SHIRLEY MACLAINE TO RECEIVE 40th AFI LIFE ACHIEVEMENT AWARD America’s Highest Honor for a Career in Film to be Presented June 7, 2012 LOS ANGELES, CA, October 9, 2011 – Sir Howard Stringer, Chair of the American Film Institute’s Board of Trustees, announced today the Board’s decision to honor Shirley MacLaine with the 40th AFI Life Achievement Award, the highest honor for a career in film. The award will be presented to MacLaine at a gala tribute on Thursday, June 7, 2012 in Los Angeles, CA. TV Land will broadcast the 40th AFI Life Achievement Award tribute on TV Land later in June 2012. The event will celebrate MacLaine’s extraordinary life and all her endeavors – movies, television, Broadway, author and beyond. "Shirley MacLaine is a powerhouse of personality that has illuminated screens large and small across six decades," said Stringer. "From ingénue to screen legend, Shirley has entertained a global audience through song, dance, laughter and tears, and her career as writer, director and producer is even further evidence of her passion for the art form and her seemingly boundless talents. There is only one Shirley MacLaine, and it is AFI’s honor to present her with its 40th Life Achievement Award." Last year’s AFI Tribute brought together icons of the film community to honor Morgan Freeman. Sidney Poitier opened the tribute, and Clint Eastwood presented the award at evening’s end. Also participating were Casey Affleck, Dan Aykroyd, Matthew Broderick, Don Cheadle, Bill Cosby, David Fincher, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Samuel L. Jackson, Ashley Judd, Matthew McConaughey, Helen Mirren, Rita Moreno, Tim Robbins, Chris Rock, Hilary Swank, Forest Whitaker, Betty White, Renée Zellweger and surprise musical guest Garth Brooks. About Shirley MacLaine Shirley MacLaine’s illustrious career comprises more than 50 feature films highlighted by an Academy Award® win and six nominations, six Emmy® Awards nominations, seven Golden Globe® Awards – including the Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement Award – and the title of international best-selling author. Recently, MacLaine appeared in the ensemble film, VALENTINE’S DAY, and the Lifetime made-for-TV movie COCO CHANEL, for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe® and SAG Award®. She released her best-selling book “SAGE- ING WHILE AGE-ING” in 2008, followed by her latest New York Times best-seller, “I’M OVER ALL THAT – AND OTHER CONFESSIONS,” released on April 5th, 2011. In the fall of 2011, she received France’s most prestigious cultural award, the Legion of Honor, presented by France’s Minister of Culture and Communication, Frederic Mitterrand, at the French Cinematheque. MacLaine made her professional debut dancing in a Broadway revival of OKLAHOMA! in the 1950s. Her first film appearance was in Alfred Hitchcock’s THE TROUBLE WITH HARRY, earning her a Golden Globe Award for “New Star of the Year – Actress” in 1955. At the same time, she starred in SOME COME RUNNING, which led to her first Academy Award® nomination and an additional Golden Globe® nomination. She also starred alongside Audrey Hepburn in THE CHILDREN’S HOUR, based on a play by Lillian Hellman. MacLaine received a second Oscar® nomination for her work in the award winning film, THE APARTMENT, co-starring Jack Lemmon and directed by Billy Wilder. She reunited with Lemmon and Wilder for IRMA LA DOUCE in 1963, earning yet another Academy Award® nomination. In 1975, MacLaine received her fourth Oscar® nomination, this time for best documentary as a producer and star of THE OTHER HALF OF THE SKY: A CHINA MEMOIR. Two years later, she was once again nominated for her starring role in THE TURNING POINT. In 1983, MacLaine finally won an Oscar for her work in TERMS OF ENDEARMENT. Later, she also received a Golden Globe® Award for her 1989 performance in MADAME SOUSATZKA. MacLaine was honored with the Cecil B. DeMille Golden Globe Award for Lifetime Achievement in 1998. MacLaine’s additional credits include notable films such as STEEL MAGNOLIAS with Julia Roberts, POSTCARDS FROM THE EDGE with Meryl Streep, IN HER SHOES with Cameron Diaz and Toni Collette, and RUMOR HAS IT with Jennifer Aniston and Kevin Costner. MacLaine’s television credits include the telefilms, “THESE OLD BROADS,” “CAROLINA” and “SALEM WITCH TRIALS.” She also starred in the CBS miniseries, “HELL ON HEELS: THE BATTLE OF MARY KAY,” the life story of the cosmetics queen Mary Kay Ash. A longtime outspoken advocate for civil rights and liberties, women’s rights, and spiritual understanding, MacLaine is known for her faith in reincarnation, angels, the power of crystals and other New Age beliefs. She addresses these topics at length, as well as her Hollywood career, in her books, OUT ON A LIMB and DANCING IN THE NIGHT. MacLaine went on to author numerous other books including THE CAMINO and OUT ON A LEASH, all of which are international bestsellers. MacLaine can be seen next in BERNIE, staring Jack Black and Matthew