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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 moved to Ndola, Northern Rhodesia, where she received her first dancing training under a former pupil of Enrico Cecchetti. She returned to Britain 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... MORE

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 moved to Ndola, Northern Rhodesia, where she received her first dancing training under a former pupil of Enrico Cecchetti. She returned to Britain 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 World War II, her parents took her to live in Scotland. She made her debut with Mona Inglesby's International Ballet in 1941 before moving on to Sadler's Wells in 1942. She came to international attention for her first film role as Victoria Page in the Powell & Pressburger ballet-themed film The Red Shoes, (1948). Even her hair matched the titular footwear, and the role and film were so powerful that although she went on to star in other films and worked as a dancer for many decades, she is primarily known for playing "Vicky." Shearer retired LESS