by Cláudio Alves

It's odd that so few people talk about Norma Shearer nowadays. This Academy Award-winning actress was once one of the greatest stars of moviedom, First Lady of MGM, Queen of the Lot. Her arch elegance typified the glamour of Old Hollywood, while her evolving acting style often reflected and predicted the trends of the industry. She was a phenomenon, a sensation, a diva, but her modern recognition pales in comparison to many of her contemporaries like Joan Crawford, Bette Davis, Greta Garbo, Marlene Dietrich, and others.

Since we're celebrating 1938 and that was the year when she got the last of her five or six Oscar nominations (depending on how you count her double from 1930), it's a good time to look back at the life and films of Norma Shearer…