Shirley MacLaine was born Shirley MacLean Beaty in Richmond, Virginia.
Her mother, Kathlyn Corinne (MacLean), was a drama teacher from Nova
Scotia, Canada, and her father, Ira Owens Beaty, a professor of
psychology and real estate agent, was from Virginia. Her brother,
Warren Beatty, was born on March
30, 1937. Her ancestry includes English and Scottish.
Shirley was the tallest in her ballet classes at the Washington School
of Ballet. Just after she graduated from Washington-Lee High School,
she packed her bags and headed for New York. While auditioning for
Richard Rodgers and
Oscar Hammerstein II's "Me and
Juliet", the producer kept mispronouncing her name. She then changed
her name from Shirley MacLean Beaty to Shirley MacLaine. She later had
a role in "The Pajama Game", as a member of the chorus and understudy
to Carol Haney. A few months into the run,
Shirley was going to leave the show for the lead role in "Can-Can" but
ended up filling in for Haney, who had broken her ankle and could not
perform. She would fill in for Carol, again, three months later,
following another injury, the very night that movie producer
Hal B. Wallis was in the audience. Wallis
signed MacLaine to a five-year contract to Paramount Pictures. Three
months later, she was off to shoot
Immer Ärger mit Harry (1955).
She then took roles in Hitzewelle (1958)
and
In 80 Tagen um die Welt (1956),
completed not too long before her daughter,
Sachi Parker (born Stephanie), was born.
With Shirley's career on track, she played one of her most challenging
roles: "Ginny Moorhead" in
Verdammt sind sie alle (1958), for
which she received her first Academy Award nomination for Best Actress.
She went on to do
In Colorado ist der Teufel los (1958) and
Die Heiratsvermittlerin (1958). In 1960,
she got her second Academy Award nomination for
Das Appartement (1960). Three years
later, she received a third nomination for
Das Mädchen Irma la Douce (1963). In 1969, she
brought her friend Bob Fosse from Broadway to
direct her in Sweet Charity (1969),
from which she got her "signature" song, "If My Friends Could See Me
Now". After a five-year hiatus, Shirley made a documentary on China
called
The Other Half of the Sky: A China Memoir (1975),
for which she received an Oscar nomination for best documentary.
In 1977, she got her fourth Best Actress Oscar nomination for
Am Wendepunkt (1977). In
1979, she worked with
Peter Sellers in
Willkommen, Mr. Chance (1979), made shortly
before his death. After 20 years in the film industry, she finally took
home the Best Actress Oscar for
Zeit der Zärtlichkeit (1983).
After a five-year hiatus, Shirley made
Madame Sousatzka (1988), a
critical and financial hit that took top prize at the Venice Film
Festival. In 1989, she starred with
Dolly Parton,
Sally Field and
Julia Roberts in
Magnolien aus Stahl - Die Stärke der Frauen (1989). She
received rave reviews playing
Meryl Streep's mother in
Grüße aus Hollywood (1990)
and for Tess und ihr Bodyguard (1994). In
1996, she reprised her role from "Terms of Endearment" as "Aurora
Greenway" in
Jahre der Zärtlichkeit (1996), which
didn't repeat its predecessor's success at the box office. In mid-1998,
she directed Bruno (2000), which starred
Alex D. Linz. In February 2001, Shirley
worked with close friends once again in
These Old Broads (2001),
and co-starred with Julia Stiles in
Carolina - Auf der Suche nach Mr. Perfect (2003) and with
Kirstie Alley in
Salem Witch Trials (2002).
MacLaine has her own website which includes her own radio show and
interviews, the Encounter Board, and Independent Expression, a
members-only section of the site. In the past few years, Shirley
starred in a CBS miniseries based on the life of cosmetics queen
Mary Kay Ash--Hell on Heels: The Battle of Mary Kay (2002),
and wrote two more books, "The Camino" in 2001, and "Out On A Leash" in
2003. After taking a slight hiatus from motion pictures, Shirley
returned with roles in the movies that were small, but wonderfully
scene-stealing: Verliebt in eine Hexe (2005) with
Nicole Kidman and
Will Ferrell,
In den Schuhen meiner Schwester (2005) with
Cameron Diaz and
Toni Collette, in which Shirley was
nominated for a Golden Globe in the best supporting actress category,
and Wo die Liebe hinfällt... (2005) with
Jennifer Aniston and
Kevin Costner. Shirley completed filming
of Closing the Ring (2007),
directed by Sir
Richard Attenborough, in 2007. Her
latest book is entitled "Sage-ing While Ag-ing"; Shirley's latest film
is Valentinstag (2010),
which debuted in theaters on February 12, 2010.
