Screen legend Shirley MacLaine on the joys of living on her own in New Mexico.
THE LEGEND RECONNECTS WITH LOVED ONES — AND NATURE — ON HER NEW MEXICO RANCH
“I’m here reading and learning how all this started. I’m a survivor!” — Shirley
While many of us are going stir-crazy at home, Shirley MacLaine is making the most of this time on her ranch in Abiquiú, N.M. “Couldn’t be happier,” Shirley says. “I love nature. I’m watching mountains. Animals. Isolated here, you find your spiritual meaning.”
Then again, Shirley has always been a loner — her only marriage, to Steve Parker, ended in divorce in 1982. The break has given the actress time to reconnect with their daughter, Sachi Parker, 63, whose 2013 memoir portrayed Shirley as an absentee mom. “She was hurt by the book, but realizes now how her behavior hurt Sachi,” says an insider. Though the relationship is still strained, her grandkids “want the family to be healed once and for all. She’s making progress with Sachi, and they are all staying in touch.”
TERMS OF ENGAGEMENT
Although Shirley says she’s enjoying the way “isolation accentuates how to be without other people,” she’s not hibernating. “I grocery shop. Go to the pharmacy,” she reveals. She also keeps in touch with her brother, Warren Beatty, and his wife, Annette Bening. “Warren adores and looks up to his sister, as does Annette — it’s a warm, loving relationship,” the insider says. “Shirley loves their four kids, and the love is returned.”
Shirley, who turned 86 on April 24, says she’s also getting calls from friends that include Rita Moreno, Gene Hackman, Sean Connery and Barbra Streisand, who shares her birthday. And when life goes back to normal, she’s looking forward to new adventures. “I miss visiting New York,” Shirley says. “Last July, I saw 18 shows there. It was fantastic!”
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