Plot
Annelle Dupuy (Daryl Hannah), a recent beauty school graduate, is hired by Truvy Jones (Dolly Parton) to work in her home-based beauty salon. M'Lynn Eatenton (Sally Field), a good friend of Truvy's, and her daughter, Shelby (Julia Roberts), arrive at Truvy's to prepare for Shelby's wedding, which is taking place later that day. Also arriving at the salon are Ouiser (pronounced "Weezer" or "Weeza") Boudreaux (Shirley MacLaine), a grouchy, two-time widow, and Clairee Belcher (Olympia Dukakis), also a widow, who is cheerful and enjoys taking cracks at Ouiser whenever possible. During an argument with her mother over whether or not she should bear a child, Shelby, who has type one diabetes, falls into a state of hypoglycemia, but she recovers quickly with some orange juice provided by her mother and the other women in the salon.
Several months pass, and Shelby announces to her family that she and her husband Jackson (Dylan McDermott) are expecting their first child. Although the majority of her family is thrilled, M'Lynn is worried that Shelby's body cannot handle the stress of childbirth. Shelby successfully delivers a baby boy, Jackson Jr. However, several months later Shelby begins showing signs of kidney failure and starts dialysis. M'Lynn offers to donate a kidney to her daughter and the transplant takes place the day after Jackson Jr's first birthday.
Three to four months following the transplant, Shelby's body rejects the kidney and she collapses into a coma. The doctors inform the family that Shelby will likely remain comatose indefinitely, and her family and husband jointly decide to remove Shelby from life support. At the funeral, after the other mourners have left, M'Lynn breaks down in hysterics in front of Clairee, Truvy, Annelle and Ouiser, but the other women are able to give support to M'Lynn through humor and love.
Later, at the wake, M'Lynn begins to accept her daughter's death and focuses her energy on helping Jackson raise his son/her grandson. Annelle, who is now married and pregnant, asks M'Lynn if she could name her own baby after Shelby. Months later, on Easter morning, Annelle goes into labor during an Easter egg hunt and is rushed to the hospital and another life begins.
Read more about this topic: Steel Magnolias
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