Shirley MacLaine will receive the American Film Institute's Life Achievement Award next year.
The 77-year-old actress - who won an Oscar for her leading role in 1983's 'Terms of Endearment' - will be the 40th recipient of the accolade at a gala ceremony in June 2012, and Howard Stringer, chair of the Board of Trustees at the AFI, highlighted her career of making people laugh and cry.
He said: "Shirley MacLaine is a powerhouse of personality that has illuminated screens large and small across six decades.
"From ingenue to screen legend, Shirley has entertained a global audience through song, dance, laughter and tears, and her career as a writer, director and producer is even further evidence of her passion for the art form and her seemingly boundless talents."
Shirley, who is also known for her roles in 'The Apartment' in 1960 and 1979's 'Being There', wins the award just four years after her brother Warren Beatty picked it up in 2008.
Morgan Freeman won the prize this year at the age of 74, but Tom Hanks remains the youngest recipient of the Life Achievement Award - given to those who have advanced the art of film - winning in 2002 at the age of 45.