Shirley MacLaine is cementing her legacy as one of Hollywood's greats, and a star from one of its most iconic families, with the help of her upcoming memoir and photo album The Wall of Life: Pictures and Stories from this Marvelous Lifetime . The memoir is a first for the screen icon, as it marks the first time she'll be sharing a deeper look inside her childhood and years on the screen with several unseen family photos from her personal archives , a departure from her previous memoirs that have also focused heavily on her spiritual beliefs. The star grew up in Virginia, with baby brother Warren Beatty, and made her film debut at the age of 21 with a Golden Globe-winning turn in The Trouble With Harry in 1955.
MacLaine spoke with People about the idea to do a photo album as a memoir and reflected on the idea of preserving her memories while acknowledging she doesn't know how much life she has left to live, having turned 90 in April . "One day, I was looking at my wall of pictures and just taking everything into consideration specifically, and I thought I should write about this — and that's what happened," she told the publication. She further added: "I've had an enchanted life.
..By looking at my wall that day, I realized the enchantment.
I really have, and I really mean it; I felt that way. So it's something that comes out of appreciation." The Only Murders in the Building star also spoke about always "looking forward" in life rather than fixating on the past.
"I've always.