She will be the 40th recipient of the award.
"Shirley MacLaine is a powerhouse of personality that has illuminated screens large and small across six decades," Howard Stringer, chair of the AFI's board of trustees, said in announcing her selection. "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."
An Oscar winner in 1984 as best actress for her performance in Terms of Endearment, MacLaine made her film debut in Alfred Hitchcock's "The Trouble With Harry" in 1955. During the course of her career, she has earned six Academy Award nominations, six Emmy noms and seven Golden Globe Awards. She most recently appeared in the ensemble comedy "Valentine's Day" as well as the Lifetime movie "Coco Chanel," for which she was nominated for both Globe and SAG Awards.
A prolific author, she most recently published the book "I'm Over All That – And Other Confessions" in April. Her latest film, "Bernie," in which she stars with Matthew McConaughey and Jack Black, had its world premiere at the Los Angeles Film Festival in June.
MacLaine's brother Warren Beatty received the AFI Life Achievement Award in 2008. They become the second family in the history of the award to boast multiple honorees, following Kirk Douglas and his son Michael, who were honored in 1991 and 2009 respectively.
The awards ceremony will be broadcast by TV Land on a date in June to be announced.
– The Hollywood Reporter
