Norma Shearer won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in the 1930 film The Divorcee.
Shearer played Jerry Martin, a woman who challenges the double standard surrounding marriage and infidelity. The film was a pre-Code drama, released before strict enforcement of Hollywood’s Production Code, allowing it to address sexuality and divorce more openly than many later studio films.
The Divorcee was based on Ursula Parrott’s 1929 novel Ex-Wife and was produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Shearer’s husband, MGM production chief Irving Thalberg, initially doubted that she had the right sensual image for the role. Shearer arranged a portrait session with photographer George Hurrell, and the resulting images helped persuade him to cast her.
At the 3rd Academy Awards, held in 1931, Shearer won over fellow nominees including Greta Garbo and was also nominated that year for Their Own Desire. She ultimately received six Best Actress nominations and won only once— for The Divorcee.