Cloris Leachman is celebrating a milestone birthday. The legendary TV and movie actress turns 90 years old on April 30, and she is still as busy as ever.
According to Deadline , Leachman has just signed on to the cast of the 10-episode Starz fantasy drama American Gods . In addition, Cloris will team up with fellow iconic television legends Ed Asner and Florence Henderson for Feeln’s new original series The Eleventh . And the actress has several other projects lined up through 2017, including the Lifetime comedy series Friends With Government Benefits with co-star George Takei. Now that’s reason to celebrate.
At 90 years young, Cloris has plenty of life experience under her belt. So, what is the secret to Cloris Leachman’s success both on and off screen? It sounds like a combination of a healthy lifestyle and a positive attitude.
In an interview last year with Parade , Cloris talked about her vegan lifestyle and her no-stress way of thinking. A PETA darling who once posed in a gown made entirely of cabbage leaves, Leachman revealed that she has been a vegetarian since she was 35 years old after a bad bout with asthma that had her unable to breathe or sleep.
“My mother-in-law gave me a glass of fresh squeezed orange juice and told me to stay on that the rest of the day—nothing else,” Leachman revealed. “The next day, I drank grapefruit juice. I alternated juices until the fourth day, and suddenly, my asthma was gone. I decided I wouldn’t eat meat anymore, not even for a million dollars. I felt cleansed and incredible, like the inflammation in my body had been reduced. It was life-changing.”
11 things you might not know about @Cloris_Leachman , who turns 90 tomorrow! https://t.co/0YgQn6L2dN pic.twitter.com/pPcWfLjGXC
— MeTV (@MeTV) April 29, 2016
As for fitness, Leachman said that she danced as a child, but now she works with a trainer to do Egoscue posture-corrective exercises.
“ It feels like it’s ‘half yoga’ to me, and it seems to help everything that hurts,” Cloris said. “I love doing it.”
Happy 90th Birthday Cloris Leachman! Celebrate With our Favorite Quotes https://t.co/8DGlqJMP0R pic.twitter.com/F7njcqzYzG
— Parade Mag (@ParadeMagazine) April 29, 2016
Cloris also dished that she doesn’t allow herself to stress “at all.” The actress reasons that no one’s entire 24-hour day can be entirely bad, so she finds that she is able to separate the good moments from the bad moments.
“Something bad might happen but that can’t make the entire day bad,” Leachman said. “I think you just handle stress like you handle business. I also think my emotional make-up comes from my earliest experiences because I was so happy living in the country on lots of land. ”
Happy birthday Cloris Leachman! #TCMParty pic.twitter.com/sQBwp6Mdn4
— Elise (@TeamRickandIlsa) April 30, 2016
A former Miss Chicago (in the 1946 Miss America Pageant), eight years ago Cloris Leachman was the oldest star ever to compete on Dancing With the Stars at the age of 82. Cloris is also an eight-time Emmy Award winner, best known for her roles on ’70s sitcoms The Mary Tyler Moore Show and its spinoff, Phyllis . And at the 44 th Academy Awards in 1972, Leachman won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the movie The Last Picture Show .
And at 90 years old, more awards could be coming Cloris Leachman’s way because her acting resume is still growing. While she has said that she doesn’t actively look for scripts anymore and the work just comes to her, Cloris shows no signs of retiring anytime soon and fans couldn’t be happier about it.
Cloris Leachman’s new series, The Eleventh, premieres Thursday, May 5 on Feeln.com. Take a look at the trailer below to see Cloris Leachman’s new show.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmUMGolAdy8
[Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for EJAF]