Early years

Caron was born in Boulogne-sur-Seine, Seine (now Boulogne-Billancourt, Hauts-de-Seine), the daughter of Margaret (née Petit), a Franco American dancer on Broadway, and Claude Caron, a French chemist, pharmacist, perfumer and boutique owner. While her older brother Aimery Caron became a chemist like their father, Caron was prepared for a performing career from childhood by their mother.

Career

Caron started her career as a ballerina. Gene Kelly discovered her in the Roland Petit company "Ballet des Champs Elysées (fr)" and cast her to appear opposite him in the musical An American in Paris (1951), a role in which a pregnant Cyd Charisse was originally cast. This role led to a long-term MGM contract and a sequence of films which included the musical The Glass Slipper (1955) and the drama The Man with a Cloak (1951), with Joseph Cotten and Barbara Stanwyck. Still, Caron has said of herself: "Unfortunately, Hollywood considers musical dancers as hoofers. Regrettable expression."

She also starred in the successful musicals Lili (1953), with Mel Ferrer; Daddy Long Legs (1955), with Fred Astaire, and Gigi (1958) with Louis Jourdan and Maurice Chevalier.

In 1953, Caron was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress for her starring role in Lili. For her performance in the British drama The L-Shaped Room (1962), she won the BAFTA (Best British Actress) and Golden Globe awards, and was nominated for the Best Actress Oscar.

In the 1960s and thereafter, Caron worked in European films, as well. Her later film assignments included Father Goose (1964), with Cary Grant; Ken Russell's Valentino (1977), in the role of silent-screen legend Alla Nazimova; and Louis Malle's Damage (1992). Sometime in 1970, Caron was one of the many actresses considered for the lead role of Eglantine Price in Disney's Bedknobs and Broomsticks, losing the role to British actress Angela Lansbury.

In 1967, she was a member of the jury of the 5th Moscow International Film Festival. In 1989, she was a member of the jury at the 39th Berlin International Film Festival.

Caron has continued to act, appearing in the film Chocolat (2000). During the 1980s, she appeared in several episodes of the soap opera Falcon Crest as Nicole Sauguet. She is one of the few actresses from the classic era of MGM musicals who are still active in film—a group that includes Debbie Reynolds, Dean Stockwell, Rita Moreno, Margaret O'Brien, and June Lockhart. Her other recent credits include Funny Bones (1995) with Jerry Lewis and Oliver Platt; The Last of the Blonde Bombshells (2000) with Judi Dench and Cleo Laine; and Le Divorce (2003), directed by James Ivory, with Kate Hudson and Naomi Watts.

On 30 June 2003, Caron traveled to San Francisco to appear as the special guest star in The Songs of Alan Jay Lerner: I Remember It Well, a retrospective concert staged by San Francisco's 42nd Street Moon Company. In 2007, her guest appearance on Law and Order: Special Victims Unit earned her a 2007 Primetime Emmy Award. On 27 April 2009, Caron traveled to New York as an honored guest at a tribute to Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe at the Paley Center for Media.

On 8 December 2009, Caron received the 2,394th Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In February 2010, she played Madame Armfeldt in A Little Night Music at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, which also featured Greta Scacchi and Lambert Wilson.

in 2016 Caron appeared in episode three of the ITV television series The Durrells as a Countess.

Personal life

In September 1951, Caron married American George Hormel III, a grandson of the founder of Hormel (a meat-packing company). They divorced in 1954. Her second husband was British theatre director Peter Hall. They married in 1956 and had two children: Christopher John Hall (TV producer) in 1957 and Jennifer Caron Hall, a writer, painter, and actress, in 1958. Caron had an affair with Warren Beatty (1961). When Hall and she divorced in 1965, Beatty was named as a co-respondent and was ordered by the London court to pay "the costs of the case." In 1969, Caron married Michael Laughlin, best known as producer of the film Two-Lane Blacktop; they divorced in 1980. Her son-in-law is Glenn Wilhide, the producer and screenwriter.

Caron was also romantically linked to Dutch television actor Robert Wolders from 1994 to 1995.

From June 1993 until September 2009, Caron owned and operated the hotel and restaurant Auberge La Lucarne aux Chouettes (The Owls' Nest), located in Villeneuve-sur-Yonne, located about 130 km (81 mi) south of Paris.

In her autobiography, Thank Heaven, she states that she became an American citizen—evidently based on her mother having been born in the United States—in time to vote for Barack Obama for president.

