At 89, This Iconic Actress Loves Her ‘Perfect Life’ After Claiming To Have Had Affairs With 2 Prime Ministers

Sep 21, 2023 by apost team

Shirley MacLaine is an iconic actress, dancer and author who has graced the world with her unparalleled talent and charisma for over seven decades. With a career spanning film, television, theater, and literature, MacLaine has left an indelible mark on the entertainment industry. 

Born as Shirley MacLean Beaty on April 24, 1934, in Richmond, Virginia, she was named after the famed child actress Shirley Temple and would go on to follow in her footsteps in show business. Her own journey started when she moved to New York City as a teenager and began appearing on Broadway. Her dancing skills and magnetic stage presence were quickly noticed, and she went on to appear in films. She made her film debut in 1955’s “The Trouble with Harry,” and starred in a slew of movies through to the ’70s, including “The Apartment,” “Irma la Douce,” “Sweet Charity” and “The Turning Point.”

Her career continued to flourish throughout the ’80s and ’90s with her unforgettable roles in films such as “Steel Magnolias” and “Postcards from the Edge.” In 1984, she won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in “Terms of Endearment.” In more recent years, MacLaine has also made appearances on television in shows such as “Downton Abbey,” “Glee” and “Only Murders in the Building.”

While MacLaine’s professional life flourished, her personal life was equally fascinating. She married businessman Steve Parker in 1954, and they had a daughter named Sachi Parker together. Their marriage eventually ended in divorce in 1982. In a 2011 interview with Oprah Winfrey, MacLaine dropped a bombshell and revealed she and her husband had an open marriage. Read on to find out more about the star’s rich personal life and the hush-hush romances she’s had over the years.

Now well into her 80s, age has never been an obstacle to MacLaine’s mission to live her best life. Shortly after celebrating her 85th birthday in 2019, she told People that “not that much” bothers her as she’s fully comfortable with herself. 

“I have what I consider just a perfect life… I eat what I want, I sleep when I want,” she said.

The star said this came down to her perspective on life as “attitudes are a choice. Anger is a choice, peace is a choice, sarcasm — which is what I’m good at — is a choice.”

She revealed she also spent much of her time alone at her Abiquiu, New Mexico ranch when she’s not working.

“I have someone who comes in a couple of times a week, but otherwise I’m totally alone. I sometimes go to Santa Fe, which is one of the artistic and restaurant and new age capitals in the country,” she revealed, adding that her secret to a happy life was “not to keep busy.” 

“I have all the animals around me (in New Mexico). It’s everything I need to be happy.”

Throughout MacLaine’s storied career, she has worked with some of the most famous figures in showbiz, including Alfred Hitchcock, Billy Wilder, Audrey Hepburn, Peter Sellers, Dean Martin Meryl Streep, and Jack Nicholson. But her acting career hasn’t been the only part of her life filled with remarkable exploits. Even though MacLaine was married for almost three decades, she revealed she had a vibrant and active love life behind the scenes.

“I’ve had an awful lot of lovers,” she told Oprah Winfrey in a 2011 interview, during which she also revealed she and her husband had an open marriage. 

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Since then, MacLaine has been open about her romantic dalliances outside of her marriage, even detailing them in her 2012 memoir, “I’m Over All That.” The book stirred controversy with its implication that MacLaine had had affairs with various leading men, such as Robert Mitchum and Danny Kaye. MacLaine also claimed to have had affairs with three other high-profile politicians, namely, former Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme, former Australian Foreign Minister Andrew Peacock and former Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. In her memoir, MacLaine described Palme as “emotional catnip” to her, although Palme denied having had an affair with her. 

Meanwhile, she described Trudeau as “authoritatively intelligent,” and added that she “loved his kids.” However, she confessed her “longest-lasting relationship with a political leader” was with Peacock, whom she called “charming, funny and a conservative.”

“He used his voice like a snake oil salesman, which always made me laugh because, as I told him, I was also in the business of professional seduction through voice manipulation. He took my comment good-naturedly,” she added.

According to MacLaine, not only did she and Peacock travel all over the world together, but she maintained her relationship with him at the same time she was seeing Palme. 

In 2013, MacLaine’s daughter Sachi also left people scratching their heads after she claimed she was not Steve’s daughter but the love child of an astronaut named Paul, with whom her mother had had an affair. MacLaine has denied the allegation, saying she was “shocked and heartbroken that my daughter would make statements about me that are virtually all fiction.” However, Sachi has stood by her claim, leaving her relationship with her famous mother strained after they stopped speaking to one another. 

What are your thoughts on the affairs Shirley MacLaine claims to have had? Are you a fan of her films and television shows? Let us know and be sure to pass this on to friends and family who might find this story interesting, too!