Shirley Patterson, sometimes billed as Shawn Smith, (died April 4, 1995[citation needed] ) was a Canadian-born B-movie actress of the 1940s and 1950s.

The family moved to Los Angeles because of her father's health problems, and she finished her education there.

She signed a contract with Columbia Pictures after a talent scout saw her perform in a little theater production.

[3] Patterson played Poppea, Nero's consort, in a nonspeaking role in The Silver Chalice (1954).

Shortly after the close of filming in 1958 while skiing at Lake Arrowhead, California, she suffered a severely broken leg.