Well, success does not mean doing well.

Taken at face value, MacLaine’s line draws a sharp distinction between outward “success” (status, money, acclaim, winning) and “doing well” in a deeper sense (acting ethically, living meaningfully, being psychologically or spiritually well). The phrasing suggests a critique of cultural metrics that reward visibility and achievement even when they don’t correlate with personal integrity or genuine flourishing. In MacLaine’s public persona—often associated with candid reflections on fame, independence, and self-definition—the remark reads as a warning that professional triumph can coexist with inner dissatisfaction, or even moral compromise, and that the two should not be conflated.