Happy 80th Birthday Lelsie Caron

Leslie Claire Margaret Caron was born on July 1, 1931 in Boulogne-Billancourt, France. Her father was a French pharmacist and her mother an American ballerina. Leslie began learning ballet at the age of 9 and was a member of Les Ballets des Champs-Élysées at age 16. In 1948 she was discovered by actor Gene Kelly who she co-starred with in "An American in Paris" (1951). She signed a contract with M-G-M and appeared in such films as "Lili" (1953), "Daddy Long Legs" (1954), "Gigi" (1958). After her appearance in 1961's "Fanny" she drifted away from the big screen. Leslie began writing screenplays and returned to the stage. She did appear in a few blockbuster films such as "Is Paris Burning?" (1966) and "The Man Who Loved Women" (1971). In 2010 she appeared on stage as Madame Armfeldt in the French version of Steven Sondheim’s "A Little Night Music". Today she lives in Villeneuve-sur-Yonne, France where she owns a restaurant called La Lucarne aux chouettes for the past 15 years. Caron appeared in only one Euo-western, "Madron" (1970) with Richard Boone. Today we celebrate Leslie Caron’s 80^th birthday.