Norma Shearer
| Norma Shearer | |
|---|---|
Publicity photo, circa 1930.
|
|
| Born |
Edith Norma Shearer August 11, 1902 Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
| Died | June 12, 1983 (aged 80) Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, U.S, |
| Cause of death | Bronchial pneumonia |
| Resting place | Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale |
| Citizenship | Canadian American |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1919–1942 |
| Spouse(s) |
Irving Thalberg (m. 1927; d. 1936) Martin Arrougé (m. 1942–83) |
| Children |
Irving Jr. (1930–1987) Katherine (1935–2006) |
| Relatives |
Athole Shearer (sister) Douglas Shearer (brother) |
Edith Norma Shearer (August 11, 1902 – June 12, 1983) was a Canadian-American actress and Hollywood star from 1925 through 1942. Her early films cast her as a spunky ingenue, but in the pre-Code film era, she played sexually liberated women. She excelled in drama, comedy, and period roles. She gave well-received performances in adaptations of Noël Coward, Eugene O'Neill, and William Shakespeare. She was the first person to be nominated five times for an Academy Award for acting, winning Best Actress for her performance in the 1930 film The Divorcee.
Shearer's fame declined after her early retirement in 1942. She was rediscovered in the late 1950s, when her films were sold to television, and in the 1970s, when her films enjoyed theatrical revivals. By the time of her death in 1983, she was best known for her "noble" roles in Marie Antoinette and The Women.
A Shearer revival began in 1988, when Turner Network Television began broadcasting the entire Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film library. In 1994, Turner Classic Movies began showcasing her films, most of which had not been seen since the reconstitution of the Production Code in 1934. Shearer's work was seen anew, and the critical focus shifted from her "noble" roles to her pre-Code roles.
Shearer's work was formally reappraised in the 1990s through a number of high-profile books. The first was a major biography by Gavin Lambert. Next came the groundbreaking study Complicated Women, by Mick LaSalle, film critic at the San Francisco Chronicle. Then came three books by photographer Mark A. Vieira: a revisionist biography of Shearer's husband, producer Irving Thalberg; and two biographies of Hollywood glamour photographer George Hurrell. Shearer was praised not only for the control she exercised over her work, but also for her patronage of Hurrell, of M-G-M designer Adrian, and for discovering actress Janet Leigh, and actor-producer Robert Evans.
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