Editing Leslie Caron (section)

==Career==
Caron was initially a ballerina. Gene Kelly discovered her in the [[Roland Petit]] company "Ballet des Champs Elysées" and cast her to appear opposite him in the musical ''[[An American in Paris (film)|An American in Paris]]'' (1951), a role for which a pregnant [[Cyd Charisse]] was originally cast. The prosperity, sunshine and abundance of California was a cultural shock to Caron. She had lived in Paris during the [[Paris in World War II|German occupation]], which left her [[Malnutrition|malnourished]] and [[Anemia|anemic]]. She later remarked how nice people were in comparison to wartime Paris, in which poverty and deprivation had caused people to be bitter and violent. She had a friendly relationship with Kelly, who nicknamed her "Lester the Pester"<ref>{{cite episode| title=Leslie Caron: Dancing From WWII Paris To Hollywood| url=https://www.npr.org/2012/11/29/166022200/leslie-caron-dancing-from-wwii-paris-to-hollywood| access-date=March 27, 2022| date=November 29, 2012| first=Susan| last=Stamberg| series=[[Morning Edition]]| network=[[NPR]]| language=en}}</ref> and "kid". Kelly helped the inexperienced Caron—who had never spoken on stage—adjust to filmmaking.{{r|hattenstone20210621}}.

Her role led to a seven-year [[MGM]] contract.{{r|hattenstone20210621}} The films which followed included the musical ''[[The Glass Slipper (film)|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."{{Citation needed |date=May 2021}} She also starred in the musicals ''[[Lili (1953 film)|Lili]]'' (1953, receiving an [[Academy Award for Best Actress]] nomination), with [[Mel Ferrer]]; ''[[Daddy Long Legs (1955 film)|Daddy Long Legs]]'' (1955), with [[Fred Astaire]]; and ''[[Gigi (1958 film)|Gigi]]'' (1958) with [[Louis Jourdan]] and [[Maurice Chevalier]].

[[File:Eiganotomo-lesliecaron-dec1953.jpg|thumb|Caron in 1953]]

Dissatisfied with her career despite her success ("I thought musicals were futile and silly", she said in 2021; "I appreciate them better now"), Caron studied the [[Stanislavski method]].<ref name="hattenstone20210621">{{cite news |last=Hattenstone |first=Simon |date=June 21, 2021 |title='I am very shy. It's amazing I became a movie star': Leslie Caron at 90 on love, art and addiction |language=en |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |location=[[London]] |url=http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2021/jun/21/i-am-very-shy-its-amazing-i-became-a-movie-star-leslie-caron-at-90-on-love-art-and-addiction |access-date=June 22, 2021}}</ref> In the 1960s and thereafter, Caron worked in European films as well. For her performance in the British drama ''[[The L-Shaped Room]]'' (1962), she won the [[BAFTA Award for Best British Actress]] and the [[Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture, Drama|Golden Globe]], and was nominated for the Best Actress Oscar.<ref>[[Matthew Kennedy (author)|Kennedy, Matthew]] (February 2010). [http://brightlightsfilm.com/67/67bookscaron.php ''Thank Heaven: A Memoir,'' by Leslie Caron] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20130616112222/http://brightlightsfilm.com/67/67bookscaron.php |date=June 16, 2013}}. ''[[Bright Lights Film Journal]]'' Issue 67.</ref> Her other film assignments in this period included ''[[Father Goose (film)|Father Goose]]'' (1964) with [[Cary Grant]]; [[Ken Russell]]'s ''[[Valentino (1977 film)|Valentino]]'' (1977), in the role of silent-screen legend [[Alla Nazimova]]; and [[Louis Malle]]'s ''[[Damage (1992 film)|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]] (MIFF).<ref name="Moscow1967">{{cite web |url=http://www.moscowfilmfestival.ru/miff34/eng/archives/?year=1967 |title=5th Moscow International Film Festival (1967) |access-date=December 9, 2012 |website=[[Moscow International Film Festival|MIFF]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116194759/http://www.moscowfilmfestival.ru/miff34/eng/archives/?year=1967 |archive-date=January 16, 2013 }}</ref> In 1989, she was a member of the jury at the [[39th Berlin International Film Festival]].<ref name="Berlinale">{{cite web |url=http://www.berlinale.de/en/archiv/jahresarchive/1989/04_jury_1989/04_Jury_1989.html |title=Berlinale: 1989 Juries |access-date=March 9, 2011 |website=[[Berlinale]]}}</ref>

