To this day, Ronald Reagan remains one of the most revered Americans of all time, with presidential candidates often trying to emulate his strong, conservative stances.

But according to veteran actress Shirley MacLaine, "the Gipper" never would have given up his acting career in Hollywood and run for political office if he did not have an encounter with an extraterrestrial being.

In a profile of the 78-year-old actress, the British newspaper the Mirror discussed the subject of UFOs with MacLaine, the sister of actor Warren Beatty, and that's when President Reagan came up.

According to MacLaine, Reagan confided in actress and comedienne Lucille Ball that he had a close encounter of the very direct kind in Los Angeles back in the 1950s.

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"Lucille told Shirley he'd been on the way to a party with wife Nancy when a UFO landed and an alien emerged telling Ron to quit acting and take up politics," the Mirror reports.

And Reagan allegedly wasn't alone in his dealings with those from another world.

The paper also says Shirley believes President Dwight Eisenhower had three secret meetings with extraterrestrials at an Air Force base in New Mexico in 1954.

MacLaine, a native of Richmond, Va., is reportedly looking to share her knowledge with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, explaining: "It's very important she knows who else is out there looking at her!"

Shirley herself claims to have seen numerous UFOs from the front porch of her New Mexico home.

"One famous day, a friend of mine was sitting in my hot tub out there, and three UFOs came over and hovered for about 10 minutes," she's quoted as saying.

"They are definitely there – the only question is 'why?'"

The Mirror says Shirley believes she has personally loved many people on other planets and in other lifetimes, as she has written books about mysticism, spirituality, aliens and UFOs.

But she apparently has difficulty talking to her brother Warren about unidentified flying objects.

"Politics – yes. UFOs – no," she said. "He changes the subject."

Being a firm believer in reincarnation, MacLaine does not attend funerals, even for close friends.

"Nobody's dead, so why am I going to a funeral?" she said.

"I believe you go to another level of understanding until you decide to come back to the schoolroom again – Earth. I don't fear dying. I want to see if I'm proved right. Am I basically correct – or wacky?"

MacLaine has been ridiculed for years over her beliefs, but says, "I never had the urge to please anybody. I'm used to people thinking I'm wacky, so I don't take myself seriously."