Moira Shearer, Lady Kennedy (17 January 1926 – 31 January 2006), was an internationally famous Scottish ballet dancer and actress.
She was born Moira Shearer King in Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland, the daughter of actor Harold V. King. In 1931 her family relocated to Ndola, Northern Rhodesia where she received her first dancing training under a former pupil of Enrico Cecchetti. She returned to England in 1936 and trained with Flora Fairbairn in London for a few months before she was accepted as a pupil by the Russian teacher Nicholas Legat. After three years with Legat, she joined the Sadler's Wells Ballet School, however after the outbreak of the war her parents took her to Scotland. She made her debut with the International Ballet in 1941 before moving on to Sadler's Wells in 1942.
She rose to international fame in 1948 after starring as Victoria Page in the ballet-themed film The Red Shoes, directed by Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger. With hair that matched the titular footwear, the role and film were so powerful that even though she went on to star in other films and worked as a dancer for many decades, she is primarily known only for playing "Vicky". In 1950, she married Sir Ludovic Kennedy, with whom she had a son and three daughters. She remained at Sadler's Wells until 1953, when she retired from ballet. She continued to act, appearing as Titania in A Midsummer Night's Dream at the 1954 Edinburgh Festival and working again for Powell on the controversial film Peeping Tom, 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, Moira accepted the role of hostess as her children wanted something to tease her with in the future. She 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.
She died at the Radcliffe Infirmary, Oxford, England at the age of 80.
Filmography
The Red Shoes (1948)
The Tales of Hoffmann (1951)
The Story of Three Loves (1953)
The Man Who Loved Redheads (1955)
1-2-3-4 ou Les Collants noirs (Black Tights) (1960)
Peeping Tom (1960)
A Simple Man (1987)
References
^ a b c Fisher, Hugh (1952). "Moira Shearer" (2). Dancers of To-day.
^ O'Connor, John Kennedy. The Eurovision Song Contest - The Official History. Carlton Books, UK. 2007 ISBN 978-1-84442-994-3
External links
Moira Shearer at the Internet Movie Database
Moira Shearer at the TCM Movie Database
The Ballerina Gallery - Moira Shearer
BBC Obituary of Moira Shearer
"The Daily Telegraph" Obituary of Moira Shearer
The Times Online obituary of Moira Shearer
This article about a Scottish actor or actress is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
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This article about a British film actor or actress is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
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Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moira_Shearer"
Categories: Scottish film actors | Ballerinas | Scottish ballet dancers | Scottish television presenters | People from Dunfermline | 1926 births | 2006 deaths | Royal Ballet dancers | Scottish actor stubs | Dance biographical stubs | United Kingdom film actor stubs
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