Anne Shirley (born Dawn Evelyn Paris; April 17, 1918 – July 4, 1993) was an American actress. Beginning her career as a child actress under the stage name Dawn O'Day, she adopted the stage name of Anne Shirley, after playing the title character in the film adaptation of '' Anne of Green Gables'' in 1934, after which she achieved a successful career in supporting roles. Among her films is '' Stella Dallas'' (1937), for which she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Although Shirley left the acting profession in 1944, at the age of 26, she remained in Los Angeles, where she died at the age of 75.

Early life

Born in New York City, as a baby she began modeling, and made her film debut with a featured role in 1922's ''

Moonshine Valley ''Moonshine Valley'' is a 1922 American silent Western film. Its working title was ''The Miracle Child: He Giveth and Taketh''.

''. Shirley began acting at the age of five as the live action "Alice" in

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...

's pre- Mickey Mouse silent animated series "Alice in Cartoonland". She had a highly successful child star career in

Pre-Code Pre-Code Hollywood was the brief era in the American film industry between the widespread adoption of sound in film in 1929LaSalle (2002), p. 1. and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorship guidelines, popularly known ...

movies, appearing in films such as ''

Liliom ''Liliom'' is a 1909 play by the Hungarian playwright Ferenc Molnár. It was well known in its own right during the early to mid-20th century, but is best known today as the basis for the Rodgers and Hammerstein 1945 musical ''Carousel''. P ...

'',

Tom Mix Thomas Edwin Mix (born Thomas Hezikiah Mix; January 6, 1880 – October 12, 1940) was an American film actor and the star of many early Western films between 1909 and 1935. He appeared in 291 films, all but nine of which were silent films. He w ...

's ''

Riders of the Purple Sage ''Riders of the Purple Sage'' is a Western novel by Zane Grey, first published by Harper & Brothers in 1912. Considered by scholars to have played a significant role in shaping the formula of the popular Western genre, the novel has been called ...

'', '' So Big'', ''

Three on a Match ''Three on a Match'' is a 1932 American pre-Code crime drama released by Warner Bros. The film was directed by Mervyn LeRoy and stars Joan Blondell, Warren William, Ann Dvorak and Bette Davis. The film also features Lyle Talbot, Humphrey Bog ...

'' and ''

Rasputin and the Empress ''Rasputin and the Empress'' is a 1932 American pre-Code film directed by Richard Boleslawski and written by Charles MacArthur. Produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), the film is set in Imperial Russia and stars the Barrymore siblings (John, a ...

''.

Career

Anne Shirley and John Beal in M'Liss, 1936

In 1934, she starred as the character of

Anne Shirley Anne Shirley is a fictional character introduced in the 1908 novel '' Anne of Green Gables'' by L. M. Montgomery. Shirley is featured throughout the classic book series, which revolve around her life and family in 19th and 20th-century Prince Ed ...

in '' Anne of Green Gables'' and took that character's name as her stage name. After adopting the name Anne Shirley, she starred in '' Steamboat 'Round the Bend'', ''

Make Way for a Lady ''Make Way for a Lady'' is a 1936 romantic comedy/drama directed by David Burton, starring Herbert Marshall and Anne Shirley. June Drew ( Anne Shirley) is the teenaged "lady" based on Elizabeth Jordan's novel ''Daddy and I''. Plot June Drew ( ...

'' and '' Stella Dallas'', for which she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Later roles were in ''

Vigil in the Night ''Vigil in the Night'' is a 1940 RKO Pictures drama film based on the 1939 serialized novel '' Vigil in the Night'' by A. J. Cronin. The film was produced and directed by George Stevens and stars Carole Lombard, Brian Aherne and Anne Shirley. ...

'', ''

Anne of Windy Poplars Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie. Anne is sometimes used as a male name in the ...

'', ''

The Devil and Daniel Webster "The Devil and Daniel Webster" (1936) is a short story by American writer Stephen Vincent Benét. He tells of a New Hampshire farmer who sells his soul to the devil and is later defended by Daniel Webster, a fictional version of the noted 19th-c ...

'' and ''

Murder, My Sweet ''Murder, My Sweet'' (released as ''Farewell, My Lovely'' in the United Kingdom) is a 1944 American film noir, directed by Edward Dmytryk and starring Dick Powell, Claire Trevor and Anne Shirley (in her final film before retirement). The film ...

'', her final film. Of Shirley's portrayal in ''

Saturday's Children Saturday's Children may refer to: * ''Saturday's Children'' (1929 film), a romantic comedy film by Gregory La Cava * ''Saturday's Children'' (1940 film), a drama film by Vincent Sherman *''Saturday's Children'', a 1927 play by Maxwell Anderson ...

'', ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' wrote that she "endows the little wife with heroic integrity and strength of character."

Personal life

Shirley married actor John Payne on August 22, 1937, in Montecito, California. They had a daughter, former actress Julie Payne, and divorced in 1943. Her second husband was film producer and screenwriter

Adrian Scott Robert Adrian Scott (February 6, 1911 – December 25, 1972) was an American screenwriter and film producer. He was one of the Hollywood Ten and later blacklisted by the Hollywood movie studio bosses. Life and career Early life Scott was born ...

. When he was blacklisted and decided to move the family to Europe, she wrote a "Dear John" letter to him, stating she'd rather stay behind and divorce him, which she did in 1949. Her third husband was

Charles Lederer Charles Davies Lederer (December 31, 1910 – March 5, 1976) was an American screenwriter and film director. He was born into a theatrical family in New York, and after his parents divorced, was raised in California by his aunt, Marion Davies, ...

, nephew of

Marion Davies Marion Davies (born Marion Cecilia Douras; January 3, 1897 – September 22, 1961) was an American actress, producer, screenwriter, and philanthropist. Educated in a religious convent, Davies fled the school to pursue a career as a chorus girl ...

. They had a son, Daniel Lederer, before his death in 1976. Shirley had brief relationships with younger western star

Rory Calhoun Rory Calhoun (born Francis Timothy McCown, August 8, 1922April 28, 1999) was an American film and television actor. He starred in numerous Westerns in the 1950s and 1960s, and appeared in supporting roles in films such as '' How to Marry a Milli ...

and with French movie star

Jean-Pierre Aumont Jean-Pierre Aumont (born Jean-Pierre Philippe Salomons; 5 January 1911 – 30 January 2001) was a French actor, and holder of the Légion d'Honneur and the Croix de Guerre for his World War II military service. Early life Aumont was born Jea ...

. Shirley died from lung cancer in Los Angeles, aged 75, on July 4, 1993, and was cremated. For her contributions to the motion picture industry, she has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7020 Hollywood Blvd.

Filmography

AnneShirleyMurderMySweetTrailerScreenshot1955

References

External links

*
Anne Shirley
at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
Anne Shirley
at the

Turner Classic Movies Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie channel, movie-oriented pay television, pay-TV television network, network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasti ...

database
Anne Shirley
at

AllMovie AllMovie (previously All Movie Guide) is an online database with information about films, television programs, and screen actors. , AllMovie.com and the AllMovie consumer brand are owned by RhythmOne. History AllMovie was founded by popular-cult ...

Anne Shirley
at Virtual History {{DEFAULTSORT:Shirley, Anne American child actresses American film actresses Deaths from lung cancer Actresses from New York City Deaths from cancer in California 1918 births 1993 deaths 20th-century American actresses