Oscar-Winning Screen Legend, 92, Makes Rare Public Appearance
The film icon shared a sweet message for her fans.
Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images
Oscar-winning screen legend Shirley MacLaine made a rare video appearance.
On August 17, the Southampton Playhouse posted a video from the beloved 92-year-old actress on Instagram. The Southampton, New York, movie theater shared the short-and-sweet message to fans ahead of its screening of her 1969 cult-classic musical comedy, Sweet Charity.
Paula Kelly, Shirley MacLaine, and Chita Rivera in the 1969 comedy “Sweet Charity.”
IMDb/Universal Pictures
In the video, the Terms of Endearment star—who has won an Academy Award, Golden Globe Award, and Emmy Award—sat in front of a bed wearing a light-blue long-sleeved shirt with a red vest, topped off with round black-framed glasses.
“Hi, Southampton Playhouse. Wish I could be with you. I would like to see Sweet Charity again,” MacLaine started her message.
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Shirley MacLaine sent a video message to her fans on August 17, 2026.
Instagram/Southampton Playhouse
“Now while you’re watching it, remember how hard we worked,” she continued, joking, “and between you and me, it didn’t do very well.”
Sweet Charity was not a success at the box office, but it showcased MacLaine’s incredible skills as a dancer in iconic dance numbers by Bob Fosse, who directed and choreographed the screen adaptation of the 1966 Broadway musical.
“I hope you guys like it. Much love,” MacLaine said before blowing a kiss to the camera.
Fans were thrilled to see her on video, calling her a “living legend,” an “icon,” and “a queen.”
“The greatest legs in showbiz!” one commenter quipped.
Shirley MacLaine and Gene Kelly in the 1964 comedy “What a Way to Go!”
IMDb/20th Century-Fox
“Bravo to Shirley MacLaine! One of the last of the great stars from the 1950s,” another added. “I have loved her many great films and characters.”
MacLaine was last seen on December 3, 2025, when she attended the first-ever Dance Hall of Fame ceremony in Los Angeles, California.
Shirley MacLaine on stage at the 40th American Film Institute gala, where she received the Life Achievement Award in 2012.
Fred Prouser/Reuters
At the gala, she received the Dance Hall of Fame Shirley MacLaine Lifetime Achievement Award, named after her.
Before she was a movie star, making her debut in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1955 hit The Trouble with Harry, MacLaine made a career as a dancer on Broadway.
Jack Nicholson and Shirley MacLaine with their 1984 Oscar statuettes, which they both won for the film “Terms of Endearment,“ at the 56th Academy Awards, in Los Angeles.
Fotos International/Getty Images
During her film stardom, she danced in multiple movies, including the 1960 film Can-Can, in which she starred opposite Frank Sinatra. The two became longtime friends until Sinatra died of a heart attack in 1998 at 82.
MacLaine is also a mother to actress Sachi Parker, 69, whom she welcomed with her ex-husband, late film producer Steve Parker.
Shirley MacLaine and Dame Elizabeth Taylor in Beverly Hills in 2005.
Mario Anzuoni/Reuters
In her acceptance speech, MacLaine said she danced every day from age 3 until her sixties.
“Getting an award for dancing is the most important acknowledgment I could have. I mean that,” she said.
“My mother took me to dancing class when I was three because I had weak ankles and I fell in love with it,” MacLaine said. “But here’s what it also included: discipline, love of music, a sense of cooperation with other people, being on time.”
Shirley MacLaine on stage accepting the Dance Hall of Fame Lifetime Achievement Award in Culver City, California, on December 03, 2025.
Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Dance Hall of Fame
MacLaine thanked her lifelong hobby for her health.
“I would have to say that dance, what I’ve learned being part of it, is why I’m still here,” she said. “With everything I’ve done, I have to say the dancing is the most important.”
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