Lucky Me

Sachi Parker opens up about her unconventional childhood and shares stories from her past as the only child of famed actress Shirley MacLaine. Shirley MacLaine has graced Hollywood with her talent for decades. Yet, as Sachi Parker can attest, being the daughter of a movie star was far from picture-perfect. In Lucky Me, the only child of the Academy Award–winning actress opens up about her unique experiences of growing up with a mother who believed in reincarnation and extraterrestrials—but not necessarily parenthood. Lucky Me is not only Sachi’s personal story but also a compelling snapshot of America in the second half of the twentieth century, from the Rat Pack world of the ‘60s through the free-love ‘70s to the new-age self-absorption of the present. It offers a compelling insight into the politics of Hollywood, where the fight for the spotlight never ends and your fiercest rivals are closer than you think. There are Sachi’s warm and admiring remembrances of legendary actors—Jack Nicholson, Jack Lemmon, Robert Mitchum, her uncle Warren Beatty—as well as acid-sharp portraits of the schemers and buffoons who roam the hills of La-La Land. Ultimately Lucky Me is a bittersweet love letter to a mother who is at once a universally beloved and larger-than-life figure and yet always seems beyond reach.