Shirley MacLaine: A Hollywood Legend Still Going Strong at 89

Shirley MacLaine is 89 years old, but she still goes against the grain and lives life to the fullest. The Academy Award–winning actress is still going strong, as seen by her memorable performances in movies like Steel Magnolias and The Apartment. Her unusual life stories, in addition to her outstanding career, are what distinguish her from her peers.

Over the course of her storied career, which stretches over seven decades, MacLaine has delighted audiences with her extraordinary talent and charm. From her iconic performances in Hollywood to her Broadway debut in New York, MacLaine has made a lasting impression on the entertainment world.

But MacLaine values the small pleasures in life, even in the midst of Hollywood’s flash and splendor. She spends most of her time on her ranch in New Mexico, surrounded by her cherished rat terriers, since she finds comfort in the natural world. She finds power and energy in being near nature, and she thinks it’s important to live in peace with the natural world.

Despite having a prosperous career in show business, MacLaine places an even more value on her trips and experiences. She has always placed more value on traveling to foreign nations than on Hollywood-style socializing. She finds that traveling to different places is more enjoyable than pursuing fame. Even in her late 80s, she is still motivated by her enthusiasm for life.

There has been conjecture about MacLaine’s romantic history for her whole life. Despite having a nearly 30-year marriage to producer Steve Parker, she has been transparent about her romances outside of it. Sachi Parker, her daughter, went so far as to say that Paul, an astronaut, was her real father. Despite MacLaine’s denial of these accusations, their relationship became tense and they stopped communicating.

Apart from her nonconformist perspectives on partnerships, MacLaine has garnered media attention for her assertion that she has had affairs with not one, but two prime ministers. Even though these allegations are yet unproven, they have increased her mystique and maintained popular curiosity.

Let’s honor Shirley MacLaine’s outstanding achievements to the entertainment industry as we commemorate her 89th birthday. Her acting enthusiasm never ceases to inspire us all, and her talent and charisma are ageless. She is a true Hollywood treasure and a legendary actress; may she be granted a long and happy life.

My Husband Refused to Replace Our Broken Vacuum and Said I Should Sweep Since I’m ‘Just on Maternity Leave’ — So I Taught Him a Lesson He’ll Never Forget

When our vacuum broke, my husband said I should just sweep because I’m “home all day anyway.” So I grabbed our newborn and a broken broom and showed up at his office to remind him exactly what that really looks like.

I’m 30. I just had my first baby, a sweet little girl named Lila. She’s 9 weeks old, and yeah—she’s perfect. But also? She’s chaos. She screams like she’s in a horror movie. Hates naps. Hates being put down. Basically lives in my arms.

A fussy baby in his mother’s arms | Source: Pexels

I’m on unpaid maternity leave, which sounds relaxing until you realize it means I’m working a 24/7 shift with no help, no breaks, and no paycheck.

I’m also handling the house. And the laundry. And the meals. And the litter boxes. We have two cats, both of whom shed like it’s their full-time job.

A tired woman sitting on a couch | Source: Pexels

My husband Mason is 34. He works in finance. Used to be sweet. When I was pregnant, he made me tea and rubbed my feet. Now? I’m not sure he sees me. I’m the woman who hands him the baby so he can say “she’s fussy” and give her back five seconds later.

Last week, the vacuum died. Which, in a house with two cats and beige carpet, is like losing oxygen.

A woman vacuuming | Source: Pexels

“Hey,” I told Mason while he was playing Xbox. “The vacuum finally kicked it. I found a decent one on sale. Can you grab it this week?”

He didn’t even look up. Just paused his game and said, “Why? Just use a broom.”

I blinked. “Seriously?”

He nodded. “Yeah. My mom didn’t have a vacuum when we were kids. She raised five of us with a broom. You’ve got one. And you’re home all day.”

A man lounging on the couch | Source: Pexels

I stared at him.

“You’re not joking,” I said.

“Nope.” He smirked. “She didn’t complain.”

I let out this weird laugh. Half choking, half dying inside.

“Did your mom also carry a screaming baby around while sweeping with one arm?” I asked.

He shrugged. “Probably. She got it done. Women were tougher back then.”

A man arguing with his wife | Source: Pexels

I took a breath. Tried to keep calm. “You do know the baby’s crawling soon, right? She’s going to have her face in this carpet.”

Another shrug. “The place isn’t that bad.”

I looked around. There were literal cat tumbleweeds in the corner.

“And anyway,” he added, “I don’t have spare money right now. I’m saving for the yacht trip next month. With the guys.”

“You’re saving for what?”

A man turning away from his wife | Source: Pexels

“The boat weekend. I told you. I need the break. I’m the one bringing in income right now. It’s exhausting.”

That’s when I stopped talking. Because what was I going to say?

“You haven’t changed a diaper in days?” “You nap while I pump milk at 3 a.m.?” “You think scrubbing spit-up off a onesie is relaxing?”

I didn’t say any of it. I just nodded.

A sad woman sitting on the couch | Source: Pexels

Apparently, child-rearing is a spa retreat now, and the woman doing it doesn’t deserve a working vacuum. That night, after Lila finally fell asleep on my chest, I didn’t cry. I didn’t yell.

I just sat in the hallway. The light was off, but the dim glow from the nightlight hit the baby monitor just right. It was quiet. Too quiet.