Awards

• British Academy Film Award 1954: Award for Best Leading Actress for Lili
• Laurel Awards 1959: Golden Laurel for Best Leading Actress in a musical film for Gigi
• British Academy Film Award 1963: Award for Best Leading Actress for The L-Shaped Room
• Golden Globes 1964: Golden Globes for Best Leading Actress in a dramatic film for The L-Shaped Room
• Laurel Awards 1964: Golden Laurel for Best Leading Actress in a dramatic film for The L-Shaped Room
• Women in Film Crystal + Lucy Awards 1989: Lifetime Achievement Award
• School of American Ballet 1996: Life Achievement Award
• Palm Springs International Film Festival 1996: Life Achievement Award
• Sarasota Film Festival 2005: Life Achievement Award
• Emmy Award 2007: Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series for Law and Order SVU (episode Recall #8005, 2006, NBC)
• 8 December 2009: Hollywood Walk of Fame Star on Hollywood Boulevard (n° 6153), between Gene Kelly and Louis Jourdan
• Honorary Degree 2009: the American University of Paris

Honors

• Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur by President François Mitterrand in June 1993
• Ordre National du Mérite, by Catherine Trautmann, Minister of Culture, in February 1998
• Officier de la Légion d'Honneur, given by Prime Minister Jean Pierre Raffarin in June 2004
• Commandeur de la Légion d'honneur in March 2013

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1951	American in Paris, AnAn American in Paris	Lise Bouvier
1951	Man with a Cloak, TheThe Man with a Cloak	Madeline Minot
1952	Glory Alley	Angela Evans
1953	Story of Three Loves, TheThe Story of Three Loves	Mademoiselle	segment: Mademoiselle
1953	Lili	Lili Daurier	BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role Nominated-Academy Award for Best Actress
1955	Glass Slipper, TheThe Glass Slipper	Ella
1955	Daddy Long Legs	Julie Andre
1956	Gaby	Gaby
1958	Gigi	Gigi	Laurel Award for Top Female Musical Performance Nominated-Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
1958	Doctor's Dilemma, TheThe Doctor's Dilemma	Mrs. Dubedat
1959	Man Who Understood Women, TheThe Man Who Understood Women	Ann Garantier
1960	Austerlitz	Mlle de Vaudey
1960	Subterraneans, TheThe Subterraneans	Mardou Fox
1961	Fanny	Fanny	Laurel Award for Top Female Dramatic Performance (5th place) Nominated-Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama
1962	Guns of Darkness	Claire Jordan
1962	L-Shaped Room, TheThe L-Shaped Room	Jane Fosset	BAFTA Award for Best British Actress Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama Laurel Award for Top Female Dramatic Performance (3rd place) New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress (2nd place) Nominated-Academy Award for Best Actress
1962	Three Fables of Love	Annie	segment: Les deux pigeons
1964	Father Goose	Catherine
1965	Very Special Favor, AA Very Special Favor	Dr. Lauren Boullard
1965	Promise Her Anything	Michele O'Brien
1966	Is Paris Burning?	Françoise Labé
1967	Il padre di famiglia	Paola, la moglie di Marco
1970	Madron	Sister Mary
1971	Chandler	Katherine Creighton
1976	Surreal Estate	Céleste
1977	Man Who Loved Women, TheThe Man Who Loved Women	Véra
1977	Valentino	Alla Nazimova
1978	Nicole	Nicole
1979	Goldengirl	Dr. Sammy Lee
1980	All Stars	Lucille Berger
1981	Chanel Solitaire		uncredited
1982	Imperative	Mother
1984	Dangerous Moves	Henia Liebskind
1990	Courage Mountain	Jane Hillary
1990	Guns	Waitress
1992	Damage	Elizabeth Prideaux
1995	Funny Bones	Katie Parker
1995	Let It Be Me	Marguerite
1999	Reef, TheThe Reef	Regine De Chantelle
2000	Chocolat	Madame Audel	Nominated-Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
2003	Le Divorce	Suzanne de Persand

