Quiz

She converted to Judaism in 1927 in order to marry Irving Thalberg. Even after he died, she continued to observe Judaism until her own death in 1983.

She is one of the celebrities whose picture Anne Frank placed on the wall of her bedroom in the "Secret Annex" while in hiding during the Nazi occupation of Amsterdam.

Six years after the death of first husband Irving Thalberg, she married a ski instructor 11 years her junior and retired from the screen forever.

Her son died in 1988 of cancer. He was a philosophy professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Became a naturalized United States citizen in 1931.

At the height of her career, she was earning $6,000 per week.

She would not remove her wedding ring for a role, preferring to cover it up with flesh-colored tape.

She and her brother Douglas Shearer were the first Oscar-winning brother and sister.

Sister of Athole Shearer and twelve time Academy Award winning sound director Douglas Shearer

Was the 3rd actress to receive an Academy Award; she won the Best Actress Oscar for La divorziata (1930) at The 3rd Academy Awards on November 5, 1930.

Was meticulous about her appearance. Early in her career, she spent money she could barely afford on the services on an eye doctor, who trained her to strengthen a weak eye. She swam everyday, had massages to firm her figure, and dieted religiously. She experimented with make-up until she decided on a light tone that would illuminate her face on screen.

Even after retirement, Norma maintained her interest in the film industry. While staying at a ski lodge, she noticed a photo of the receptionist's daughter and recommended her to MGM - that girl, became the star known as Janet Leigh. She also discovered a handsome young businessman beside a swimming pool - now actor/producer Robert Evans.

Was the earliest actor of any gender to earn three, four, five and six Oscar nominations for her acting performances.

She is commemorated on one of a set of postage stamps (issued in 2008) honoring prominent Canadians in Hollywood. The other stamps feature Marie Dressler, Chief Dan George and Raymond Burr.

F. Scott Fitzgerald based one of his most famous stories, "Crazy Sunday," on a party hosted by Shearer, who also inspired the story's main character, Stella Calman.

Gave birth to her 1st child at age 28, a son Irving Thalberg Jr on August 24, 1930. Child's father was her 1st husband, Irving Thalberg.

Gave birth to her 2nd child at age 32, a daughter Katherine Thalberg on June 14, 1935. Child's father was her 1st husband, Irving Thalberg.

Said to have been a major influence on the life of Eva Perón after Peron saw her in the role of Marie Antoinette.

Turned down the role of Scarlett O'Hara in Via col vento (1939) and the title role in La signora Miniver (1942).

After Shearer and husband Irving Thalberg played host to author F. Scott Fitzgerald at their Santa Monica beach house, it became fictionalized in the author's book "Crazy Sunday" and the unfinished "The Last Tycoon.".

Was offered the role of Norma Desmond in Viale del tramonto (1950), but she turned it down. Gloria Swanson, who went on to receive a Best Actress Oscar nomination for her performance, was cast instead.

Nora Shearers contract stipulated that she would only share top building with a male co star but she agreed to having Joan Crawfords name with hers above the title on The Women, When she refused to grant Rosalind Russell' the same request on the film The Women Russell staged a sickout and didn't return until Norma gave in..

Interred at Forest Lawn, Glendale, California, USA, in the Great Mausoleum, Sanctuary of Benediction, alongside her first husband Irving Thalberg.

In 1927, she insisted on firing the director Viktor Tourjansky because he was unsure of her cross-eyed stare.

Was a staunch conservative Republican who was active in the presidential campaign of Dwight D. Eisenhower.

The busy Shearer made eight films in 1924.

Appeared with mother Edith Shearer in "A Clouded Name" in 1924.

Her daughter died in 2006 of cancer. A vegan, she headed the Society for Animal Rights in Aspen, Colorado, from 1989.

Was the 2nd of 3 consecutive Canadian actresses to win the Best Actress Oscar. The others were Mary Pickford and Marie Dressler.

Norma Shearer was considered by her peers as the Queen of MGM Studios.

While doing research in the 20th Century-Fox archives for her biography of Natalie Wood, author Suzanne Finstead discovered that Norma Shearer was one of the early casting ideas for the role of Lucy Muir in "The ghost and Mrs. Muir" (1947). Had she played the part, it would have marked Miss Shearer's return to the screen after a five year hiatus. (As things stood, Miss Shearer's last film was 1942's "Her cardboard lover.").

She is the first actress to receive an Academy Award nomination for playing a Shakespearean role (Giulietta e Romeo (1936)).

On August 10, 2020, she was honored with a day of her filmography during the Turner Classic Movies Summer Under the Stars. The date would also have been Shearer's birthday.

Regarding Shearer's marriage to studio boss Irving Thalberg, Joan Crawford allegedly said, "Sure Norma gets all the good parts. She sleeps with the boss...".

She has three granddaughters from her daughter: Ashley (b. circa 1962), Brooke (b. circa 1964), and Deva (b. circa 1966).

Co-starred with Robert Montgomery in five MGM films: Ritorna il sole (1929), La divorziata (1930), Volubilità (1931), Private Lives (1931), and Quando una donna ama (1934).

Sister-in-law of Howard Hawks.

She is the only actress to portray Juliet [Giulietta e Romeo (1936)] and Marie Antoinette [Maria Antonietta (1938)] on screen and receive Academy Award nominations [Best Actress] for both performances.

Is one of 9 actresses who have received an Academy Award nomination for portraying a real-life queen. The others in chronological order are Katharine Hepburn for Il leone d'inverno (1968), Geneviève Bujold for Anna dei mille giorni (1969), Vanessa Redgrave for Maria Stuarda regina di Scozia (1971), Janet Suzman for Nicola e Alessandra (1971), Helen Mirren for La pazzia di Re Giorgio (1994) and The Queen - La regina (2006), Judi Dench for La mia regina (1997) and Shakespeare in Love (1998), Cate Blanchett for Elizabeth (1998) and Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007), and Helena Bonham Carter for Il discorso del re (2010).

She has appeared in five films that have been nominated for the Best Picture Oscar: Hollywood che canta (1929), La divorziata (1930), Catene (1932), La famiglia Barrett (1934) and Giulietta e Romeo (1936).

Her sons-in-law were skier Jack Reddish, actor Richard Anderson, and Aspen mayor Bill Stirling.

Former mother-in-law of Richard Anderson.

As the popularity of the Max Fleischer Studios cartoon character Betty Boop was catching on in the early 1930s, the studio placed an ad in movie industry Trade Papers in October 1931, stating that Betty Boop combines the simplicity of Mary Brian, the subtlety of Norma Shearer, the fire of (Greta) Garbo, the sweetness of Joan Bennett, the allure of (Marlene) Dietrich.

Biography in: "The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives". Volume One, 1981-1985, pages 726-728. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1998.

Daughter of Edith Shearer.

Sister-in-law of John Ward.

She was Oscar nominated 6 times.

She has appeared in two films that have been selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant: Quello che prende gli schiaffi (1924) and Donne (1939).