Shirley MacLaine reveals why she and Jack Nicholson never made a love connection
Shirley MacLaine exposes her life in a new book full of photos and memories from her seventy-year career.
The actress and author, 90, who opened up about her ‘scary’ interaction with former President Donald Trump in her latest book, The Wall Of Life: Pictures And Stories From This Marvelous Lifetime, has also revealed a more pleasant interaction with one of the famous men she met along the way.
The actress, who shared an open marriage with the late film producer Steve Parker for 28 years, enjoyed many loves throughout her long life.
She claims to have had romantic liaisons with all but two of her leading men – Jack Nicholson, 87, and the late Jack Lemmon, according to People.
MacLaine and Nicholson both won Oscars for their performances in the 1983 drama Terms of Endearment.
Shirley MacLaine, 90, has opened up about many of the loves in her life in a new book (pictured in Los Angeles in October 2023)
In the film, MacLaine plays the hard-to-please mother of a young woman who is divorced from her cheating husband and later diagnosed with terminal cancer.
Nicholson played the role of MacLaine’s playboy, former astronaut neighbor with whom she has an affair.
The two had great chemistry on screen, but that was it, according to the actress.
“He made me laugh all the time. He was one of my favorite people.’ the leading lady said of her friend.
“I don’t think he would have been my type to have an affair with anyway.” I would laugh too much.’
As for Lemmon, with whom she starred in 1960’s The Apartment and 1963’s Irma la Douce, she said the versatile star “was like a sister to me.” He was a sweet guy.”
The star met Robert Mitchum, with whom she worked on two films, 1962’s Two for the Seesaw and 1964’s What a Way to Go.
“He was just extremely intelligent — hidden, but he was very, very intelligent,” she explained, adding, “He didn’t have much of a sense of humor.”
MacLaine said that while she and Jack Nicholson shared on-screen chemistry in Terms of Endearment, they didn’t get together behind the scenes. ”I don’t think he would have been my type to have an affair with anyway. “I would laugh too much,” she said
MacLaine and Nicholson both won Oscars for their performances in the 1983 drama (pictured in Los Angeles in 1984)
The actress claims to have had romantic liaisons with all of her leading men, except Nicholson and the late Jack Lemmon, with whom she starred in two films, including 1960’s The Apartment. She said Lemmon “was like a sister to me. He was a sweet guy’
The star met Robert Mitchum, with whom she worked on two films, 1962’s Two for the Seesaw (seen here) and 1964’s What a Way to Go. “He was just extremely intelligent,” but “didn’t have much of a sense of humor ‘
MacLaine said she was a mentor of sorts to Nicolas Cage in 1994’s Guarding Tess. “Oh, I love Nicolas. I love Nicolas,” she said. “He listened to my advice about becoming a star. Yes, I liked him a lot, but he wasn’t attracted to me’
The Wall of Life will be available in bookstores on October 22
The versatile actress starred in 1994’s Guarding Tess with Nicolas Cage, 60, playing a Secret Service agent assigned to care for MacLaine’s tempestuous former First Lady, but the actress said there was no May-December romance between them.
‘Oh, I love Nicolas. I love Nicolas,” she told the outlet.
“He listened to my advice about becoming a star. Yes, I really liked him, but he wasn’t attracted to me.’
The Wall of Life will be available in bookstores on October 22.