American dancer, actress, writer and metaphysician. She has won the Oscar for best actress along with many other awards. An overachiever with a compulsion to succeed, she has made more than 50 movies, received a total of Golden Globe, five Emmys, the Oscar for “Terms of Endearment,” 1983, the Cecil B. DeMille Award for lifetime achievement, 1998, awards from the British Film Academy, the New York and Los Angeles Film Critic’s Societies, NATO, Berlin and Venice Film Festivals and the Film Society of Lincoln Center Career Achievement Award. She also has nine best-selling books, all by the year 2000.
Born first of two famous siblings, Shirley was the daughter of Kathlyn, a drama teacher and an actress, who died in 1994. Her dad, Ira, who died in 1987, was a professor of psychology and philosophy at Johns Hopkins. Her younger brother is actor Warren Beatty. She began ballet at two and left for New York after graduation from Washington-Lee High School, living out the dreams her mother never could fulfill.
Shirley left her middle class background for the chorus line of “Me And Juliet” in 1953. The understudy in “The Pajama Game,” 1954, she was discovered by Hal Wallace in a classic scenario; the star broke a leg and Shirley filled in. Alfred Hitchcock directed Shirley in her first film, “The Trouble With Harry” in 1955. Not knowing if she would act in films again, she purchased a Malibu apartment house so she would always have someplace to live. She still owns it and lives there when she is in Los Angeles. A versatile actress, she played in musicals and dramas. In 14 of her films she has played a hooker, including “Irma La Duce,” 1963 and “Sweet Charity,” 1968. Her first of six Oscar nominations was for “Some Came Running” in 1959.
An excellent dramatic actress, comedienne and dancer, she turned to writing while waiting around on movie sets. Her first book, “Don’t Fall Off The Mountain” was published in 1982, followed by “Out On A Limb,” published May 1983 and spending 15 weeks on the best seller list. She has written seven other books including the “New Celebrity Cook Book.”
Active in politics since 1970, she was a delegate from California for Robert Kennedy and a campaigner for George McGovern, though politics is not her first priority. She was leader of the first American women’s delegation to China making a documentary of the trip in 1975. From the time she wrote her first book, Shirley was the butt of much teasing for her belief in reincarnation and metaphysical views. She has given seminars on metaphysical subjects as well as her show-biz one-woman variety show.
Shirley met producer Steve Parker in 1953 and four hours later, he proposed, but they didn’t marry until the following year. She gave birth to Stephanie Sachiko, aka Sachi Parker, in 1956. Steve returned to Japan where he had been born even though Shirley’s work kept her in California. Sachi moved to Japan when she was seven, both parents agreeing it was better that she grow up away from Hollywood. She and Parker had a open marriage for 29 years, but were separated by the mid-70s and divorced in 1983. She admits to several affairs including Yves Montand and Andrew Peacock, former Minister of Foreign Affairs for Australia. Shirley has a grandson who was born late 1996. Her brother Warren has made her an aunt to three youngsters.
In 1990 she hurt her knee several times and sprained her ankle. After knee surgery her surgeon and physical therapist thought she would never dance again. She was convinced she would return to the stage in six weeks; she did it in five, demonstrating the determination and perseverance that has been a long-time aide. A woman with an eternal lust for life, she has always adhered to a strict physical regime, yoga, exercise, long walks, sensible diet and eight glasses of water a day.
Her eighth book “My Lucky Stars,” about her show-biz experiences came out in the Spring of 1995.
Shirley first felt that she had lived before at age seven with a moment of insight. In her 20’s she went to India, already convinced of reincarnation and sharing past-life experiences with people. She had a defining moment in 1970 in Lima, Peru, where the UFO sightings became a real concept. With her book “Out on a Limb” was released in 1986, the jokes, and sometimes ridicule, began. As her friend Liz Taylor said, “Shirley always has a great sense of humor, especially about herself.”
Link to Wikipedia biography