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Shirley MacLaine on April 24, 1934 in Richmond, Virginia), is an American actress well-known not only for her acting, but for her devotion to her belief in reincarnation. She is also the writer of a large number of autobiographical works, many dealing with her new age beliefs as well as her Hollywood career. She is the older sister of Warren Beatty (Beatty changed his name from

Born to an American father of English descent and a Canadian mother of Irish and Scottish ancestry, MacLaine graduated from high school and moved to New York City to live out her dream of being a Broadway actress. She achieved her goal when she became understudy to actress Carol Haney in ; Haney broke her ankle and MacLaine replaced her. A few months thereafter, with Haney still out of commission, directorproducer Hal B. Wallis was in the audience, took note of MacLaine, and signed her to go to Hollywood to work for Paramount Pictures.

in 1955. Her film career is now in its fifth decade. MacLaine was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role five times: in 1958 for (which she finally won). In 1975, she also received a nomination for Best Documentary Feature for her documentary .

MacLaine was also the only female member of the infamous Rat Pack, alongside Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis, Jr..

MacLaine was married to businessman Steve Parker from 1954 to 1982. They have a daughter, actress Sachi Parker, who was born in 1956.

In political circles, MacLaine is known for her close friendship with Ohio congressman Dennis Kucinich, a candidate for the 2004 Democratic presidential nomination.

MacLaine found her way into many law school casebooks when she sued Twentieth Century-Fox for breach of contract. She was to play a role in a film titled, , in hopes of getting out of its contractual obligation to pay her for the cancelled film. MacLaine's refusal led to an appeal by Twentieth Century-Fox to the Supreme Court of California in 1970, where the Court ruled against them.

She was named after Shirley Temple.

MacLaine has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1615 Vine Street.