McConaughey. She can also be seen on stage during her one-woman show tour as it hits cities across the globe, combining a montage of memorable film moments with private revelations about her extraordinary life, career and spiritual journey. FILMOGRAPHY: Actress Bernie - 2011 Anne of Green Gables: A New Beginning - 2010 - PBS Valentine's Day - 2010 Coco Chanel - Lifetime TV - 2008 Closing the Ring - 2007 Rumor Has It - 2005 Bewitched - 2005 In Her Shoes - 2004 Carolina - 2003 Salem Witch Trials – 2003 (Shirley discusses her account of the filming of Salem Witch Trials for CBS) Hell on Heels: The Battle of Mary Kay - 2003 Bruno/The Dress Code - 2000 These Old Broads - 2000 Get Bruce - 1999 A Smile Like Yours - 1997 The Evening Star - 1996 Mrs. Winterbourne - 1996 The Celluloid Closet - 1996 Guarding Tess - 1994 A Century of Cinema - 1994 Wrestling Ernest Hemingway - 1993 Used People - 1992 Defending Your Life - 1991 Waiting for the Light - 1990 Postcards from the Edge - 1990 Steel Magnolias - 1989 Madame Sousatzka - 1988 Out On A Limb - 1987 Cannonball Run II - 1984 Terms of Endearment - 1983 Loving Couples - 1980 A Change of Seasons - 1980 Being There - 1979 The Turning Point - 1977 The Possession of Joel Delaney - 1972 Desparate Characters - 1971 Two Mules for Sister Sara - 1970 Sweet Charity - 1969 The Bliss of Mrs. Blossom - 1968 Woman Times Seven - 1967 Gambit - 1966 The Yellow Rolls-Royce - 1965 John Goldfarb, Please Come Home - 1964 What a Way to Go! - 1964 Irma la Douce - 1963 Two for the Seesaw - 1962 My Geisha - 1962 The Children's Hour/The Loudest Whisper - 1962 All in a Night's Work - 1961 Two Loves - 1961 Can-Can - 1960 Ocean's Eleven - 1960 The Apartment - 1960 Career - 1959 Ask Any Girl - 1959 Some Came Running - 1958 Hot Spell - 1958 The Matchmaker - 1958 The Sheepman - 1958 Around the World in 80 Days - 1956 Artists and Models - 1955 The Trouble With Harry - 1955 Director Bruno/The Dress Code - 2000 (Producer, Screenwriter and Co-Director) The Other Half of the Sky: A China Memoir - 1975 Television Anne of Green Gables: A New Beginning - 2008 Coco Chanel - 2008 Salem Witch Trials - 2003 Hell on Heels: The Battle of Mary Kay - 2003 The West Side Waltz - 1995 (Movie) Out on a Limb - 1986 (Mini-Series; Performer, Director) The Shirley MacLaine Show - 1985 (Special) Shirley MacLaine: Illusions - 1982 Shirley MacLaine...Every Little Movement - 1980 (Performer, Producer) Shirley MacLaine at the Lido - 1979 (Performer, Producer) The Shirley MacLaine Special: Where Do We Go From Here? - 1977 (Special) Gypsy in My Soul - 1976 (Performer, Producer) The Other Half of the Sky: A China Memoir - 1975 (Documentary; Performer, Producer, Director) Amelia - 1975 (Performer, Producer) Shirley MacLaine: If They Could See Me Now - 1974 (Performer, Producer) Shirley's World - 1971-1972 (Series) BOOKS: Don't Fall Off the Mountain - 1970 McGovern: The Man and His Beliefs - 1972 You Can Get There from Here - 1975 Out on a Limb - 1983 Dancing in the Light - 1986 It's All in the Playing - 1987 Going Within: A Guide to Inner Transformation - 1989 Dance While You Can - 1991 My Lucky Stars: A Hollywood Memoir - 1995 The Camino: A Journey of the Spirit - 2000 Out on a Leash: Exploring the Nature of Reality and Love - 2003 Sage-ing While Age-ing - 2007 I'm Over All That: And Other Confessions - 2011 About the AFI Life Achievement Award The highest honor given for a career in film, the AFI Life Achievement Award was established by the AFI Board of Trustees on February 26, 1973. It is presented to a single honoree each year based on the following criteria as mandated through a resolution passed by the AFI Board of Trustees: "The recipient should be one whose talent has in a fundamental way advanced the film art; whose accomplishment has been acknowledged by scholars, critics, professional peers and the general public; and whose work has stood the test of time." AFI Life Achievement Award Recipients Shirley MacLaine joins an esteemed group of individuals who have been chosen for this distinguished honor since its inception in 1973. 1973 John Ford 1993 Elizabeth Taylor 1974 James Cagney 1994 Jack Nicholson 1975 Orson Welles 1995 Steven Spielberg 1976 William Wyler 1996 Clint Eastwood 1977 Bette Davis 1997 Martin Scorsese 1978 Henry Fonda 1998 Robert Wise 1979 Alfred Hitchcock 1999 Dustin Hoffman 1980 James Stewart 2000 Harrison Ford 1981 Fred Astaire 2001 Barbra Streisand 1982 Frank Capra 2002 Tom Hanks 1983 John Huston 2003 Robert De Niro 1984 Lillian Gish 2004 Meryl Streep 1985 Gene Kelly 2005 George Lucas 1986 Billy Wilder 2006 Sean Connery 1987 Barbara Stanwyck 2007 Al Pacino 1988 Jack Lemmon 2008 Warren Beatty 1989 Gregory Peck 2009 Michael Douglas 1990 David Lean 2010 Mike Nichols 1991 Kirk Douglas 2011 Morgan Freeman 1992 Sidney Poitier 2012 Shirley MacLaine About the American Film Institute AFI is America’s promise to preserve the history of the motion picture, to honor the artists and their work and to educate the next generation of storytellers.