Norma Shearer (1902–83,) born Edith Norma Shearer, was a Canadian-American motion picture actress known for her pioneering roles in Hollywood’s Golden Age, celebrated for her glamour, charm, sophistication, and versatility. Dubbed the “First Lady of the Screen” due to her marriage to MGM producer Irving G. Thalberg, she became one of the era’s most iconic stars.
Born in Montreal, Quebec, she overcame early skepticism about her appearance to achieve stardom. She débuted in film in 1919, quickly rising to prominence, signing with MGM in the 1920s.
Shearer became known for portraying strong, independent women, often in adaptations of works by Noël Coward, Eugene O’Neill, and William Shakespeare. The first actress to receive five Academy Award nominations, she won Best Actress for The Divorcee (1930,) a film that challenged traditional gender roles. Other notable films include Marie Antoinette (1938,) The Women (1939,) and Romeo and Juliet (1936.)
Biographies include Gavin Lambert’s Norma Shearer: A Life (1990) and Mick LaSalle’s Complicated Women: Sex and Power in Pre-Code Hollywood (2001.)
More: Wikipedia • READ: Works by Norma Shearer
An actress must never lose her ego—without it she has no talent.
—Norma Shearer
Topics: Actors, Acting, Talent, Ego
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