Caron returned to France in the early 1970s, which she later said was a mistake. "They adore someone who's really British or really American", Caron said, "but somebody who's French and has made it in Hollywood – and I was the only one who had really made it in a big way – they can't forgive".{{r|hattenstone20210621}} During the 1980s, she appeared in several episodes of the soap opera ''[[Falcon Crest]]'' as Nicole Sauguet. Caron is one of the few actresses from the classic era of MGM musicals who are still active{{when?|date=December 2023}} in film — a group that includes [[Rita Moreno]], [[Margaret O'Brien]] and [[June Lockhart]]. Caron's later credits include ''[[Funny Bones]]'' (1995) with [[Jerry Lewis]] and [[Oliver Platt]]; ''[[The Last of the Blonde Bombshells]]'' (2000) with [[Judi Dench]] and [[Cleo Laine]]; ''[[Chocolat (2000 film)|Chocolat]]'' (2000) and ''[[Le Divorce]]'' (2003), directed by [[James Ivory]], with [[Kate Hudson]] and [[Naomi Watts]].

On June 30, 2003, Caron travelled 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 [[Primetime Emmy Award]]. On April 27, 2009, Caron travelled to New York as an honoured guest at a tribute to [[Alan Jay Lerner]] and [[Frederick Loewe]] at [[the Paley Center for Media]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.paleycenter.org/the-musicals-of-lerner-and-loewe-an-evening-of-song-and-television/ |title=The Musicals of Lerner & Loewe: An Evening of Song and Television |date=April 27, 2009 |website=The Paley Center for Media |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090628233257/http://www.paleycenter.org/the-musicals-of-lerner-and-loewe-an-evening-of-song-and-television |archive-date=June 28, 2009 }}</ref>

For her contributions to the film industry, Caron was inducted into the [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]] on December 8, 2009, with a [[List of actors with Hollywood Walk of Fame motion picture stars|motion pictures star]] located at 6153 [[Hollywood Boulevard]].<ref name=hwof>{{cite web |url=http://www.walkoffame.com/leslie-caron |website=Hollywood Walk of Fame |title=Leslie Caron |access-date=February 11, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160403095749/http://www.walkoffame.com/leslie-caron |archive-date=April 3, 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref> 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]].<ref name=cbs2>{{cite news |work=[[KCAL-TV|KCAL News]] |title=Leslie Caron Receives Walk of Fame Star |date=December 8, 2009 |url=http://cbs2.com/local/Leslie.Caron.Receives.2.1357706.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091211064019/http://cbs2.com/local/Leslie.Caron.Receives.2.1357706.html |archive-date=December 11, 2009}}</ref>

In 2016, Caron appeared in the [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]] television series ''[[The Durrells]]'' (produced by her son Christopher Hall) as the Countess Mavrodaki.

Veteran documentarian Larry Weinstein's ''Leslie Caron: The Reluctant Star'' premiered at the [[Toronto International Film Festival]] (TIFF) on June 28, 2016.<ref>{{citation |title=Leslie Caron: The Reluctant Star |date=June 28, 2016 |url=http://tiff.net/summer2016-cinematheque/tiff-cinematheque-special-screenings-summer-2016/leslie-caron-the-reluctant-star |website=TIFF Cinematheque Special Screenings: Summer 2016 |access-date=May 31, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160619043522/http://tiff.net/summer2016-cinematheque/tiff-cinematheque-special-screenings-summer-2016/leslie-caron-the-reluctant-star |archive-date=June 19, 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref>