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. Shirley left the acting profession in 1944 at the age of 26 and remained in Los Angeles, where she died at the age of 75.

Early life

Born in New York City as Dawn Evelyn Paris, Shirley began modeling as a baby and made her film debut with a featured role in Moonshine Valley (1922). She began acting at the age of five as the live-action Alice in Walt Disney's silent animated series Alice in Cartoonland. Shirley had a highly successful career in pre-Code films such as Liliom, Riders of the Purple Sage, So Big, Three on a Match and Rasputin and the Empress.

Career

In 1934, Shirley starred as the character of Anne Shirley in Anne of Green Gables and took that character's name as her legal and stage name. She starred in Steamboat Round the Bend, Make Way for a Lady and Stella Dallas, for which she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Her later roles came in films such as Vigil in the Night, Anne of Windy Poplars, The Devil and Daniel Webster and Murder, My Sweet, her final film. Critic Bosley Crowther of The New York Times praised Shirley's performance in Saturday's Children (1940), writing that she played her role "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. When he was blacklisted and wanted to move the family to Europe, Shirley opted to remain in the U.S. The couple divorced in 1949. Her third husband was Charles Lederer, nephew of Marion Davies. They had one son, Daniel Lederer. Shirley had brief relationships with younger Western star Rory Calhoun and with French film star Jean-Pierre Aumont. Shirley died from lung cancer in Los Angeles at the age of 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

Awards and nominations