Moira Shearer
Encyclopedia
Moira Shearer, Lady Kennedy (17 January 1926 – 31 January 2006), was an internationally famous Scottish
ballet dancer
and actress.
, Fife
, Scotland
, the daughter of actor Harold V. King. In 1931 her family moved to Ndola
, Northern Rhodesia
, where she received her first dancing training under a former pupil of Enrico Cecchetti
. She returned to Britain
in 1936 and trained with Flora Fairbairn in London for a few months before she was accepted as a pupil by the Russia
n teacher Nicholas Legat
. After three years with Legat, she joined the Sadler's Wells Ballet School. However, after the outbreak of the World War II
, her parents took her to live in Scotland
. She made her debut with Mona Inglesby's International Ballet in 1941 before moving on to Sadler's Wells in 1942.
& Pressburger
ballet
-themed film
The Red Shoes, (1948). Even her hair matched the titular footwear, and the role and film were so powerful that although she went on to star in other films and worked as a dancer for many decades, she is primarily known for playing "Vicky."
Shearer retired from ballet in 1953, but she continued to act, appearing as Titania in A Midsummer Night's Dream
at the 1954 Edinburgh Festival
. She worked again for Powell on the controversial film Peeping Tom
(1960), which damaged Powell's own career.
In 1972, she was chosen by the BBC
to present the Eurovision Song Contest
when it was staged at the Usher Hall
in Edinburgh
. According to author and historian John Kennedy O'Connor's The Eurovision Song Contest - The Official History, Shearer accepted the role of hostess because her children wanted something to tease her with in the future. She also wrote for The Daily Telegraph
newspaper and gave talks on ballet worldwide.
The choreographer Gillian Lynne
persuaded her to return to ballet in 1987 to play L. S. Lowry
's mother in A Simple Man for the BBC
.
. They were married in the Chapel Royal in London's Hampton Court Palace
. The couple had a son, Alastair, and three daughters, Ailsa, Rachel and Fiona. She died at the Radcliffe Infirmary
, Oxford
, England
at the age of 80.
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
ballet dancer
Ballet
Ballet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...
and actress.
Early life
She was born Moira Shearer King in DunfermlineDunfermline
Dunfermline is a town and former Royal Burgh in Fife, Scotland, on high ground from the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. According to a 2008 estimate, Dunfermline has a population of 46,430, making it the second-biggest settlement in Fife. Part of the town's name comes from the Gaelic word...
, Fife
Fife
Fife is a council area and former county of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries to Perth and Kinross and Clackmannanshire...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, the daughter of actor Harold V. King. In 1931 her family moved to Ndola
Ndola
Ndola is the third largest city in Zambia, with a population of 495,000 . It is the industrial, commercial, on the Copperbelt, Zambia's copper-mining region, and capital of Copperbelt Province. It is also the commercial capital city of Zambia and has one of the three international airports, others...
, Northern Rhodesia
Northern Rhodesia
Northern Rhodesia was a territory in south central Africa, formed in 1911. It became independent in 1964 as Zambia.It was initially administered under charter by the British South Africa Company and formed by it in 1911 by amalgamating North-Western Rhodesia and North-Eastern Rhodesia...
, where she received her first dancing training under a former pupil of Enrico Cecchetti
Enrico Cecchetti
Enrico Cecchetti was an Italian ballet dancer, mime, and founder of the Cecchetti method. The son of two dancers from Civitanova Marche, he was born in the costuming room of the Teatro Tordinona in Rome. After an illustrious career as a dancer in Europe, he went to dance for the Imperial Ballet in...
. She returned to Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in 1936 and trained with Flora Fairbairn in London for a few months before she was accepted as a pupil by the Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n teacher Nicholas Legat
Nicholas Legat
Nikolai Gustavovich Legat , was a dancer with the Russian Imperial Ballet from 1888 to 1914 and was the main successor to the rôles of the great ballet dancer, Pavel Gerdt....
. After three years with Legat, she joined the Sadler's Wells Ballet School. However, after the outbreak of the World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, her parents took her to live in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. She made her debut with Mona Inglesby's International Ballet in 1941 before moving on to Sadler's Wells in 1942.
Film career
She came to international attention for her first film role as Victoria Page in the PowellMichael Powell (director)
Michael Latham Powell was a renowned English film director, celebrated for his partnership with Emeric Pressburger...
& Pressburger
Emeric Pressburger
Emeric Pressburger was a Hungarian-British screenwriter, film director, and producer. He is best known for his series of film collaborations with Michael Powell, in a multiple-award-winning partnership known as The Archers and produced a series of classic British films, notably 49th Parallel , The...
ballet
Ballet
Ballet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...
-themed film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
The Red Shoes, (1948). Even her hair matched the titular footwear, and the role and film were so powerful that although she went on to star in other films and worked as a dancer for many decades, she is primarily known for playing "Vicky."
