Norma Shearer

Norma Shearer (August 10, circa 1902 – June 12, 1983) was a naturalized U.S. citizen actress who had been born in Montreal, Quebec, the daughter of a Royal Canadian Mounted Policeman.

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She was one of the Canadian pioneers in early Hollywood. Starting as a film extra in 1920, she was already a popular star in 1927 when she married MGM's chief of production (and second in command) Irving Thalberg, with whom she had two children. Shearer won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in The Divorcee in 1930.This was one of a series of roles in sophisticated yet racy pre-Code dramas, and Norma was at her best. She was nominated the same year for her role in Their Own Desire, in 1931 for her role in A Free Soul, in 1934 for The Barretts of Wimpole Street, in 1936 for Romeo and Juliet, and in 1938 for Marie Antoinette which was reputedly her favorite role.

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A great beauty and relatively restrained in both comedy and tragedy, she settled mostly for "Great Woman" roles. Her screen persona remains indistinct, but particularly after Thalberg's death in 1936 she had a series of surpringly effective performances in smaller and more offbeat vehicles.

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Following Thalberg's death, Shearer embarked upon a series of little known but enthusiastic love affairs, including one with teenage film star Mickey Rooney and tough-guy actor, the late George Raft. She retired from acting in 1942 and married Mart?n Arrouge, a ski enthusiast twenty years her junior. Confounding the skeptics, they were still happily married at the time of her death (from pneumonia and Alzheimer's disease) at the age of about 80, although in her declining years she reportedly called Arrouge "Irving."

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She has a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6636 Hollywood Boulevard, and is buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California, in a crypt emblazoned with the name "Norma Arrouge," next to fellow film star Jean Harlow.

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August 10: August 10 is the 222nd day of the year (223rd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. There are 143 days remaining....

1902: 1902 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar)....

June 12: June 12 is the 163rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (164th in leap years), with 202 days remaining....

Norma Shearer related Images and Photos (experimental)

Norma Shearer	Norma Shearer 1930s	Smilin' Through Norma Shearer Fredric March Norma Shearer on Insert Poster 1932	Marie Antoinette Norma Shearer Tyrone Power 1938
Strangers May Kiss Norma Shearer on Window Card 1931	A Free Soul Norma Shearer 1931	The Women Joan Crawford Norma Shearer Rosalind Russell on Window Card 1939	Romeo and Juliet Norma Shearer 1936
Film Director Irving Thalberg and Wife Actress Norma Shearer	Norma Jean	Alan Shearer	Moira Shearer