Leslie Caron French actress and ballerina Date of Birth: 01.07.1931 Country: France

Biography of Leslie Caron

Leslie Claire Margaret Caron was born on July 1, 1931, in Boulogne-Billancourt, France. From an early age, Caron was prepared for a career as a ballerina. Her father Claude was a chemist, while her mother Margaret, an American ballerina, entrusted her daughter to ballet masters at the age of 10. The Nazi occupation of France forced Leslie to flee to Cannes, but after the war ended, the 16-year-old girl returned to her homeland, where she began performing as part of the French company "Ballet des Champs-Élysées." It was during her brilliant performance in the play "Unforeseen Encounter" that Gene Kelly, a legend of world cinema, saw her. Three years later, at the age of 19, Leslie auditioned for the grand musical "An American in Paris" at Gene's recommendation. There are legends that the main star and choreographer of the film, Gene Kelly, bribed the cameraman to allow the Frenchwoman to audition. Whatever the case, it was not a matter of pushing through untalented individuals. By that time, the young ballerina was already well-known in the United States, and the magazine "Paris Match" dedicated 14 pages to her. She had accumulated experience in performing complex choreography, flying over the stage on a circus trapeze, and even doing dangerous and spectacular stunts. Leslie played her first role on screen as the character Lise in "An American in Paris" flawlessly. The six contrasting dances that showcased the complexity of her character, performed in a hallucinatory style, such as the dances of a "multi-faced" girl in a mirror, each accompanied by special lighting and decor, led Caron to a favorable contract with MGM and numerous roles in movies. By 1956, Caron had already been married twice and had progressed from musicals to comedic and dramatic roles, not wanting to be just a ballerina. And once again, success! In 1961, the film "Fanny" turned her into a multi-nominated actress of the American Academy, and two years later, she was nominated again for her role as a young single mother in Bryan Forbes's drama "The L-Shaped Room." Finally, in 2003, Caron played one of the lead roles in the last joint project of director James Ivory and his long-time partner Ismail Merchant, the drama "Le Divorce," appearing on screen as the mother of actress Naomi Watts. After that, without completely retiring from the industry, Caron began working on her memoirs, reminding the world of her presence once again in 2007 when her role as a rape victim in the series "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" earned her an Emmy Award. Over the course of her extensive dual career as an actress and ballerina, Caron managed to become a true dramatic diva, becoming internationally famous after her role in the masterpiece "Lili." She is the recipient of an Oscar and a British Academy Film Award, and her contributions were especially recognized by the Cannes Film Festival jury, which thanked the actress for her "charming performance." At one time, thousands of men were fascinated by her sexy French accent, so she was simply forbidden to "correctly" learn to speak English, and her phonetics teacher was expelled. Thanks to the fantastic, sometimes even phantasmagoric musicals at MGM, Leslie became the first actress with star status in the world of the rapidly developing film industry.