Shirley MacLaine

Shirley MacLaine kicks up her heels on the May 14, 1984, cover of Time Magazine. MacLaine was a chorus gypsy on Broadway by age 18. Her first big break came in 1954, while serving as an understudy to Carol Haney in "The Pajama Game." Just the way the movies say it is supposed to happen, the star got sick, the understudy went on, a movie producer was in the audience, and the rest is history.

MacLaine (photographed here during a 2000 interview in Malibu, Calif.) started in movies in Alfred Hitchcock's "The Trouble with Harry." Other '50s films included "Artists and Models" (co-starring Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis) and the Oscar-winner "Around the World in 80 Days."

Named for Shirley Temple, Shirley MacLean Beaty (and her little brother, actor Warren Beatty) left Richmond, Va. to make it big in Hollywood. Among MacLaine's memorable movies are "Sweet Charity," "Irma la Douce," "Being There," "The Turning Point," "Steel Magnolias" and "Terms Of Endearment."

Jack Lemmon, left, and Shirley MacLaine starred in Billy Wilder's 1960 romantic comedy "The Apartment." The film won five Oscars, including Best Picture. Lemmon and MacLaine received Oscar nominations for their performances.

French fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent, left, and MacLaine are shown at a party held in his honor Nov. 1, 1965, in Hollywood, Calif.

A letter from Alfred Hitchcock, in which he complains about the high salaries of actors, mentions Paul Newman, Julie Andrews, Shirley MacLaine, and Walt Disney.

After more than two decades and numerous Best Actress nominations, MacLaine won the Oscar for the role of Aurora Greenway in the 1983 drama "Terms of Endearment." The film was also named Best Picture.

Shirley MacLaine and Frank Sinatra perform on stage, Oct. 8, 1992. While filming "Some Came Running" with Sinatra and Dean Martin in 1958, MacLaine was invited to be the only woman in the Sinatra coterie known as the "Rat Pack." She was a sort of mascot, and they taught her a lot about dealing with live audiences as a solo performer, she said. Two years later, she joined the Rat Pack on screen in "Ocean's Eleven."

Shirley MacLaine accepts the Sage Award from New Women In Film president Janet Davidson at the 8th Annual Santa Fe Film Festival on Dec. 1, 2007. The group cited her career achievement and commitment to advancing the role of women in the industry. MacLaine, who has lived in New Mexico for a dozen years, said she's learned to balance her frequent time on the road with the spiritual solace of the Southwest.

Shirley MacLaine, left, hugs Dame Elizabeth Taylor at the British Film and Television Academy/Los Angeles Cunard Britannia Awards, Nov. 10, 2005, in Beverly Hills, Calif. Taylor received the Britannia Award for Artistic Excellence in International Entertainment.

Barbra Streisand, facing away from camera, is enthusiastically embraced by presenter Shirley MacLaine after Steisand was honored with the Cecil B. deMille Award at the 57th Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, Calif., Jan. 23, 2000. MacLaine won the award in 1998. The women also share the same birthday and celebrate together each year.

Shirley MacLaine and her dog, Terry, at a book signing for "Out on a Leash" in 2003. The book tells the story of the relationship between the award-winning actress and the love of her life, her endearing dog. She has authored numerous books, many with a New Age bent touching on topics like reincarnation and extraterrestrial life.

In 2000, MacLaine documented her 500-mile spiritual pilgrimage across northern Spain in "The Camino." She wrote that, along her trek she was guided by visions and people from ancient civilizations who became the gateway to her past lives. She wrote she had an affair in this life with the late Swedish Prime Minister Olaf Palme, who in a past life was Charlemagne, the conqueror of western Europe who died in 814 A.D.

In her latest role, the Oscar-winning actress starred in the Lifetime TV-movie "Coco Chanel" as the legendary fashion designer who shaped the looks of several generations with her couture philosophy.

Wearing a pendant, earrings and Chakra Sky Rings from her Chakra Sky Jewelry collection, MacLaine promotes her Lifetime TV movie "Coco Chanel" during the Television Critics Association summer press tour in Beverly Hills, Calif., July 11, 2008.

MacLaine (front row third from left) was one of a dozen actors at Target Presents AFI Night at the Movies in Los Angeles on Oct. 1, 2008. Twelve classic American films were screened on the single night -- each with an introduction by the film's star or filmmaker. MacLaine presented "The Apartment."