 1961 | The Children's Hour | Martha Dobie | Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama |
| All in a Night's Work | Katie Robbins | ||
| Two Loves | Anna Vorontosov | ||
| 1962 | Two for the Seesaw | Gittel Mosca | |
| 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 | The Yellow Rolls-Royce | Mae Jenkins | |
| 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 | The 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 at Berlin[9] |
| 1972 | The Possession of Joel Delaney | Norah Benson | |
| 1975 | The Other Half of the Sky: A China Memoir | Herself | Documentary Writer, direct, producer Nominated — Academy Award for Best Feature Documentary |
| 1977 | The 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 | A Change of Seasons | Karyn Evans | |
| 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 |
| 1989 | Steel Magnolias | Ouiser Boudreaux | Nominated — BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role |
| 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 |
| 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 | The West Side Waltz | Margaret Mary Elderdice | |
| 1996 | The Evening Star | Aurora Greenway | |
| Mrs. Winterbourne | Grace Winterbourne | Nominated — Satellite Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy | |
| 1997 | A Smile Like Yours | Martha | uncredited |
| 1999 | Joan of Arc | Madame de Beaurevoir | |
| 2000 | Bruno | Helen | Directed by Shirley MacLaine |
| 2001 | These Old Broads | Kate Westbourne | |
| 2002 | Salem Witch Trials | Rebecca Nurse | |
| 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 | |
| Bewitched | Iris Smythson/Endora | ||
| In Her Shoes | Ella Hirsch | Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture Nominated — Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture |
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| 2007 | Closing the Ring | Ethel Ann | |
| 2008 | Coco Chanel | Coco Chanel | Nominated — 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 |
| Anne of Green Gables: A New Beginning | Amelia Thomas | ||
| 2010 | Valentine's Day | Estelle Paddington |
TV 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)
References
- ↑ New England Historic Genealogical Society
- ↑ "The religion of Warren Beatty, actor, director". Adherents.com. 2005-08-30. http://www.adherents.com/people/pb/Warren_Beatty.html. Retrieved 2010-03-06.
- ↑ Public Affairs (2005-05-21). "Actor Warren Beatty gives public-policy graduates — and Gov. Schwarzenegger — some advice on power". Berkeley.edu. http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2005/05/21_beatty.shtml. Retrieved 2010-03-06.
- ↑ Hanrihan v. Parker, 19 Misc. 2d 467, 469 (N.Y. Misc. 1959)
- ↑ McGilligan (1999), p.182
- ↑ "LA Times, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi". Latimes.com. 2008-02-06. http://www.latimes.com/news/la-me-maharishi6feb06,1,1158944.story. Retrieved 2010-03-06.
- ↑ "Shirley MacLaine: I Believe In UFOs More Than Ever, Support Kucinich". Huffingtonpost.com. 2007-12-19. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2007/11/07/shirley-maclaine-i-belie_n_71542.html. Retrieved 2010-03-06.
- ↑ "Berlinale 1959: Prize Winners". berlinale.de. http://www.berlinale.de/en/archiv/jahresarchive/1959/03_preistraeger_1959/03_Preistraeger_1959.html. Retrieved 2010-01-05.
- ↑ "Berlinale 1971: Prize Winners". berlinale.de. http://www.berlinale.de/en/archiv/jahresarchive/1971/03_preistraeger_1971/03_Preistraeger_1971.html. Retrieved 2010-03-13.
Bibliography
- MacLaine, Shirley (1970). "Don't Fall Off the Mountain". New York: W.W. Norton & Company Limited. ISBN 9780393073386.
- MacLaine, Shirley (1972). McGovern: The Man and His Beliefs. New York: W.W. Norton & Company Limited. ISBN 9780393053418.
- MacLaine, Shirley (1975). You Can Get There from Here. New York: W.W. Norton & Company Limited. ISBN 9780393074895.
- MacLaine, Shirley (1983). Out on a Limb. New York: Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group. ISBN 9780553050356.
- MacLaine, Shirley (1986). Dancing in the Light. New York: Bantam Books. ISBN 9780553761962.
- MacLaine, Shirley (1987). It's All in the Playing. New York: Bantam Books. ISBN 9780553052176.
- MacLaine, Shirley (1989). Going Within: A Guide to Inner Transformation. New York: Bantam Books. ISBN 9780553678.
- MacLaine, Shirley (1991). Dance While You Can. New York: Bantam Books. ISBN 9780553076073.
- MacLaine, Shirley (1995). My Lucky Stars: A Hollywood Memoir. New York: Bantam Books. ISBN 9780553097177.
- MacLaine, Shirley (2000). The Camino: A Journey of the Spirit. New York: Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing Group. ISBN 9780743400725. (Published in Europe as: MacLaine, Shirley (2001). The Camino: A Pilgrimage of Courage. London: Pocket Books. ISBN 0743409213.)
- MacLaine, Shirley (2003). Out on a Leash: Exploring the Nature of Reality and Love. New York: Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing Group. ISBN 9780743485067.
- MacLaine, Shirley (2007). Sage-ing While Age-ing. New York: Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing Group. ISBN 9781416550419.
- McGilligan, Patrick (1999). Clint: The Life and Legend. Harper Collins. ISBN 0-00-638354-8..
External links
- MacLaine's Official Website
- Shirley MacLaine at the Internet Movie Database
- Shirley MacLaine at the Internet Broadway Database
- Shirley MacLaine at Yahoo! Movies
- Shirley MacLaine interviewed by Ginny Dougary (2005)
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