A Blue Plaque for Deborah Jane Kerr-Trimmer CBE (1921-2007) was unveiled on 47 Elmsleigh Road by her grandson’s Lex and Joe Shrapnel on 1st September 2021.
When Deborah Kerr first stepped onto the stage at Weston-super-Mare’s Knightstone Pavilion in 1937, could she have ever dreamed it would lead to roles in star-studded films and six Academy Award nominations? And yet, following on from one of her first performances in Weston, young Deborah built a career out of spectacular performances in films and on TV. Deborah was born in Scotland in 1921. Her family moved to Elmsleigh Road, Weston-super-Mare in 1938 when she became a pupil at Rossholme School.
She studied drama and ballet and, with her aunt’s help, became a radio actress and got her first taste of the big stage in the play ‘Harlequin And Columbine’, at Knightstone Pavilion. Her big break came in 1939 when she was spotted by a talent scout at an open-air theatre in Regent’s Park, London. She was cast in George Bernard Shaw’s Major Barbara and became a star of British cinema before Hollywood came calling. In 1957, Deborah was named ‘the world’s most famous actress’ by Photoplay magazine. Blue plaque 47 Elmsleigh Road by Weston Town Council & Weston Civic Society