- At the time she was selected to star in The Red Shoes (1948) she was second only to the world renowned prima ballerina Margot Fonteyn at the famous Sadler's Wells Ballet.
- When Ludovic Kennedy saw her in The Red Shoes (1948), he said that he knew instantly that she was going to be the girl he would marry. He actively sought her out and married her two years later, in February 1950 in the Chapel Royal in London's Hampton Court Palace.
- Was performing at Covent Garden until 1953, when a combination of ill health, injury and her wish to make a name for herself as an actress made her decide to retire from the ballet stage at age 27.
- She was little-known and only in her early 20s when Michael Powell approached her about starring in The Red Shoes (1948), and she had never been in a film; Powell offered her £1000, a considerable sum for most people in those days (many earned less than that in a year) and was surprised when she held out for £5000, which he did eventually pay her. He also directed her in her two other films, The Tales of Hoffmann (1951) and Peeping Tom (1960), but she had little affection or respect for him and usually spoke harshly of him in interviews both during his lifetime and after his death.
- When her first daughter was born, the "Sydney Morning Herald" prefaced the article with the heading "Pink Booties for Red Shoes".
- She was a principal dancer with the Royal Ballet at Sadler's Wells in London.
- Moira and Ludovic have one son and three daughters.
- A joint portrait of she and husband Ludovic Kennedy, by the Israeli artist Avigdor Arikha, is now part of the permanent collection of the Scottish National Portrait Gallery.
- Later was a book reviewer for the "Daily Journal".
- Performed in Frederick Ashton's masterpiece "Symphonic Variations", her red hair providing vibrant contrast to blonde ballerina Pamela May and brunette Margot Fonteyn. In 1948 Shearer replaced an ailing Fonteyn in "Cinderella". Many prefer her version to that of Fonteyn's.
- Arthur Freed wanted her to play opposite Fred Astaire in Royal Wedding (1951) but Astaire was reluctant to dance with a ballerina. Gene Kelly asked for her for Brigadoon (1954). She turned down both film opportunities, much preferring the classical stage in those years. She went on to play "Titania" in "A Midsummer Night's Dream" in her Broadway debut and the title role in "Major Barbara".
- Her father, a civil engineer, moved the family to Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia), where she was pushed into dance lessons by her mother.
- Member of the BBC General Advisory Council 1970-77.
- In 2000 she was diagnosed as suffering from viral encephalitis, which impaired her memory.
- Red-headed ballet star who literally danced her way to film fame with only one picture, The Red Shoes (1948). She has since made only a handful of others.
- Toured the US, lecturing on the history of ballet and Sergei Diaghilev between 1977-82.
- Member of the Scottish Arts Council, 1971-73.
- She and husband Ludovic Kennedy had four children, Ailsa Margaret Kennedy (born August 11, 1952), Rachel Katherine Kennedy (born November 16, 1956), Fiona Jane Kennedy (born December 20, 1961) and Alastair Charles Coverley Kennedy (born February 10, 1963).
- She married Ludovic Kennedy in February 1950 at the Chapel Royal in Hampton Court Palace, London.
- Sister-in-law of Royce Ryton.
- She has been portrayed by Shannon Davidson in the short film Òran na h-Eala (2022) which explores her life-changing decision to appear in The Red Shoes (1948).
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