Shirley Temple

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Lore & Background

Born in Richmond, Virginia, MacLaine made her acting debut as a teenager with minor roles in the Broadway musicals Me and Juliet and The Pajama Game. Her film debut came in 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), Irma la Douce (1963), and Sweet Charity (1969). A six-time Academy Award nominee, she 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), In Her Shoes (2005), Bernie (2011), The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013), Elsa & Fred (2014), and Noelle (2019). MacLaine starred in the sitcom Shirley's World (1971–1972) and played the eponymous fashion designer in the biopic television film Coco Chanel (2008), receiving nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a Golden Globe Award for the latter. She also made appearances in several television series, including Downton Abbey (2012–2013), Glee (2014), and Only Murders in the Building (2022). MacLaine has written many books regarding the subjects of metaphysics, spirituality, and reincarnation, as well as a best-selling memoir, Out on a Limb (1983).

Reader's Guide

MacLaine's early life shaped her career. Named after child actress Shirley Temple, she was born on April 24, 1934, in Richmond, Virginia. Her father, Ira Owens Beaty, was a professor of psychology, a public school administrator, and a real estate agent. Her Canadian mother, Kathlyn Corinne (née MacLean), was a drama teacher from Wolfville, Nova Scotia. Her younger brother is filmmaker Warren Beatty. As a toddler, she had weak ankles and fell over with the slightest misstep, so her mother enrolled her in ballet class at the Washington School of Ballet at age three. She eventually decided against a career in professional ballet because she had grown too tall and felt unable to perfect her technique. She played baseball on a boys' team and held the record for the most home runs, earning the nickname 'Powerhouse.' She attended Washington-Lee High School in Arlington, Virginia, where she was on the cheerleading squad and acted in school theatrical productions. The summer before her senior year, she went to New York City to try acting and had minor success in the chorus of a production of Oklahoma! that toured the subway circuit. After graduation, she made her Broadway debut dancing in the ensemble of Me and Juliet (1953–1954). She became an understudy to actress Carol Haney in The Pajama Game. In May 1954, Haney injured her ankle during a Wednesday matinee, and MacLaine performed in her place. Jerry Lewis saw a matinee and urged film producer Hal B. Wallis to attend the evening performance, hoping to cast her in Artists and Models. Wallis signed her to work for Paramount Pictures. Her film debut in The Trouble with Harry (1955) won her the Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year – Actress. She starred in Billy Wilder's The Apartment (1960), earning a second Academy Award nomination for Best Actress and winning the Volpi Cup for Best Actress, the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role, and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical. In 1970, she published a memoir titled Don't Fall off the Mountain, the first of her numerous books.

Did You Know?

• MacLaine was named after child actress Shirley Temple, who was six years old at the time of MacLaine's birth.
• As a toddler, she had weak ankles and fell over with the slightest misstep, so her mother enrolled her in ballet class at the Washington School of Ballet at age three.
• She played baseball on a boys' team and held the record for the most home runs, earning the nickname 'Powerhouse.'
• In May 1954, while understudying Carol Haney in The Pajama Game, Haney injured her ankle during a Wednesday matinee, and MacLaine performed in her place, leading to her film career.
• In 1963, she marched into the Los Angeles office of The Hollywood Reporter and punched columnist Mike Connolly in the mouth over comments about her contractual dispute with producer Hal Wallis.