Shirley MacLaine Born to an American father of English descent and a Canadian mother of Irish and Scottish ancestry, MacLaine graduated from high school and moved to New York City to live out her dream of being a Broadway actress.
She achieved her goal when she became understudy to actress Carol Haney in The Pajama Game; Haney broke her ankle and MacLaine replaced her.
A few months thereafter, with Haney still out of commission, director/producer Hal B. Wallis was in the audience, took note of MacLaine, and signed her to go to Hollywood to work for Paramount Pictures.
She would later sue Wallis over a contractual dispute, a suit that is credited with having ended the old-style studio system of actor management.
In Her Shoes (2005)
