A blue plaque has been unveiled for a famous actress.

The unveiling of the plaque for Deborah Kerr took place on September 1.

Weston Town Council with Weston Civic Society put up a plaque dedicated to Deborah at 47 Elmsleigh Road in Weston.

When Deborah Kerr first stepped onto the stage at Weston’s Knightstone Pavilion, could she have ever dreamed it would lead to roles in star-studded films and six Academy Award nominations?

Weston Mercury: A blue plaque was unveiled for Deborah Kerr.A blue plaque was unveiled for Deborah Kerr. (Image: Weston Town Council)

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 Weston where 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.

Weston Mercury: A blue plaque was unveiled for Deborah Kerr.A blue plaque was unveiled for Deborah Kerr. (Image: Weston Town Council)

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.

Deborah's blue plaque is the first to be installed this year and 21st overall in Weston and its surrounding areas.

The town council and civic society installed four blue plaques in 2020 for Emmeline Pethick-Lawrence, in Bristol Road Lower, John Hugh Smyth-Pigott, in Grove House, Dwight Eisenhower, in Weston Woods and Bob Hope, in Southend Road.

Weston Mercury: A blue plaque was unveiled for Deborah Kerr.A blue plaque was unveiled for Deborah Kerr. (Image: Weston Town Council)

An audio tour of the town’s 21 blue plaques is now on the town council’s website, written and narrated by Cllr John Crockford-Hawley, chairman of the town council’s heritage arts and culture committee.

People can arrive at a plaque and use their phone to access the page and play the film that gives you the history of the plaque.

This is the first stage of what the town council hopes will become a digital walking audio-guided app.

To use the audio tour, click here.