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1959	ITV Play of the Week	Thérèse Tarde	1 episode: The Wild Bird
1968	Off to See the Wizard	Ella	1 episode: Cinderella's Glass Slipper: Part 1
1973	Carola	Carola Janssen	TV movie
1974	QB VII	Angela Kelno	TV miniseries
1978	Docteur Erika Werner	Erika Werner	TV series
1980	The Contract	Penelope	TV movie
1981	Mon meilleur Noël	La Nuit	1 episode: L'oiseau bleu
1982	Tales of the Unexpected	Nathalie Vareille	1 episode: Run, Rabbit, Run
1982	The Unapproachable	Klaudia	TV movie
1983	Cinéma 16	Alice	1 episode: Le château faible
1984	Master of the Game	Solange Dunas
1986	Love Boat, TheThe Love Boat	Mrs. Duvall	1 episode: The Christmas Cruise
1987	Falcon Crest	Nicole Sauget	3 episodes
1988	Lenin: The Train	Nadia	TV movie
1991	The Man Who Lived at the Ritz	Coco Chanel	TV movie
1994	Normandy: The Great Crusade	Osmont, Mary-Louise (voice)
1996	Ring, TheThe Ring	Madame de Saint Marne
1996	Great War and the Shaping of the 20th Century, TheThe Great War and the Shaping of the 20th Century	Czarina Aleksandra Romanov (voice)	3 episodes
2000	Last of the Blonde Bombshells, TheThe Last of the Blonde Bombshells	Madeleine	TV film
2001	Murder on the Orient Express	Sra. Alvarado
2006	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Lorraine Delmas	1 episode: Recall Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series
2013	Jo	Josette Lenoir	1 episode: Le Marais
2016	The Durrells	Countess Mavrodaki	3 episodes

Theatre

• 1955: Orvet, by Jean Renoir, director Jean Renoir, Théâtre de la Renaissance, Paris
• 1955: Gigi, by Anita Loos, director Sir Peter Hall, New Theatre, London
• 1961: La sauvage, by Jean Anouilh, BBC (live), London
• 1961: Ondine, by Jean Giraudoux, director Sir Peter Hall, Aldwych Theatre, London
• 1965: Carola, by Jean Renoir, director Norman Lloyd, PBS TV, Los Angeles
• 1975-1981: 13, rue de l'amour (Monsieur Chasse), by Georges Feydeau, director Basil Langton, US and Australia
• 1978: Can-Can, musical by Cole Porter & Abe Burrows, director John Bishop, US and Canadian tour
• 1983: The rehearsal by Jean Anouilh, director Gillian Lynne, English tour
• 1984: On your toes by Rodgers and Hart, director George Abbott, US tour
• 1985: One for the Tango (Apprends-moi Céline) by Maria Pacôme, director Pierre Epstein, US tour
• 1985: L'inaccessible, author and director Krzysztof Zanussi, Théâtre du Petit Odéon of Paris and Spoletto Festival, Italy
• 1991: Grand hotel, adaptation from the novel of Vicky Baum, director Tommy Tune, Berlin
• 1991: Le martyre de Saint Sebastien by Claude Debussy and Gabriele d'Annunzio, narration, directed by Michael Tilson Thomas, London Symphony Orchestra
• 1995: Georges Sand et Chopin, author Bruno Villien, Greenwich Festival, Great Britain
• 1997: Nocturne for lovers, adaptation Gavin Lambert, director Kado Kostzer, Chichester Festival Theatre, Great Britain
• 1997: The story of Babar, by Jean de Brunhoff, narration, music from Francis Poulenc, Chichester Festival, Great Britain
• 1998: Apprends-moi Céline, by Maria Pacôme, director Raymond Acquaviva, French tour
• 1999: Readings from Colette, director Roger Hodgeman, Melbourne Festival, Australia
• 1999: Nocturne for lovers, director Roger Hodgeman, Melbourne Festival, Australia
• 2009: Thank Heaven - 'platform' at the Théâtre National of London
• 2009: A Little Night Music by Stephen Sondheim, director Lee Blakeley, Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris
• 2014: Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks by Richard Alfieri, director Michael Arabian, Laguna Playhouse, Laguna Beach, California

Recordings

• The Lover (l'Amant) by Marguerite Duras on cassettes
• First World War for the radio
• Le Martyre de Saint Sébastien by Claude Debussy and Gabriele d'Annunzio, with the London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas
• Gigi by Colette in English on cassettes recorded in public at Merkin Concert Hall at Abraham Goodman House in New York City, 1996
• Narrated "Carnival of the Animals" music by Camille St Saëns with the Nash Ensemble - Wigmore Hall, 1999
• The Plutocrats play for the BBC dir. Bill Bryden, written by Michael Hastings, from the novel by Booth Tarkington, January 1999

Publications

Articles by Leslie Caron

• Interview with J. Fieschi and B. Villien, in Cinématographe (Paris), October 1980
• "Polonaises", in Cinématographe (Paris), April 1982
• "Enfin Star!", in Cinématographe (Paris), November 1983
• "Un ami : Truffaut", in Cinématographe (Paris), December 1984

Articles by Leslie Caron

• Current Biography 1954, New York, 1954
• Film Dope (London), March 1982
• Stars (Mariembourg), Spring 1994

[ Source: Wikipedia ]