Name: Shirley MacLaine
Date of Birth: 24 April 1934 Named after Shirley Temple. Led a series of weekend-long higher-self seminars in the late 1980s teaching people about her views on many aspects of New Age practices and techniques. Attended Washington-Lee H.S. in Arlington, VA. Sister of Warren Beatty. Mother of Sachi Parker. A frequent visitor to Houston, Texas, where she starred in Terms of Endearment (1983) and The Evening Star (1996). At each visit, she goes to Tony's Restaurant, where she orders a complete souffl? just for herself. ... Born at 3:57 PM EST. Sister-in-law of actress Annette Bening. Measurements: 34B-24-34. Is a horse lover. Turned down the role of Diane Freeling in Poltergeist (1982) to play the Oscar-winning role of Aurora Greenway in Terms of Endearment (1983). Her childhood dinner for many years consisted of tabasco and saltine crackers (which often resulted in bad dreams--her missing the bus to ballet class). Took ballet as a child and always played the boy's role due to being the tallest in her class. As of 2009, she is only one of six performers who won a Golden Globe Award as Best Lead Actor/Actress in a Motion Picture Drama without being nominated for an Oscar for that same role (hers for Madame Sousatzka (1988)). The others are Spencer Tracy in The Actress (1953), Anthony Franciosa in Career (1959), Omar Sharif in Doctor Zhivago (1965), Jim Carrey in The Truman Show (1998) and Kate Winslet in Revolutionary Road (2008). Right before a performance of "Cinderella" with the Washington School of Ballet (she was dancing the role of the Fairy Godmother), she was warming up backstage when she broke her ankle. Instead of bowing out, she simply tied the ribbon on her toe shoes tighter and danced the role through. After the show was over, she called for an ambulance. Was close friends with the members of the Rat Pack. She starred with all of them in Ocean's Eleven (1960). Other works with Rat Pack members include: Some Came Running (1958), Cannonball Run II (1984) and Can-Can (1960). Member of the jury at the Cannes Film Festival in 1967. Close friends with actress Julie Christie, who lived with Shirley's brother Warren Beatty for over a decade. Columbia originally wanted to cast her as Fanny Brice in Funny Girl (1968). However, producer Ray Stark--who produced the Broadway show and was Brice's son-in-law--insisted on Barbra Streisand repeating her Broadway role. Her performance as Aurora Greenway in Terms of Endearment (1983) is ranked #81 on Premiere Magazine's 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time. She and Barbra Streisand celebrate their joint birthday together every year. Attended the same high school as Sandra Bullock. Both were also cheerleaders at the school. When writing The Exorcist (1973), William Peter Blatty based the character of "Chris O'Neil" on MacLaine, who was a friend of his. Dropped out of the The Blue Bird (1976) before shooting began. Father was a professor, then a real estate agent. Mother was a teacher. About 1975, while starring in a special musical show that played at Chrysler Hall in Norfolk, VA, she walked out on the show because of the poor acoustics and sound system. Chrysler Hall was well known for this problem at the time, and Miss MacLaine was not the only performer to complain about it. Years later, the theatre closed for a while and underwent extensive renovations to improve the acoustics, thanks in part to the star's vigorously vocal objections. Her father was Ira O. Beatty, an orchestra conductor. Her mother was Kathlyn MacLean, a dancer. Read more Shirley MacLaine movies (actor)User Comments |
