Biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Edith Norma Shearer (August 10, 1902 – June 12, 1983) was a Canadian-American actress. Shearer was one of the most popular actresses in North America from the mid-1920s through the 1930s. Her early films cast her as the girl next door, but for most of the Pre-Code film era, beginning with the 1930 film The Divorcee, for which she won an Oscar for Best Actress, she played sexually liberated women in sophisticated contemporary comedies. Later she appeared in historical and period films. Unlike many of her MGM contemporaries, Shearer's fame declined steeply after retirement. By the time of her death in 1983, she was largely remembered at best for her "noble" roles in The Women, Marie Antoinette, and Romeo and Juliet. Shearer's legacy began to be re-evaluated in the 1990s with the publication of two biographies and the TCM (Turner Classic Movies) and VHS release of her films, many of them unseen since the implementation of the Production Code some sixty years before. Focus shifted to her pre-Code "divorcee" persona, and Shearer was rediscovered as "the exemplar of sophisticated [1930's] woman-hood... exploring love and sex with an honesty that would be considered frank by modern standards". Simultaneously, Shearer's ten-year collaboration with portrait photographer George Hurrell and her lasting contribution to fashion through the designs of Adrian were also recognized. Shearer is widely celebrated by some as one of cinema's feminist pioneers: "the first American film actress to make it chic and acceptable to be single and not a virgin on screen". In March 2008, two of her most famous pre-code films, The Divorcee and A Free Soul, were released on DVD. Description above from the Wikipedia article Norma Shearer, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Acted in 73
2020s
- 2023
1939: Secrets of Hollywood's Golden Year
TV
2000s
- 2008
Thou Shalt Not: Sex, Sin and Censorship in Pre-Code Hollywood
Various Roles (archive footage)
1990s
- 1994
That's Entertainment! III
(archive footage) (uncredited)
1970s
- 1974
That's Entertainment!
(archive footage) (uncredited)
1950s
- 1955
1940s
- 1944
Twenty Years After
(archive footage)
- 1942
Her Cardboard Lover
Consuelo Croyden
We Were Dancing
Victoria Anastasia Wilomirska
- 1940
Escape
Countess Ruby von Treck
1930s
- 1939
Screen Snapshots Series 18, No. 8
Norma Shearer
Idiot's Delight
Irene Fellara
- 1938
- 1936
Romeo and Juliet
Juliet
Master Will Shakespeare
Juliet (uncredited)
- 1934
The Barretts of Wimpole Street
Elizabeth Barrett
- 1933
The Film Parade
(archive footage) (uncredited)
- 1932
Strange Interlude
Nina Leeds
The Movie Album
(archive footage)
- 1931
Private Lives
Amanda Prynne
A Free Soul
Jan Ashe
The Stolen Jools
Owner of Stolen Jewels
Strangers May Kiss
Lisbeth Corbin
- 1930
Let Us Be Gay
Kitty Brown
The Divorcee
Jerry
1920s
- 1929
Their Own Desire
Lucia 'Lally' Marlett
The Last of Mrs. Cheyney
Fay Cheyney
The Trial of Mary Dugan
Mary Elizabeth Dugan
A Man's Man
Norman Shearer (uncredited)
- 1928
A Lady of Chance
Dolly Morgan
The Actress
Rose Trelawny
The Latest from Paris
Ann Dolan
The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg
Kathi
- 1927
After Midnight
Mary Miller
The Demi-Bride
Criquette
- 1926
Upstage
Dolly Haven
The Waning Sex
Nina Duane
The Devil's Circus
Mary
- 1925
His Secretary
Ruth Lawrence
The Tower of Lies
Glory/Goldie
Pretty Ladies
Frances White
A Slave of Fashion
Katherine Emerson
The End of the World
Mary Ellen Hope
Waking Up the Town
Mary Ellen Hope
Lady of the Night
Molly Helmer / Florence Banning
Excuse Me
Marjorie Newton
- 1924
The Snob
Nancy Claxton
Married Flirts
Norma Shearer (uncredited)
Broken Barriers
Grace Durland
Empty Hands
Claire Endicott
Broadway After Dark
Rose Dulane
Blue Water
Lillian Denton
The Wolf Man
Elizabeth Gordon
The Trail of the Law
Jerry Vardon
- 1923
Lucretia Lombard
Mimi Winship
The Wanters
Marjorie
Pleasure Mad
Elinor Benton
The Devil's Partner
Jeanne
Man and Wife
Dora Perkins
A Clouded Name
Marjorie Dare
- 1922
Channing of the Northwest
Jess Driscoll
The Taming of the Shrewd
Rose Del Mar
The Man Who Paid
Jeanne Thornton
- 1920
The Restless Sex
Reveler at Artists Ball (uncredited)
Torchy's Millions
(uncredited)
The Stealers
Julie Martin
Way Down East
Barn Dancer (uncredited)
The Flapper
Schoolgirl (uncredited)
1910s
- 1919
The Star Boarder
Big V Beauty Squad Member (uncredited)
Appearances24
2010s
- 2015
Leslie Howard: The Man Who Gave a Damn
Self (archive footage)
- 2011
Vito
Self (archive footage)
2000s
- 2004
Judy Garland: By Myself
Self (archive footage)
- 2003
Complicated Women
Self (archive footage)
1990s
- 1997
Sports on the Silver Screen
Self (archive footage)
- 1996
Joan Crawford: Always the Star
Self (archive footage)
- 1990
You're the Top: The Cole Porter Story
Self (archive footage)
1980s
- 1988
The Making of a Legend: Gone with the Wind
Self (archive footage)
- 1983
Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
- 1980
Hollywood
Self (archive footage, uncredited) · 1 episode
1970s
- 1972
Hollywood: The Dream Factory
Self (archive footage)
- 1970
Brasileiros em Hollywood
Self (archive footage)
1940s
- 1940
A New Romance of Celluloid: The Miracle of Sound
Self
Cavalcade of the Academy Awards
Self
Hollywood: Style Center of the World
Self
1930s
- 1939
From the Ends of the Earth
Self
- 1938
Hollywood Goes to Town
Self
Another Romance of Celluloid
Self (uncredited)
- 1937
The Romance of Celluloid
Self (archive footage)
- 1933
Going Hollywood
Herself - Premiere Clip (archive footage)
- 1931
The Christmas Party
Herself
We’re Switching to Hollywood
Self
1920s
- 1929
The Hollywood Revue of 1929
Self / Juliet
- 1925
1925 Studio Tour
Self