Norma Shearer

Shearer was introduced to her boss Irving Thalberg while working for MGM studios. Though there was a huge age difference between the two, both of them grew very close and officially declared themselves as a couple on September 29, 1927. They were blessed with two children, Irving Junior and Katherine. Thalberg died an unexpected death in 1936.

Following Thalberg's death in 1936, Shearer engaged herself in a brief affair with young actor James Stewart ad later with George Raft. Though Raft wanted to marry Shearer, his wife's refusal to allow a divorce and the disapproval of MGM studio head Louis B. Mayer caused Shearer to end the affair.

Post retirement, Shearer married Martin Arrougé, a former ski instructor. He was ten years her junior. They remained married until her death.

Norma Shearer was born on August 10, 1902 at Montreal, Quebec, Canada to Andrew Shearer and Edith Fisher Shearer. Her father owned a construction business.

The future of young Shearer was sealed when she saw a vaudeville show on her ninth birthday. She was so impressed and enthralled by the show that she decided to become an actor. Ferociously ambitious, she aimed to curb all her physical deficiencies (dumpy figure, sturdy legs, blunt hands and broad shoulders) to become a star.

Though Shearer hailed from a well-to-do family, the sudden collapse of her father’s business in 1918 forced the Shearers to move into a dingy space in Montreal. The situation worsened as her mother separated and took young Norma and her sister to New York.

In New York, Shearer carried the letter of recommendation that she had acquired from a local theatre owner in Montreal to Florenz Ziegfeld. As expected, the meeting was a disaster as Ziegfeld turned out Shearer almost immediately and even ridiculed her physical appearance.

Unabated by the failed meeting with Ziegfeld, Shearer showed herself at every production house and every audition. Luck came her way when she was selected as one of the extras for Universal Pictures. What followed was a series of roles, all as extras, for several films including ‘Way Down East’ by Griffith. It was while shooting for ‘Way Down East’ that Shearer introduced herself to Griffith. This meeting too was a let-down as Griffith shoved her off as ‘no good’.

Undeterred by the rejection from Ziegfeld and Griffith, Shearer continued working as an extra. From the money she received, she saved enough to treat the incorrect alignment of her eyes and defective vision. For years, she practiced muscle-strengthening exercises that helped conceal her physical flaws.

When acting as extras did not support her financially, Shearer turned to modelling. She took up modelling projects for quite a number of products, right from laundry soap to dental paste. She served as the face for Kelly-Springfield Tires even.

It was in 1921 that Shearer received her beak in movies with a B-grade film, ‘The Stealers’. Post that, in 1923, she received an offer from Louis B. Mayer Pictures, a studio in Los Angeles for an audition for a lead role in the film called ‘The Wanters’. Upon receiving the offer, she left for Los Angeles.

Shearer’s most promising work came after 1924 when she tied up with the then newly formed MGM productions. She featured in an array of films, most of which were substantial hits at the box office. However, her claim to fame came with the 1930 released film ‘The Divorcee’. The film won her an Academy Award for Best Actress. Some of the other important and noteworthy films that she featured in were ‘Their Own Desire’, ‘A Free Soul’, ‘The Barretts of Wimpole Street’, ‘Romeo and Juliet’ and ‘Marie Antoinette’.