Shirley MacLaine

Biography

Shirley MacLaine (born Shirley MacLean Beaty; April 24, 1934) is an American actress, singer, author, activist, and former dancer. Known for her portrayals of quirky, headstrong, and eccentric women, MacLaine has received numerous accolades throughout her career spanning seven decades, including an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, two British Academy Film Awards, and six Golden Globe Awards. Born in Richmond, Virginia, MacLaine made her acting debut as a teenager with minor roles in the Broadway musicals Oklahoma! and The Pajama Game. Following minor appearances as an understudy in various other productions, MacLaine made her film debut with Alfred Hitchcock's black comedy The Trouble with Harry (1955), winning the Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year – Actress. She rose to prominence with starring roles in Around the World in 80 Days (1956), Some Came Running (1958), Ask Any Girl (1959), The Apartment (1960), The Children's Hour (1961), Two for the Seesaw (1962), Irma la Douce (1963), and Sweet Charity (1969). A six time Academy Award nominee, MacLaine won the Academy Award for Best Actress for the comedy-drama Terms of Endearment (1983). Her other prominent films include The Turning Point (1977), Being There (1979), Madame Sousatzka (1988), Steel Magnolias (1989), Postcards from the Edge (1990), The Evening Star (1996), Bewitched (2005), In Her Shoes (2005), Valentine's Day (2010), and The Little Mermaid (2018). MacLaine has been the recipient of many honorary awards. She was awarded the AFI Life Achievement Award in 2012, Gala Tribute from the Film Society of Lincoln Center in 1995, and Kennedy Center Honor in 2013 for her contribution to American culture, through performing arts. In 1998, she was awarded the Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award. Apart from acting, MacLaine has written numerous books regarding the subjects of metaphysics, spirituality, and reincarnation, as well as a best-selling memoir, Out on a Limb (1983).

Known For

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

Glee

The View

The Mike Douglas Show

Downton Abbey

Golden Globe Awards

Golden Globe Awards

Golden Globe Awards

All Movies (132)

