Shirley MacLaine

Was close friends with the members of the Rat Pack. She starred with all of them in Ocean's Eleven (1960). Other works with Rat Pack members include: Some Came Running (1958), Cannonball Run II (1984) and Can-Can (1960).

In her book, "My Lucky Stars", MacLaine wrote that before production on My Geisha (1962) began, Yves Montand bet her husband, Steve Parker, that he could seduce her. Parker, whom MacLaine learned later, was having an affair at the time, took Montand up on the bet; Montand won.

Member of the jury at the Cannes Film Festival in 1967.

Columbia originally wanted to cast her as Fanny Brice in Funny Girl (1968). However, producer Ray Stark--who produced the Broadway show and was Brice's son-in-law--insisted on Barbra Streisand repeating her Broadway role.

When writing The Exorcist (1973), William Peter Blatty based the character of "Chris O'Neil" on MacLaine, who was a friend of his.

About 1975, while starring in a special musical show that played at Chrysler Hall in Norfolk, VA, she walked out on the show because of the poor acoustics and sound system. Chrysler Hall was well known for this problem at the time, and Miss MacLaine was not the only performer to complain about it. Years later, the theatre closed for a while and underwent extensive renovations to improve the acoustics, thanks in part to the star's vigorously vocal objections.

Dropped out of the The Blue Bird (1976) before shooting began.

Led a series of weekend-long higher-self seminars in the late 1980s teaching people about her views on many aspects of New Age practices and techniques.

Turned down the role of Diane Freeling in Poltergeist (1982) to play the Oscar-winning role of Aurora Greenway in Terms of Endearment (1983).

A frequent visitor to Houston, Texas, where she starred in Terms of Endearment (1983) and The Evening Star (1996). At each visit, she goes to Tony's Restaurant, where she orders a complete soufflé just for herself.

Her performance as Aurora Greenway in Terms of Endearment (1983) is ranked #81 on Premiere Magazine's 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time.

As of 2009, she is only one of six performers who won a Golden Globe Award as Best Lead Actor/Actress in a Motion Picture Drama without being nominated for an Oscar for that same role (hers for Madame Sousatzka (1988)). The others are Spencer Tracy in The Actress (1953), Anthony Franciosa in Career (1959), Omar Sharif in Doctor Zhivago (1965), Jim Carrey in The Truman Show (1998) and Kate Winslet in Revolutionary Road (2008).

Grandmother to Francis Murray (b. September 1996); the son of her daughter Sachi Parker.

In her memoir "I'm Over That And Other Confessions", she claims to have been intimate with Danny Kaye, and Robert Mitchum, among others. She told Oprah Winfrey in an April 2011 TV appearance that she was not attracted to Jack Lemmon because he was not "dangerous" and "complicated".

Will receive the American Film Institute's Life Achievement award on June 7, 2012, in Los Angeles [October 9, 2011].