At 89 years of age, Shirley MacLaine is showing absolutely no signs of slowing down.
Despite her gracious age, the Academy Award-winning actress continues to give and can regularly be seen enjoying Martinis while dining out in Hollywood.
During her seven-decade long career, the Steel Magnolia star has seen it all. Indeed, her life stories are virtually unparalleled compared to those of her contemporaries…
Shirley MacLaine has been around a long, long time, and made so many awesome films during her heyday. The Apartment, The Trouble With Harry, Two Mules For Sister Sara, Guarding Tess – I could go on forever.
Her performance in the classic 1989 film Steel Magnolia is still talked about today, but in real life Shirley is far from the short-tempered character she played in the film, Ouiser Boudreaux.
“Not that much bothers me,” she said in 2019.
“I think attitudes are a choice. Anger is a choice, peace is a choice, sarcasm — which is what I’m good at — is a choice.”
According to MacLaine, her life today is “perfect”. She enjoys eating and sleeping whenever she wants, and spends much of her time on her New Mexico ranch, surrounded by her beloved rat terriers.
Born on April 24, 1934, Shirley started her illustrious career on Broadway in New York and went on to captivate audiences worldwide with her performance in Alfred Hitchcock’s black comedy The Trouble with Harry in 1955.
“He was a hoot, he really was,” Shirley, then 21, said of Hitchcock.
“I mean, thank God I wasn’t tall, thin, ethereal, beautiful and mysterious, or I probably would have hated him.
With more than 50 films to her name, she is undeniably one of the giants of Hollywood history. Despite now being in her late 80s, she continues to pursue her passion for acting and recently appeared in the television series Only Murders in the Building.
‘”I’ve also stayed in the business and never thought about quitting because I wanted to pay for plane tickets to travel. I didn’t socialize Hollywood style,” she explained. ‘I’d rather travel to a country I hadn’t been to. So when I think about my life, I’m not sure I wouldn’t put the travels a bit above show business,” she said.
Despite occasional visits to Tinseltown, MacLaine finds her greatest comfort in nature. Her secret to happiness is not to keep busy, but rather to immerse herself in the wilderness surrounding her New Mexico ranch, where she has spend most of her time in recent time. Being close to nature gives her strength and energy, even though she loves residing at her house in Malibu as well.
Shirley has even encouraged others to ”give it up and learn to amalgamate with nature,” highlighting the benefits of living in harmony with the natural world.
Shirley MacLaine partners
Shirley’s love life has been the subject of much speculation over the years.
The beloved actress was married to producer and businessman Steve Parker for almost 30 years and in 1956, they had daughter. However, Shirley has been open about the fact that she had other relationships during their marriage.