• Shirley MacLaine, comme un torrent2026 · as Self (archive footage)
• Dame Maggie Smith - A Celebration2024 · as Martha Levinson (archive footage)
• Bella!2023 · as Self
• MCAINE: An Anagram of Cinema2023 · as Self - Actress (archive footage)
• Commitment to Life2023 · as Self (archive footage)
• American Dreamer2022 · as Astrid Fanelli
• Rat Pack2022 · as Self (archive footage)
• Broadway: Beyond the Golden Age2021 · as Self
• Noelle2019 · as Elf Polly
• Mike Wallace Is Here2019 · as Self (archive footage)
• Breslin and Hamill: Deadline Artists2018 · as Self
• The Little Mermaid2018 · as Eloise
• The Last Word2017 · as Harriet Lauler
• Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds2017 · as Self (archive footage, uncredited)
• A Heavenly Christmas2016 · as Pearl
• Wild Oats2016 · as Eva
• Chita Rivera: A Lot Of Livin' To Do2015 · as Self (archive footage)
• Discovering Audrey Hepburn2015 · as Self (archive footage)
• Men of Granite2015 · as Sophia Prather
• Richard Attenborough: A Life in Film2014 · as Self
• Elsa & Fred2014 · as Elsa
• The Secret Life of Walter Mitty2013 · as Edna Mitty
• Wide-Awake2012 · as The Pianist
• Palme2012 · as Self
• Bernie2012 · as Marjorie Nugent
• Vito2011 · as Self (archive)
• Valentine's Day2010 · as Estelle Paddington
• Vittorio D.2009 · as Self
• Anne of Green Gables: A New Beginning2008 · as Amelia Thomas
• Hollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History2008 · as Self
• Coco Chanel2008 · as Coco Chanel
• Hollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History - The 1920s: The Dawn of the Hollywood Musical2008 · as Self
• Inside 'The Apartment'2008 · as Self
• Closing the Ring2007 · as Ethel Ann
• Rumor Has It...2005 · as Katharine Richelieu
• Casting a Spell: Making 'Bewitched'2005 · as Self
• In Her Shoes2005 · as Ella Hirsh
• Bewitched2005 · as Iris Smythson / Endora
• Best Sellers or: Peter Sellers and 'Dr. Strangelove'2004 · as Self
• Jack Paar: Smart Television2003 · as Self
• Private Screenings: Shirley MacLaine2003 · as Self
• Carolina2003 · as Grandmother Mirabeau
• Broadway: The Golden Age, by the Legends Who Were There2003 · as Self
• Salem Witch Trials2002 · as Rebecca Nurse
• Hell on Heels: The Battle of Mary Kay2002 · as Mary Kay Ash
• AFI Life Achievement Award: A Tribute to Barbra Streisand2001 · as self
• Rescued from the Closet2001 · as Self
• Barbra Streisand: Timeless - Live in Concert2001 · as Herself
• These Old Broads2001 · as Kate Westbourne
• The Unknown Peter Sellers2000 · as Self
• Bruno2000 · as Helen
• Get Bruce!1999 · as Self
• Forever Hollywood1999 · as Self
• Louise Brooks: Looking for Lulu1998 · as Narrator (voice)
• Billy Wilder: The Human Comedy1998 · as Self
• A Smile Like Yours1997 · as Martha (uncredited)
• Happy Birthday Elizabeth: A Celebration of Life1997 · as Self
• The Evening Star1996 · as Aurora Greenway
• Shirley Maclaine: Kicking Up Her Heels1996 · as Self
• Mrs. Winterbourne1996 · as Grace Winterbourne
• The Celluloid Closet1996 · as Self
• The West Side Waltz1995 · as Margaret Mary Elderdice
• The First 100 Years: A Celebration of American Movies1995 · as Self
• Guarding Tess1994 · as Tess Carlisle
• Wrestling Ernest Hemingway1993 · as Helen Cooney
• Used People1992 · as Pearl Berman
• Defending Your Life1991 · as Shirley MacLaine
• Postcards from the Edge1990 · as Doris Mann
• You're the Top: The Cole Porter Story1990 · as Self (archive footage)
• Waiting for the Light1990 · as Aunt Zena
• Sammy Davis, Jr. 60th Anniversary Celebration1990 · as Self
• Steel Magnolias1989 · as Ouiser Boudreaux
• Shirley MacLaine's Inner Workout1989 · as self
• Madame Sousatzka1988 · as Madame Yuvline Sousatzka
• Irving Berlin's 100th Birthday Celebration1988 · as Self
• The Shirley MacLaine Show1985 · as Herself
• That's Dancing!1985
• That's Dancing!1985 · as Self (archive footage)
• Cannonball Run II1984 · as Veronica
• Terms of Endearment1983 · as Aurora Greenway
• Baryshnikov: The Dancer and the Dance1983 · as Self
• Shirley MacLaine... Illusions1982 · as Self
• Baryshnikov in Hollywood1982 · as Self - Cameo Performance
• I Love Liberty1982 · as Self
• Be Pretty and Shut Up!1981 · as Self (archive footage)
• A Change of Seasons1980 · as Karyn Evans
• Loving Couples1980 · as Evelyn
• Shirley MacLaine: '...Every Little Movement'1980 · as Self
• The Sensational Shocking Wonderful Wacky 70's1980 · as Self (archive footage)
• Being There1979 · as Eve Rand
• The Royal Variety Performance 19771977
• The Turning Point1977 · as Deedee
• The Shirley MacLaine Special: Where Do We Go from Here?1977 · as Self
• Circasia1976 · as Clown
• Shirley MacLaine: Gypsy in My Soul1976 · as Self
• The Other Half of the Sky: A China Memoir1975 · as Self
• Shirley MacLaine: If They Could See Me Now1974 · as Self
• Year of the Woman1973 · as Self
• The Possession of Joel Delaney1972 · as Norah Benson
• Desperate Characters1971 · as Sophie Bentwood
• Two Mules for Sister Sara1970 · as Sara
• Sweet Charity1969 · as Charity
• From Stage to Screen---A Director's Dilemma1969
• The Bliss of Mrs. Blossom1968 · as Harriet Blossom
• Woman Times Seven1967 · as Paulette / Maria Teresa / Linda / Edith / Eve Minou / Marie / Jeanne
• Gambit1966 · as Nicole
• John Goldfarb, Please Come Home!1965 · as Jenny
• The Car That Became a Star1965 · as Self
• The Yellow Rolls-Royce1964 · as Mae Jenkins
• What a Way to Go!1964 · as Louisa May Foster
• Irma la Douce1963 · as Irma La Douce
• Two for the Seesaw1962 · as Gittel 'Mosca' Moscawitz
• My Geisha1962 · as Lucy Dell / Yoko Mori
• The Children's Hour1961 · as Martha Dobie
• Two Loves1961 · as Anna Vorontosov
• All in a Night's Work1961 · as Katie Robbins
• Ocean's Eleven1960 · as Tipsy Girl (uncredited)
• The Apartment1960 · as Fran Kubelik
• Can-Can1960 · as Simone Pistache
• Career1959 · as Sharon Kensington
• Ask Any Girl1959 · as Meg Wheeler
• Some Came Running1958 · as Ginnie Moorehead
• The All-Star Christmas Show1958 · as Self
• The Matchmaker1958 · as Irene Molloy
• Hot Spell1958 · as Virginia Duval
• The Sheepman1958 · as Dell Payton
• Around the World in 80 Days1956 · as Princess Aouda
• Artists and Models1955 · as Bessie Sparrowbush
• The Trouble with Harry1955 · as Jennifer Rogers
• People Not Places— · as Clare
• Lucy Boomer— · as Lucy Boomer
• Margret and Stevie— · as Margret Rey