Shearer retired from ballet in 1953, but she continued to act, appearing as Titania in A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream is a play that was written by William Shakespeare. It is believed to have been written between 1590 and 1596. It portrays the events surrounding the marriage of the Duke of Athens, Theseus, and the Queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta...
at the 1954 Edinburgh Festival
Edinburgh Festival
The Edinburgh Festival is a collective term for many arts and cultural festivals that take place in Edinburgh, Scotland each summer, mostly in August...
. She worked again for Powell on the controversial film Peeping Tom
Peeping Tom (film)
Peeping Tom is a 1960 British psychological thriller directed by Michael Powell and written by the World War II cryptographer and polymath Leo Marks. The title derives from the slang expression 'peeping Tom' describing a voyeur...
(1960), which damaged Powell's own career.
In 1972, she was chosen by the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
to present the Eurovision Song Contest
Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union .Each member country submits a song to be performed on live television and then casts votes for the other countries' songs to determine the most popular song in the competition...
when it was staged at the Usher Hall
Usher Hall
Usher Hall is a concert hall, situated on Lothian Road, in the west end of Edinburgh, Scotland. It has hosted concerts and events since its construction in 1914 and can hold approximately 2,900 people in its recently restored auditorium, which is well loved by performers due to its acoustics...
in Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
. According to author and historian John Kennedy O'Connor's The Eurovision Song Contest - The Official History, Shearer accepted the role of hostess because her children wanted something to tease her with in the future. She also wrote for The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
newspaper and gave talks on ballet worldwide.
The choreographer Gillian Lynne
Gillian Lynne
Gillian Barbara Lynne , CBE, born , is a British ballerina, dancer, actor, theatre director, television director and choreographer noted for her popular theatre choreography associated with the iconic musicals Cats and the current longest running show in Broadway history, The Phantom of the Opera.-...
persuaded her to return to ballet in 1987 to play L. S. Lowry
L. S. Lowry
Laurence Stephen Lowry was an English artist born in Barrett Street, Stretford, Lancashire. Many of his drawings and paintings depict nearby Salford and surrounding areas, including Pendlebury, where he lived and worked for over 40 years at 117 Station Road , opposite St...
's mother in A Simple Man for the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
.
Personal life
In 1950, Moira Shearer married Ludovic KennedyLudovic Kennedy
Sir Ludovic Henry Coverley Kennedy was a British journalist, broadcaster, humanist and author best known for re-examining cases such as the Lindbergh kidnapping and the murder convictions of Timothy Evans and Derek Bentley, and for his role in the abolition of the death penalty in the United...
. They were married in the Chapel Royal in London's Hampton Court Palace
Hampton Court Palace
Hampton Court Palace is a royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, Greater London; it has not been inhabited by the British royal family since the 18th century. The palace is located south west of Charing Cross and upstream of Central London on the River Thames...
. The couple had a son, Alastair, and three daughters, Ailsa, Rachel and Fiona. She died at the Radcliffe Infirmary
Radcliffe Infirmary
The Radcliffe Infirmary was a hospital in central Oxford, England, located at the southern end of Woodstock Road on the western side, backing onto Walton Street. The Radcliffe Infirmary, named after physician John Radcliffe, opened in 1770 and was Oxford's first hospital...
, Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
at the age of 80.
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1948 | The Red Shoes | Victoria Page |
| 1951 | The Tales of Hoffmann The Tales of Hoffmann (film) The Tales of Hoffmann is a 1951 British film adaptation of Jacques Offenbach's opera Les contes d'Hoffmann, written, produced and directed by the team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger working under the umbrella of their production company, The Archers... |
Stella/Olympia |
| 1953 | The Story of Three Loves The Story of Three Loves The Story of Three Loves, also known as Equilibrium, is a 1953 romantic anthology film made by MGM. It consists of three stories, "The Jealous Lover", "Mademoiselle", and "Equilibrium". The film was produced by Sidney Franklin. "Mademoiselle" was directed by Vincente Minnelli, while Gottfried... |
Paula Woodward |
| 1955 | The Man Who Loved Redheads The Man Who Loved Redheads The Man Who Loved Redheads is a 1955 British comedy film directed by Harold French and starring Moira Shearer, John Justin and Roland Culver. The film is based on the play Who is Sylvia? by Terence Rattigan.-Cast:... |
Sylvia/Daphne/Olga/Colette |
| 1960 | Peeping Tom Peeping Tom (film) Peeping Tom is a 1960 British psychological thriller directed by Michael Powell and written by the World War II cryptographer and polymath Leo Marks. The title derives from the slang expression 'peeping Tom' describing a voyeur... |
Vivian |
| 1961 | Black Tights | Roxane |
| 1987 | A Simple Man (TV movie) | Mother |