Not far from the Museum d'Orsay in Paris lives a slender elderly lady with a dog. Few people realize that this old woman was once twice nominated for an Academy Award and at the age of 73 was awarded an Emmy. Leslie Karon, and this is the name of the heroine of this article, is one of the few stars in the classic era of MGM musicals, who continue to act today.
early years
Leslie Claire Caron was born in the suburbs of Paris Boulogne-Billancourt in 1931. Her father was the offspring of an impoverished aristocratic family and a serious scientist and chemist, and her mother was an American dancer. It was she who educated Leslie and instilled in her daughter a love of stage art. When the girl was 11 years old, her mother arranged her for a Russian ballerina, Olga Preobrazhenskaya, who emigrated during the revolution to France. After graduating from school, Leslie entered the Paris Conservatory of Music and Dance, where she was taught by one of the partners of the famous Anna Pavlova - Alexander Volynsky.
Carier start
At the age of 16, Leslie Caron was invited by Roland Petit to her troupe "Champs Elysees", in which she immediately became a soloist. Together with this team, she toured a lot, but once an unexpected call from the United States changed her whole life. One of the leaders of MGM Studios contacted the girl and said that he wanted to entrust her with the main role in his new film. It seemed to the girl that she was being played out, because she could not understand how they had learned about her in the United States. However, Leslie Caron said that Gene Kelly saw her in one of the performances of the Champs Elysees Ballet and told her producers that he would only play with her. Then the ballerina remembered that six months ago she met this actor, already quite famous at that time, after the performance “Meeting”, and he talked about his plans to make the musical film “American in Paris”.
Career start in the USA
In the States, Leslie, as expected of a girl from a decent family, went with her mother. Arriving at the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studio, the young ballerina felt like the heroine of a fairy tale. After all, she was offered a contract with a huge fee for those times, a limousine with a driver, a chic hotel room and much more. Leslie tried so hard to justify the confidence of the studio management that in the middle of filming she fainted due to physical exhaustion. Treatment, and most importantly, a great desire helped her quickly return to duty. As a result, the film was released, which today is considered a classic of Hollywood, and the small French ballerina with a pretty face has become a celebrity.
Further career
After the release of the movie "American in Paris" on the screens, Leslie signed a contract with MGM Studio.
A little later, in 1953, Leslie Karon starred in the film "Lily" and was nominated for an Oscar for this role. Then she was offered to play Cinderella in the children's film “Crystal Shoe”, where she fully demonstrated her skills as a professional ballerina, especially since Roland Petit was invited as a choreographer.
One of the most difficult works in Leslie’s acting career was the movie “The Long-Legged Daddy”, in which Fred Astaire was her partner . During filming in the family of the Hollywood superstar of those years, a terrible tragedy happened - his beloved wife died. The whole team working on the picture was forced to support Fred in every possible way, it was especially difficult for Leslie, who with great difficulty forced herself to portray fun, looking into the sad eyes of an incendiary dance partner.
Marriages and a pause in a career
As recognized by Leslie Caron, the family for her in her youth was the most important. The first time she got married when she turned 20. George Hormel from the dynasty of famous "meat" magnates became Leslie's chosen one. A hasty marriage broke up after 3 years, as the young people had no common interests and the separation coincided with the release of the most striking paintings with the participation of Karon. Over the next two years, she was incredibly sought after by directors, so ISA President Jules Stein, hearing about her desire to get married and go to the UK, called her crazy. But Leslie did not want to listen and went to London with the English actor Peter Hall, breaking the contract. There she began to lead the life of a married lady and gave birth to a wife of two children. However, soon she became bored just serving coffee to her husband and, sitting in the corner, watching him rehearse new roles with celebrities.
Return
Karon began to attempt to return to the screen again, especially since in Hollywood they did not forget about her. Frequent trips to the United States began, which irritated the spouse, who believed that his wife should devote herself only to raising children. In addition, while receiving the Golden Globe for the painting The Corner Room, Leslie met Warren Beatty, who at that time was not yet a star, and they began a stormy romance. Returning to England, the woman confessed to her husband and asked for a divorce.
Then she calmly left for Jamaica to star in Carrie Grant's comedy Papa Goose. Beatty came there, and they spent together something like a honeymoon. However, the couple’s paradise idyll was spoiled by the appearance of a private detective hired by Hall, who decided to provide evidence of his wife’s infidelity at the divorce proceedings.
In the late 1960s
Warren Beatty dreamed that Leslie Caron, whose photo did not leave the covers of magazines, appeared in the same picture with him. Such an incident occurred in 1965, when director Arthur Hiller invited this scandalous couple to his new film, Promise Her Something. Meanwhile, the divorce proceedings began, culminating in a court order, according to which, the couple gave their children to be brought up in a boarding school, due to the constant employment of both father and mother. Leslie's bad mood and tears began to annoy Beatty, who was not going to delve into her problems. In addition, he turned out to be a terrible jealous man and forbade her to act with actors whom he considered “dangerous”. The tension in the pair grew, and after returning from France, Leslie found out that Warren had returned to his former lover.
Life in Europe
To be closer to the children, Leslie Karon, films with whose participation in the 60s were extremely popular, moved to Europe and soon met director Michael Sarna. They got married and the actress returned to Hollywood. However, no one offered her star roles. Only occasionally, but quite successfully, the actress starred in television series and even received prestigious awards.
Leslie Caron: filmography
The actress starred in almost 30 films, including in musicals:
- “American in Paris” - Liz Beauvier.
- “Three Love Stories” - the role of mademoiselle.
- “Crystal shoe” - Ella.
- “Long-legged Daddy” - Julie Andre.
- The Doctor's Dilemma - Mrs. Dubeda.
- "Underground People" - Mardu Fox.
- Austerlitz - Madame de Vaudet.
- The Weapon of Darkness - Claire Jordan.
- "Four Truths" - Ani.
- The Corner Room - Jane Fossett.
- “Papa Goose” - Catherine Freno.
- “A very unusual service” - Lauren Bullard.
- “Is Paris burning?” - Francoise Labét.
- Madron - Maria Elena.
- “Valentino” - Alla Nazimova.
- “The man who loved women” - Vera.
- The Golden Girl - Sammy Lee.
- “All Stars” - Lucille.
- “Contract” - Penelope Wilson.
- "Intriguer" - Solange Dunas.
- “Lenin. Train ”- Nadezhda Krupskaya.
- "Mountain of Courage" - Jane Hillary.
- “Damage” - Elizabeth.
- “Chocolate” - Madame Odel.
Now you know who Leslie Karon is. The biography of the actress is also known to you, and this fact helps to better understand her work.