Shirley MacLaine Is 'Feeling Good' as She Turns 90, and Announces New Book About Her 'Wonderful Life'

The legendary Oscar winner tells PEOPLE how she plans to celebrate her 90th birthday

by Mia McNiece

Updated April 24, 2024

Shirley MacLaine. PHOTO: 

STEVEN SIMIONE/GETTY

Shirley MacLaine is marking her 90th birthday by announcing the release of a surprising new book.

The Oscar-winning actress will share photos and stories from her life, with over 150 images from her personal archives, in her new book The Wall of Life, out October 22.

"I have lived a wonderful life and I wanted to share it," MacLaine tells PEOPLE. "All of the photos brought back such wonderful memories.”

The legendary star plans to celebrate her milestone birthday on April 24 with an intimate dinner with friends.

"We're getting together and I hope to eat something good,” she says.

MacLaine, who won an Oscar for 1983's Terms of Endearment and has starred in classic films such as The Apartment, Postcards from the Edge and Steel Magnolias, is still doing what she loves and will soon begin filming a new movie in Atlantic City titled People Not Places.

"It's a wonderful script and we are getting ready to start and will see what happens," she says of the film.

Shirley MacLaine. PHOTO: CHRIS DELMAS / AFP

MacLaine attributes her longevity to her years of dancing.

"I started my dance training at age three and stopped at about 67. It taught me discipline, loving music, working with people and dealing with pain," she says.

She says the idea to put together a book came about because of a wall of photos she had up in her Malibu home.

“About 45 years ago, I put ten or so framed photographs of friends and family and people I’ve worked with all grouped together on a living room wall," says MacLaine, who is also the author of the 1986 New York Times bestselling memoir Out On a Limb. "Everyone who came over loved to look at this montage, and so The Wall of Life was born. I’m pleased to share a selection of these photos — and some of the stories behind them — in this book.”

The Wall of Life. PHOTO: CROWN

In The Wall of Life, MacLaine reveals memories from her childhood with brother Warren Beatty, her early years on Broadway, becoming a mother and other special moments from her seven-decades in Hollywood. She also shares the backstory behind meeting notable figures such as Frank Sinatra, Bette Davis and the Dalai Lama.

As she celebrates her 90th birthday she says she is most grateful "that I can keep working."

"I have my friends and I am really healthy.”

First published at People, April 24, 2024