Origins & Early Life

Edith Norma Shearer (August 11, 1902 – June 12, 1983) was a Canadian-American actress who was active on film from 1919 through 1942. Shearer often played spunky, sexually liberated women. She appeared in adaptations of Noël Coward, Eugene O'Neill, and William Shakespeare, and was the first five-time Academy Award acting nominee, was nominated six times in all, and won one for Best Actress for The Divorcee (1930). Reviewing Shearer's work, Mick LaSalle called her a feminist pioneer, or "the exemplar of sophisticated modern womanhood and ...

Pivotal Works & Achievements

the first American film actress to make it chic and acceptable to be single and not a virgin on screen". Shearer was of Scottish, English and Irish descent. Her childhood was spent in Montreal, where she was educated at Montreal High School for Girls and Westmount High School. Her life was one of privilege, due to the success of her father's construction business. However, the marriage between her parents was unhappy.

Enduring Legacy & Impact

Andrew Shearer was prone to manic depression and "moved like a shadow or a ghost around the house." Her mother was Edith Mary (née Fisher) Shearer. Young Norma was interested in music, but after seeing a vaudeville show...

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