All TV Shows (46)

• Only Murders in the Building2021 · as Rose Cooper
• Talking Pictures2013 · as Self (archive footage)
• Downton Abbey2010 · as Martha Levinson
• Glee2009 · as June Dolloway
• Salem Witch Trials2003 · as Rebecca Nurse
• V Graham Norton2002 · as Self
• The Early Show1999 · as Self
• Joan of Arc1999 · as Madame de Beaurevoir
• Beckmann1999 · as Self
• The View1997 · as Self
• Inside the Actors Studio1994 · as Self
• Intimate Portrait1993 · as Self (archive footage)
• Intimate Portrait1993 · as Self - Narrator (voice)
• Pebble Mill1991 · as Self
• LIVE with Kelly and Mark1988
• Out on a Limb1987 · as Shirley MacLaine
• Goldene Kamera1984 · as Self
• Harty1983 · as Self
• Champs-Elysées1982 · as Self
• Entertainment Tonight1981 · as Self
• CBS News Sunday Morning1979 · as Self
• Laugh-In1977 · as Guest Performer
• Please Turn the Page1977 · as Self
• Système 21975 · as Self
• Les Rendez-vous du dimanche1975 · as Self - Guest
• Der große Preis1974 · as Self
• Shirley's World1972 · as Shirley Logan
• V.I.P. Schaukel1971 · as Self
• The Dick Cavett Show1968 · as Self - Guest
• Omnibus1967
• The Carol Burnett Show1967 · as Self
• The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson1962 · as Self
• The Mike Douglas Show1961 · as Self
• The Dinah Shore Chevy Show1956 · as Self
• The Steve Allen Show1956 · as Self - Guest
• Tony Awards1956 · as Self - Host
• Tony Awards1956 · as Self - Presenter
• Reflets de Cannes1954 · as Self
• The Oscars1953 · as Self
• The Bob Hope Show1950 · as Self
• The Emmy Awards1949 · as Self
• Golden Globe Awards1944 · as Self
• Golden Globe Awards1944 · as Self - Presenter
• Golden Globe Awards1944 · as Self - Cecil B. DeMille Award Recipient
• Golden Globe Awards1944 · as Self - Nominee / Presenter
• Golden Globe Awards1944 · as Self - Winner