Lesley Ann Warren | |
---|---|
Warren in 2009
|
|
Born |
New York City, New York, U.S. |
August 16, 1946
Other names | Lesley Warren |
Occupation | Actress, singer |
Years active | 1962–present |
Spouse(s) |
Jon Peters (m. 1967; div. 1974) Ronald Taft (m. 2000) |
Children | Christopher Peters |
Lesley Ann Warren (born August 16, 1946) is an American actress and singer. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for the 1982 film Victor/Victoria. She is also an Emmy Award nominee and five-time Golden Globe Award nominee, winning the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Drama Series for the 1977 NBC miniseries Harold Robbins' 79 Park Avenue.
Warren made her Broadway debut in 1963, and her film debut in The Happiest Millionaire in 1967. Her other film appearances include Clue (1985), Burglar (1987), Cop (1988), Color of Night (1994), and Secretary (2002). She has also appeared in numerous television shows, including Mission: Impossible, Desperate Housewives, Will & Grace, and In Plain Sight.
Warren was born in New York City, the daughter of Margot (née Verblow), a singer, and William Warren, a real estate agent. Her family was Russian-Jewish, on both sides, and her father's original surname was "Warrenoff".
She attended the Professional Children's School and The High School of Music & Art.
The 5-foot-8-inch (1.73 m) Warren began her career as a ballet dancer, training at the School of American Ballet. She entered the Actors Studio at the age of 17—reputedly the youngest applicant ever to be accepted. Her Broadway debut came in 1963 in the musical 110 in the Shade. She won the Theatre World Award for her performance in the 1965 flop musical Drat! The Cat!. In 1973, she portrayed Scarlett O'Hara in the Los Angeles production of the musical Scarlett; however, the play was poorly reviewed and did not continue to Broadway as planned.