Awards
-
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie
(2009) -
Coco Chanel
-
Best Performance by an Actress in a Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television
(2008) -
Coco Chanel
-
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
(2005) -
In Her Shoes
-
Best Performance by an Actress in a Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television
(2002) -
Hell on Heels: The Battle of Mary Kay
-
Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy
(1994) -
Guarding Tess
See All
A dancer, singer, highly regarded actress and metaphysical time traveler, Shirley MacLaine is certainly among Hollywood's most unique stars. Born Shirley MacLane Beaty on April 24, 1934 in Richmond, Virginia, MacLaine was the daughter of drama coach and former actress Kathlyn MacLean Beaty and Ira O. Beaty, a professor of psychology and philosophy. Her younger brother, Warren Beatty, also grew up to be an important Hollywood figure as an actor/director/ producer and screenwriter. MacLaine's mother, who gave up her own dreams of stardom for her young family, greatly motivated her daughter to become an actress and dancer. MacLaine took dance lessons from age two, first performed publicly at age four, and at 16 went to New York, making her Broadway debut as a chorus girl in Me and Juliet (1953). When not scrambling for theatrical work, MacLaine worked as a model.
Interestingly, MacLaine's big break was the result of another actress's bad luck. In 1954, MacLaine was understudying Broadway actress Carol Haney The Pajama Game when Haney fractured her ankle. MacLaine replaced her and was spotted and offered a movie contract by producer Hal Wallis. With her auburn hair cut impishly short, the young actress made her film debut in Hitchock's black comedy The Trouble With Harry (1955). Later that year, she co-starred opposite Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis in the comedy Artists and Models. In her next feature, Around the World in 80 Days (1956), she appeared as an Indian princess.
More