Aging is something we all will go through. Meanwhile, some, especially in Hollywood, decide to use Botox, facelifts, or plastic surgery to stop it from happening too rapidly. This 91-year-old actress did exactly so, but some might not recognize her. Her career spans more than 60 years – and is still turning heads today.
She became a superstar, nominated for several Academy Awards, and even won. While she is 91 today, this legendary actress has no plans to slow down.
Born on April 24, 1934, in Richmond, Virginia, she grew up with a mother who was a drama teacher. Her younger brother would become a successful director and actor, and at the age of three, she began her studies towards a career in show business. The now-legendary actress became a great ballet dancer and, after high school, moved to New York City to pursue a career in acting.
Moving to the Big Apple at that age might alarm many parents. But for her, it wasn’t.
“They weren’t surprised. I was in show business since I was 3, basically,” she once told Variety. “They were so confident that I would be alright, that I became alright,” she continued.
“It didn’t occur to me that I should have confidence. It does now. I look back on it now, and I think, ‘Oh, what were they thinking?’ I had a certain amount of what I would call sophisticated naivete because I had been going to ballet school from 3 on, as I said,” she continued.
“But when we lived in Arlington and Richmond, I was always on some bus by myself going to ballet class and learning to negotiate the transfers and learning to be alone and fairly confident that I would be fine, walking home in the forest alone at night.”
Debut in Hitchock film
At that point in her career, she also changed her name. After being hired as a chorus girl and understudy to the second lead, Carol Haney, in the musical The Pajama Game on Broadway, she would get her big shot. Haney broke her ancle, and the young woman, who had studied ballet all her life, got her big shot, as she took over the role.
Film producer Hal Wallis discovered her, and gave her a contract. It was the beginning of a career that has spanned over 60 years and brought her to unbelievable places.
Her movie debut was in 1955, when she was cast in Alfred Hitchcock’s The Trouble with Harry. Her special, tomboy look made her sought-after in Hollywood, and she got more and more roles.
Not long after, she would earn her first Academy Award nomination. Over the span of five years, she received three Academy Award nominations. All for Best Actress in Some Came Running (1958), The Apartment (1960), and Irma De Douche in 1963. She’s received a total of 6 nominations, and in 1984, she won Best Actress for Terms of Endearment.
Shirley MacLaine – one of the greats in entertainment history
Moreover, she’s won seven Golden Globe Awards and one Emmy Award, but her achievements extend beyond specific acting performances. She’s won the Golden Bear award at the Berlin International Film Festival, and in 1998, she was awarded the Cecil B. DeMille Award for outstanding contribution to entertainment.
The list of honors is long, including the American Film Institute (AFI) Lifetime Achievement Award. But the person we are talking about, Shirley MacLaine, is not ready to quit quite yet. In February, Deadline reported that the 91-year-old legendary actress is set to lead the upcoming film Margret and Stevie, which centers on writer and illustrator Margret Rey.
Shirley MacLaine is a true legend in the entertainment business. So what is the secret to her long, successful career?
“Even though I tell people the truth, I’m not a diva. That comes from my 3-year-old ballet training. I’ve got to go all the way back to that and just hard, honest work, with quite a bit of art, if you can muster it, thrown in,” MacLaine told Variety in 2020.
“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. 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.”
Praised for down-to-earth personality
The actress has proven herself to be “one of the people,” not hiding in a huge mansion and shying away from her fans, who have given her plenty of love over the years.
s late as late March, she was photographed enjoying a plate of oysters and drinking a beer in Malibu, dressed in a mint-green hoodie and black glasses. While holding up her fork, she smiled towards the camera.
Fans quickly praised Shirley MacLaine for her amazing outfit and for seeming very down-to-earth.
“Who doesn’t love this lady? Classic,” one wrote.
“Love her! It’s so great to see her out enjoying life!” a second added.
A third person stated, “One of the last of the greats,” while a fourth gushed, “Looking good for 91 and out enjoying herself, Brilliant.”
Shirley MacLaine has always been praised for her looks. Meanwhile, some 40 years ago, she decided to do a facelift. The question surrounding Botox, plastic surgery, and other types of procedures has long been heated in Hollywood. Some decide to never touch their face, while others do it, let’s say, a little too much.
Admitted to doing face-lift
MacLaine spoke to The Guardian in 2007 about her view of plastic surgery and facelifts. She stated that her younger brother, the famous Warren Beatty, was “the beatiful one in the family.” When she began noticing wrinkles in her face, she had a clear idea of what she wanted to do moving forward.
“Just in the last week I’m falling in love with my wrinkles because I was wondering: should I do Botox? I’m loving the idea that I’m 73 and almost looking like it,” MacLaine said in 2007. “I had a face-lift about 30 years ago. I’m glad I did it. It’s all back to where it was now, though. I do worry about getting heavy. Not so much cosmetically, but what it means for the body. But I won’t do liposuction. I go for walks on the beach, up and down hills at Malibu.”
Shirley continued, “I do stretching for my back and some of the skeletal problems. Probably caused by dancing in high heels, and dancing on cement instead of wood. I was never that good a dancer to really injure myself, and I was always really cautious.”
Shirley MacLaine is truly one of the greats in entertainment history. Please share this article on FAcebook with friends and family if you also think she is a great actress.