She reigned as the supreme queen of Hollywood's supreme studio, MGM, from the mid-1920s until her retirement in 1942. She was a fashion icon, darling of press, certified screen diva, and acting great, and considered one of Hollywood's most glamorous stars, appearing as one the silver screen's 10 box-office attractions in the early 1930s. She loved stardom and the man who gave it to her, Irving Thalberg. But after his untimely death in 1936, she seemed to lost interest in making picture and seven years later, she abandoned the home that honed and reared her for the past twenty years.

However, no one could forget Norma Shearer, also called "Queen Norma," who, during her heyday was peerless by any of her contemporaries, not even by her closest rival and fellow queen, Joan Crawford. No one could parallel her, such that Alfred Hitchcock later said, "Where are the Norma Shearers?" when bona fide movie actress of high caliber started to diminish from Hollywood landscape.

Birth and Childhood

Edith Norma Shearer was born in Montreal, Canada in August 10, 1902, to an upper-middle class family, thanks to her father's construction business, which allowed her and her family to enjoy a comfortable means of living. Nevertheless, Norma's parents were unhappy with each other. Later, after Norma's father's construction business faltered, she, her mother, and her sibling lefts for New York where she worked as a model and a stage actress to augment her family's income.

Early Career

After a year in New York, she was finally offered fourth star billing in a Hollywood B-picture, The Stealer (1920). Then, her streak of good luck continued after producer Irving Thalberg discovered her and signed her for a long-term contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Her image as a girl-next-door in such films as He Who Gets Slapped (1924), His Secretary (1925), and The Student Prince (1927) proved to be a box-office draw and she instantly became a star during the last years of the silent film era. By 1925, she received a new contract, indicating she would earn $1,000 a week and this amount would rise to $5,000 for the next five years. In 1927, after a well-known romance, she married Irving Thalberg. Thereafter, Shearer appeared in box-office hit after box-office hit films, each film raking in not less than $200,000 profits for the studio.

Queen of the Lot

At the advent of the “talkies,” Shearer was one of the few silent film actresses to successfully transition into the talking films. This move proved to be more beneficial for her film career as she became a superstar of the 1930s. During this period, she appeared in a variety of films, from girl-next-door image, to independent, unfaithful wives popularized during the Pre-Code years. Her films The Divorcee (1930, which earned her an Academy Award for Best Actress), Strangers May Kiss (1931), and Riptide (1934), proved to be loved by audience, making her, alongside with Greta Garbo, the queen of MGM. She continued earlier success in A Free Soul (1930), Private Lives (1931), Smilin’ Through (1932), considered to be her loveliest performance, and The Barretts of Wimpole Street (1934), and Romeo and Juliet (1936).

Retirement

After Thalberg’s death, she seemed to have lost interest in making pictures, as she appeared less and less in films. She later turned town the leading roles in Gone With the Wind and Mrs. Miniver, only to appear in lesser grade pictures. Before she retired in 1942, she made Marie Antoinette (1938) and The Women (1939), to the audience’s acclaim.