Shirley MacLaine, 85, Is Basically Living Her Best Life By Doing Pretty Much Whatever She Wants

Get ready to be jealous, because Shirley MacLaine is basically having the time of her life. How? By doing pretty much whatever she wants. The beloved actress recently shared some of the best advice we’ve heard in a long time about how to approach life.

“I have what I consider just a perfect life,” the Oscar winner (who has been nominated for six total Academy Awards), 85, explained to People. “I eat what I want, I sleep when I want.”

Though she still has a steady stream of work in L.A., Shirley spends part of the year at her ranch in Abiquiu, New Mexico.

“I have someone who comes in a couple of times a week, but otherwise I’m totally alone,” the Terms of Endearment star, who has also written 10 bestselling books, revealed. “I sometimes go to Santa Fe, which is one of the artistic and restaurant and new age capitals in the country.”

When it comes to her secret to finding happiness, she said it’s as easy as trying “not to keep busy” and to “give it up and learn to amalgamate with nature.” Shirley — whose iconic movie Steel Magnolias turns 30 later this year — said she has “everything I need to be happy” around her these days.

As for whether or not retirement is in her future, she is quick to throw that idea right out the window.

“I don’t want to quit acting — I really don’t,” Shirley noted in another People story. “Even at my age, I have four pictures to do next year. I think [some] costars are surprised I’m still walking upright.”

Plus, she thinks staying professionally active keeps her “bright.” Each project, she explained, teaches her something new.

“I look back at the wonderful parts I’ve had the honor to play, and I’m thinking about the future, and I want to be a spokesperson for older women — probably because I’m one,” The Trouble With Harry star said.