Norma Shearer
One of the biggest film stars of the 1930s, Norma Shearer was married to producer Irving Thalberg and won an Academy Award for her role in ‘The Divorcee.’
Synopsis
Actress Norma Shearer was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, on August 11, 1902 (some sources state that she was born in 1900; others state 1904). Shearer married MGM's studio chief, Irving Thalberg, in 1927. The marriage, combined with her hard work, helped her become a star in the 1930s. She received six Academy Award nominations, winning for her role in The Divorcee. Shearer died in Woodland Hills, California, on June 12, 1983.
Early Life
Edith Norma Shearer was born into a wealthy family in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, on August 11, 1902 (some sources state that she was born in 1900; others have stated 1904; we are going by her baptismal record). After the family lost its money during World War I, Shearer's mother decided that her pretty daughter becoming a star was the answer to their financial woes. Shearer, her mother and her sister proceeded to move to New York City.
Shearer was not immediately successful in New York. Florenz Ziegfeld turned her down when she auditioned for his Follies, saying, "You are not tall enough for a showgirl, and you cannot dance." Shearer was also criticized for having thick legs and slightly misaligned eyes. Despite these setbacks, she persevered until she was cast in a few small film roles. Future MGM head of production Irving G. Thalberg noticed Shearer's performance in The Stealers and signed her to a studio contract in 1923.
Career Success and Marriage
Shearer appeared in a few silent movies, but her time in Hollywood coincided with the transition from silent films to sound. She took the lead in MGM's second "talkie" in 1929. Its success bolstered her career, as did her 1927 marriage to studio chief Thalberg. He may have helped her obtain the lead in The Divorcee, the film that earned Shearer her sole Academy Award (she was nominated for six Oscars during her career).
However, Shearer did not rely solely on Thalberg's influence. Even as she became more popular, she worked hard to prepare for her roles. Shearer appeared in many films with stage and literary connections, including Noel Coward's Private Lives (1931), as Elizabeth Barrett Browning in The Barretts of Wimpole Street (1934) and as Juliet in Romeo and Juliet (1936).
Widowhood
In 1936, Thalberg passed away. His death was not a surprise, as he had been born with a weak heart, but it was still a blow for Shearer. After taking a break from acting for 18 months—and despite the several million dollars that Thalberg had left her and their two children—Shearer went on to sign a new contract with MGM. Her first job after returning to work was the title role in Marie Antoinette (1938). She went on to impress critics and audiences alike with her performance in The Women (1939).
End of Film Career and Death
In 1942, Shearer made Her Cardboard Lover. It was her final film. After retiring from the movies, she married a ski instructor she had met while on vacation.
In 1980, declining health saw Shearer move into the Motion Picture and Television Country House hospital in Woodland Hills, California. She died there on June 12, 1983, at the age of 82. Although Shearer's reputation had faded in comparison with those of contemporaries like Greta Garbo and Joan Crawford, she left behind a body of work that includes an array of impressive performances.