I looked at the broken vacuum. Then I looked at the broom.

A crying woman | Source: Pexels

I got up. Took the broom in both hands. Snapped it clean in half.

The next morning, while Mason was at work, I texted him.

“Busy day at the office?”

“Yeah. Back-to-backs. Why?”

“Oh. No reason. I’m just on my way.”

A woman talking on her phone at home | Source: Pexels

I packed Lila into the car, still red-faced from her morning meltdown. I tossed the broken broom in the back.

And I drove.

I pulled into the parking lot of Mason’s office with Lila screaming in the back like I’d strapped her into a rocket seat instead of a car seat. She’d just blown out her diaper on the drive, and she wasn’t shy about letting me know how she felt about it.

A baby crying | Source: Pexels

Perfect.

I wiped spit-up off my shirt, threw a burp cloth over my shoulder, hoisted the broken broom, and unbuckled the baby.

“Alright, Lila,” I muttered. “Let’s go say hi to Daddy.”

His office building was all glass and steel and fake smiles. I walked in with a red-faced baby in one arm and a jagged broom handle in the other.

A woman holding a baby | Source: Pexels

The receptionist blinked twice when she saw us.

“Can I help—?”

“I’m Mason Carter’s wife,” I said, smiling widely. “He left something important at home.”

“Oh. Um. Sure. He’s in a meeting, but you can go back.”

I walked past her desk like I owned the place.

A kind woman holding a baby | Source: Pexels

Lila started wailing again just as I turned the corner into the conference room. There he was. Mason. Sitting at a long glass table with four coworkers, laughing about something on a spreadsheet like he didn’t have a wife slowly unraveling at home.

He looked up. His face went white.

“Babe—what are you doing here?” he said, standing up fast.

I walked straight in and laid the two snapped broom pieces gently on the table in front of him.

A shocked man | Source: Pexels

“Honey,” I said, shifting Lila on my hip, “I tried using the broom like your mom did with her five kids. But it broke. Again.”

The room went silent. Someone coughed. One guy just stared at his laptop like it was suddenly the most interesting thing he’d ever seen.

I looked around the room and kept going.

A woman cuddling a sleeping baby | Source: Pexels

“So,” I said calmly, “should I keep sweeping the carpet with my hands while holding your daughter? Or are you going to buy a new vacuum?”

Mason looked like he might actually faint. His eyes darted between me, the broom, and his coworkers. His jaw opened and closed like he couldn’t decide which disaster to address first.

“Can we talk outside?” he said, his voice sharp and low, already standing.

“Of course,” I said with a smile.

A tired man looking at the camera | Source: Pexels

He yanked the door closed behind us hard enough that the glass shook.

“What the hell was that?” he hissed. His face was bright red now, all his calm corporate charm gone.

“That was me being resourceful,” I said. “Like your mom.”

“You embarrassed me!” he snapped, glancing over his shoulder toward the conference room. “That was a client pitch. My boss was in there.”

An angry businessman | Source: Pexels

“Oh, sorry,” I said, cocking my head. “I thought you said this was all part of the job. Housewife stuff. What’s the issue? I’m just doing what you said.”

He ran a hand over his face, frustrated. “I get it, okay? I messed up. I’ll get the vacuum today.”

“No need,” I said. “I already ordered one. With your card.”

I turned and walked out, Lila still crying, broom handle still under my arm.

A baby crying in their mother’s arms | Source: Pexels

Mason got home that night quieter than usual. He didn’t toss his shoes in the hallway. Didn’t drop his keys on the counter like usual. Didn’t even glance at the Xbox.

I was on the couch feeding Lila. The living room was dim except for the glow from a floor lamp and the soft hum of the white noise machine in the corner. He sat down across from me, hands folded like he was waiting to be called into the principal’s office.

A serious man sitting down | Source: Pexels

“I talked to HR today,” he said.

I looked up slowly. “HR?”

He nodded, staring at the carpet like it had answers. “Yeah. About our… situation. I said we were going through an adjustment. Stress at home. Lack of sleep. You know.”

I blinked at him. “You mean, you told your job your wife embarrassed you because she’s tired and doesn’t have a vacuum?”

A woman talking to an annoyed man | Source: Pexels

He rubbed his neck. “That’s not what I said. I just… I didn’t mean to be dismissive, okay? I’ve got a lot going on too.”

I let a beat pass. Lila made a soft grunt in her sleep.

I didn’t yell. Didn’t even raise my voice. I just looked at him and said, calm as ever, “Mason, you’re either a husband and a father, or you’re a roommate with a guilt complex. You decide.”

A woman talking to her husband | Source: Pexels

He opened his mouth like he might argue. Then he closed it. Just nodded slowly, lips pressed together like he was swallowing something bitter.

The next morning, the yacht trip got canceled. He said the guys were “rescheduling,” but I didn’t ask questions. Pretty sure “the guys” didn’t even know it was happening.

A man talking on his phone | Source: Pexels

That week, he vacuumed every rug in the house—twice. He looked like he was fighting a war with the dust bunnies. Didn’t say a word about it.

He changed three diapers without being asked. Took the 3 a.m. bottle shift two nights in a row, even when Lila screamed in his face like she knew he was new at it. He paced the hallway with her until she passed out on his shoulder.