This blog is based on more than 10 years of research into the remarkable life of Moira Shearer who died in 2006 at the age of eighty. It addresses her careers as a dancer, an actress, and a writer as well as her role of wife and mother. The content and photographs are primarily derived from accounts in the public record but is augmented by materials from private sources, including her family.
The opinions expressed are almost entirely derived from the public record or from interviews that she gave during her lifetime. Where I occasionally express my opinion I make it clear that I am doing so. I lay no claim to being particularly well equipped to being able to report on her life or her views.
The blog is simply my personal view of someone I consider to be extraordinary. As I conducted my research into her I uncovered anedotes about her that I found to be of interest. The blog is my attempt to share these with others.
I invite your comments and feedback and hope you enjoy what is recorded on the following pages.
The photo below was taken by the noted theatre photographer, Angus Mcbean. While it is an extremely formal portrait and was extensively retouched in the darkroom, I think it captures the unique qualities, including intelligence and sensitivity that mark Moira Shearer’s character.
Moira Shearer by Angus Mcbean, circa 1954. Photograph reproduced with the permission of The Houghton Library, Harvard University.
Moira Shearer 