The Best Year Of Her Lives

COVER STORY

Shirley MacLaine, at 50, is still a rising star

It gets applause, even gasps, night after night. It is a simple chorus-girl kick, the torso tilting back for balance, the long, long left leg surging straight up above the head. But it is also an emblem—of a career that has gone everywhere, yet still draws its inspiration and discipline from dance, of a body that at mid-century is still supple and streamlined and surefooted. It is a kick of jubilation, of pride, perhaps of defiance. And of beauty.

Last year, on her 49th birthday, Shirley MacLaine...