The Unstoppable Leslie Caron

Leslie Caron is living the most extraordinary life, which you can’t help but admire.

Starting in Paris, Leslie trained in ballet, and renowned ballet director Roland Petit discovered her and hired her to perform in Ballets des Champs-Elysees. During her time working for Petit, she was regularly performing on the stage, and during one of her routines, she was spotted by Hollywood star Gene Kelly.

Gene Kelly was on the hunt for a dancer for the upcoming film An American in Paris. After watching Leslie perform in the ballet, he offered her a contract to come to Hollywood and perform opposite him in the MGM classic.

Following the film’s success, Leslie Caron was offered a seven-year contract with the famed studio. Unsure what to make of it all, Caron accepted the generous offer and was quickly put to work in back-to-back musicals. The studio was determined to get the most out of their new star, who could dance flawlessly. 

In 1953 Leslie Caron received her first Oscar nomination for her performance in Lili. But her memorable musical role came her way in the form of Gigi in 1958.

“I thought musicals were futile and silly,” Caron said in 2021; “I appreciate them better now.”

Leslie Caron’s studio contract with MGM ended in 1958, and like most actors of the time, they wanted more creative control over their career and film choices and became free agents. 

Around this time, Leslie Caron relocated with her second husband, Peter Hall, to London with her two children, Christopher and Jennifer. 

Leslie Caron wanted to advance her technique as an actor and studied the Stanislavski method. She landed the role of Jane in The L-Shaped Room, which won Caron a BAFTA and Golden Globe and an Oscar nomination for Best Actress. Leslie Caron’s performance in this role is outstanding.

Having worked with the likes of Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire, it only seems fitting that Leslie Caron returned to Hollywood in 1964 to star opposite Cary Grant in Father Goose. It is a slapstick comedy that turned out to be the last film of Cary Grant’s long-lasting career, and he retired from the silver screen after this film was complete.

When things couldn’t get any more interesting for Leslie, she decided to have a relationship with notorious heartthrob Warren Beatty. During her time with Beatty, she convinced him to take the role of Bonnie and Clyde, which catapulted Beatty into movie stardom.

Relocating back to France in the late 1960s, Leslie Caron hoped to break into French cinema, but only a few roles came her way during this time. Interestingly enough, a lot of her work during the late 1960s and early 1970s was back in Hollywood or London, as only a few opportunities came her way to work in France.

Valentino was an exciting film that came Leslie Caron’s way in 1977. Leslie played the role of the late silent film star Alla Nazimova. The film is an eccentric look at the life of silent film star Rudolph Valentino, and Leslie Caron plays the role remarkably well.

Like many stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood during the 1980s, they picked up recurring roles on The Love Boat and Falcon Crest, as with Leslie. 

But she still had offers for film work and picked up a couple of memorable roles. The first is Coco Chanel in the TV movie The Man Who Lived at the Ritz, and the second is Elizabeth in Damages, directed by Louis Malle.

During the 1990s, Leslie Caron’s pivoted, and she owned and operated a small hotel south of Paris called Auberge la Lucarne aux Chouettes (The Owls’ Nest). She continued this for 15 years but still managed to work in TV and film.

The late 1990s and early 2000s was an era that reintroduced Leslie Caron to a younger generation. This time presented some very entertaining and memorable roles, including Katie Parker in Funny Bones (1995), Madeleine the double bass player in The Last of the Blonde Bombshells (2000), the adorable Madame Audel in Chocolat and Suzanne de Persand in The Divorce. These are a must to watch for anyone fascinated by the remarkable career of Leslie Caron.

In 2016 Leslie Caron relocated from Paris to London to secure more work. As is outlined in a very open and frank documentary made around the time of her relocation Leslie Caron: The Reluctant Star. The documentary is a candid retelling of her life in her own voice. When many stars of that era try to create a mystic and gloss over many aspects of their life, Leslie Caron is no holes barred, which is very refreshing but also proves she is a star for all generations.

More recently, Leslie has continued to appear on our screens with a recurring role on the British TV hit The Durrells of Corfu. Her role in the series almost seems to be written for her, the character Countess Mavrodaki. Coincidentally the series is produced by her son Christopher Hall.

Whether you’re a fan of old-fashioned Hollywood musicals, a good drama, or a comedy Leslie Caron is a versatile actor you can enjoy watching on the screen.

Leslie Caron is a genuinely remarkable actor of our time who has continually developed and grown and is not one to be pigeoned-holed into what was an era of film of a bygone age. Caron has evolved and continued to work and shows time and again her talent is across all genres. Leslie Caron is an artist that can be enjoyed by all generations.

Many of her films and TV movies are available across all streaming platforms, with a good number currently on HBO Max.