Norma Shearer

Norma Shearer
Shearer in Riptide (1934)
Born
Edith Norma Shearer

(1902-08-11)August 11, 1902
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
DiedJune 12, 1983(1983-06-12) (aged 80)
Los Angeles, California, US
Resting placeForest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale
Citizenship
  • Canada
  • United States[1]
OccupationActress
Years active1919–1942
Political partyRepublican
Spouses
  • ​
    ​
    (m. 1927; died 1936)​
  • Martin Arrougé
    ​
    (m. 1942)​
Children2, including Irving Thalberg Jr.
FatherAndrew Shearer
Relatives

Edith Norma Shearer (August 11, 1902 – June 12, 1983)[2][3] was a Canadian-American actress who was active on film from 1919 through 1942.[4] Shearer often played spunky, sexually liberated women.[5] She appeared in adaptations of Noël Coward, Eugene O'Neill, and William Shakespeare,[6] and was the first five-time Academy Award acting nominee, winning Best Actress for The Divorcee (1930).[7]

Reviewing Shearer's work, Mick LaSalle called her a feminist pioneer, or "the exemplar of sophisticated modern womanhood and ... the first American film actress to make it chic and acceptable to be single and not a virgin on screen".[8]

  1. ^ Donnelley, Paul (2005). Fade to Black: A Book of Movie Obituaries (3 ed.). Omnibus Press. p. 848. ISBN 1-84449-430-6.
  2. ^ "Norma Shearer: 1902 Birth certificate (Montreal, Quebec, Canada)". Archived from the original on May 21, 2017. Retrieved May 21, 2017 – via CineArtistes.com. Edith Norma Shearer, daughter of Andrew Shearer and Edith May Fisher his wife was born on the eleventh day of August nineteen hundred two, and was baptized on the thirty-first day of May, nineteen hundred three
  3. ^ Some sources give August 10. It is August 11 per the birth certificate, as well as "Norma Shearer". The Canadian Encyclopedia (Historica Canada). Retrieved August 5, 2016. It is "c. August 11" per "Norma Shearer Biography: Film Actress (c. 1902–1983)". Biography.com (FYI / A&E Networks). Archived from the original on March 23, 2018. Retrieved August 5, 2016.
  4. ^ Shipman, David. The Great Movie Stars: The Golden Years. Crown Publishers, 1970. p. 487-492
  5. ^ Shen, Ann (2016). Bad Girls Throughout History: 100 Remarkable Women Who Changed the World. Chronicle Books. p. 117. ISBN 978-1-4521-5702-3.
  6. ^ Morris, Gary (April 1, 1996). "Queen Norma – Shearer, That Is". Bright Lights Film Journal. Retrieved January 9, 2018.
  7. ^ Soares, Andre (November 11, 2015). "Norma Shearer: 'Queen of MGM' & 'Liberated Woman'". Alt Film Guide. Retrieved January 9, 2018.
  8. ^ LaSalle 2000, p. 6.