{"id":9825,"date":"2025-11-07T08:45:34","date_gmt":"2025-11-07T08:45:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/?p=9825"},"modified":"2025-11-07T08:45:34","modified_gmt":"2025-11-07T08:45:34","slug":"the-most-important-thing-is-to-be-kind-meet-shirley-maclaine-audrey-hepburns-co-star-who-dared-a-taboo-1961-lesbian-role-that-nearly-destroyed-her-career","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/?p=9825","title":{"rendered":"\u201cThe most important thing is to be kind\u201d Meet Shirley MacLaine, Audrey Hepburn\u2019s co-star, who dared a taboo 1961 lesbian role that nearly destroyed her career"},"content":{"rendered":"

Shirley MacLaine, Audrey Hepburn’s co-star in the controversial 1961 film <\/span>The Children’s Hour<\/span><\/i><\/b> , was a rare cinematic icon with a seven-decade career, known for her daring roles, profound spiritual exploration, and admirable resilience.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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\ud83c\udfad Bold Taboo Roles: Touching on Homosexuality<\/span><\/h3>\n

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MacLaine’s early career was defined by her willingness to take on complex and unusual characters. Her most groundbreaking role was in the 1961 drama <\/span>The Children’s Hour<\/span><\/i><\/b> , opposite Audrey Hepburn.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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  • Taboo-Breaking Role:<\/span><\/b> MacLaine plays <\/span>Martha Dobie<\/span><\/b> , a co-owner of a private girls’ school whose life is ruined when a malicious female student accuses her and Hepburn’s character (Karen Wright) of having a lesbian relationship.<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
  • Historical Context:<\/span><\/b> The film, directed by renowned director William Wyler, is a remake of Lillian Hellman’s 1934 play. The original 1936 film was forced by the Hays Code to completely cut out homosexuality. The 1961 version, released as the Hays Code was loosening its grip, dared to revisit the original theme, making it a pioneering, albeit tragic, work of queer cinema. MacLaine’s powerful performance as Martha confronting her feelings in a deeply repressive era remains part of her defining legacy.<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    This initial bravery was followed by other critically acclaimed roles:<\/span><\/p>\n

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    • Fran Kubelik<\/span><\/b> in Billy Wilder’s 1960 Oscar-winning comedy-drama, <\/span>The Apartment<\/span><\/i><\/b> , earned her a Best Actress nomination.<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
    • Irma la Douce<\/span><\/b> in the 1963 film of the same name (also directed by Billy Wilder), where she played a Parisian prostitute, received another Oscar nomination.<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
    • She eventually won the <\/span>Academy Award for Best Actress<\/span><\/b> for her portrayal of the stubborn, complicated mother <\/span>Aurora Greenway<\/span><\/b> in the 1983 classic, <\/span>Terms of Endearment<\/span><\/i><\/b> .<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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      \u2728 Spiritual Journey: The Author and the Seeker<\/span><\/h3>\n

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      Along with her blossoming acting career, MacLaine embarked on a public spiritual journey that further cemented her unique status in Hollywood. Beginning in the 1970s, she became a bestselling author, penning more than a dozen autobiographical works detailing her fascination with metaphysics, reincarnation, and cosmic interconnectedness.<\/span><\/p>\n

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      • Notable Works:<\/span><\/b> Her 1983 memoir, <\/span>Out on a Limb<\/span><\/i><\/b> , became a huge success and was adapted into a 1987 television miniseries, bringing New Age concepts like channeling, past lives, and self-discovery into popular conversation.<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
      • Personal Beliefs:<\/span><\/b> MacLaine openly shares her belief in reincarnation, claiming to have lived as an Egyptian princess and a Moorish peasant girl on the Camino de Santiago (documented in her 2000 book, <\/span>The Camino<\/span><\/i><\/b> ). Her outspokenness on these topics has made her an icon of the New Age movement and has often sparked considerable public debate, demonstrating her unwavering commitment to living an authentic life despite Hollywood conventions.<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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        \ud83e\uddd8\u200d\u2640\ufe0f The Secret to Longevity: Discipline and Attitude<\/span><\/h3>\n

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        With a career spanning more than 70 years (beginning with Alfred Hitchcock’s 1955 film debut, <\/span>The Trouble with Harry<\/span><\/i><\/b> ), MacLaine’s enduring presence and energy are widely admired.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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        • Discipline From Dance:<\/span><\/b> She often credits her rigorous ballet training since the age of three for instilling discipline and a strong work ethic.<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
        • Attitude Is a Choice:<\/span><\/b> In addition to physical discipline, MacLaine points to attitude as the key to longevity. She famously claims to live a <\/span>“perfect life,”<\/span><\/b> cherishes solitude on her New Mexico ranch, and believes that <\/span>“anger is a choice, peace is a choice.”<\/span><\/b> She maintains a simple philosophy: <\/span>“I eat what I want, I sleep when I want,”<\/span><\/b> advocates a life of unhurried living, and prioritizes personal satisfaction and connection with nature.<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

          From challenging social norms in cinema to challenging the nature of reality in her books, Shirley MacLaine’s life is a testament to the power of personal and artistic courage.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

          Shirley MacLaine, Audrey Hepburn’s co-star in the controversial 1961 film The Children’s Hour , was a rare cinematic icon with a seven-decade career, known for her daring roles, profound spiritual exploration, and admirable resilience.   \ud83c\udfad Bold Taboo Roles: Touching on Homosexuality   MacLaine’s early career was defined by her willingness to take on complex…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9825","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9825","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9825"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9825\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9825"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9825"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cnews.topnewsource.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9825"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}