Who is Lesley Ann Warren?
Lesley is an American actress, perhaps still best recognized for portraying the title role in the TV musical “Cinderella” (1965), and as Norma Cassady in the film “Victor/Victoria” (1982), in addition to many other roles that she’s had in her career.
What is Lesley Ann Warren Doing Now?
Although in her mid- 70s, Lesley is still acting. Some of her most recent appearances include the role of Millicent Prescott in the TV series “Panhandle” (2022), and she is currently working on the television movie “Blind Psychosis”, which is in post-production.
Lesley Ann Warren Wiki: Age, Childhood, and Education
Lesley Ann Warren was born on 16 August 1946 in New York City, USA, the daughter of William Warren, a real estate agent, and his wife Margot, a singer originally from Britain. Of Russian-Jewish ancestry, she grew up in New York with her brother, Richard Lewis Warren. She went to Professional Children’s School when she was six years old, and later enrolled at The High School of Music & Art.
She started attending ballet lessons at the School of American Ballet when just 14 years old, and was accepted into the Actors Studio at the age of 17.
Career Beginnings and Immediate Success
Lesley’s acting debut happened on the stage in 1963, when she appeared in the musical “110 in the Shade”, while in 1965, she won the Theatre World Award for her work in the musical “Drat! The Cat!”.
After her initial success on stage, Lesley was cast in the lead role of Cinderella in the television musical of the same name, co-starring Stuart Damon and Ginger Rogers”.
Then in 1968, she played the role of Alice Bower in the musical film “The One and Only Genuine, Original Family Band”. The film is a period piece set in 1888, about a family of musicians in the American West who become involved in politics, and co-starred Janet Blair, Buddy Ebsen and Kurt Russell.
Warren appeared in the sixth season of the popular TV series “Mission: Impossible” in 1970, playing the role of Dana Lambert, a member of the Impossible Missions Force (IMF), the elite team of agents who carried out dangerous and complex missions for the US government. She appeared in 23 episodes of the critically acclaimed series of the time, co-starring alongside Peter Graves, Barbara Bain and Greg Morris.
In 1972 she was chosen for the part of Nicky in the thriller film “Pickup on 101”. The movie follows a woman who becomes involved with a killer, after she picks him up on the side of the road, co-starring alongside Jack Albertson, Edmond O’Brien and Mark Hamill.
Throughout the ’70s, she enjoyed success by appearing in various TV movies. She was Laura Reynolds in the 1973 TV film “The Letters”, a drama about a woman who discovers a series of love letters that her late husband had written to another woman; Warren starred alongside actress Jane Wyatt in this production.
Two years later, Lesley played the role of Lois Lane in the 1975 television adaptation of the musical “It’s a Bird… It’s a Plane… It’s Superman”, which follows Superman as he tries to stop a mad scientist from taking over the world, while also dealing with his complicated relationship with Lois Lane. Warren starred alongside David Wilson, Kenneth Mars, and Loretta Swit.
Lesley Ann Warren played the dual role of Marja Fludjicki and Marianne in the 1977 TV miniseries “79 Park Avenue”, a drama based on the Harold Robbins novel of the same name, about a woman who is forced into prostitution and rises to the top of a crime syndicate. Warren won a Golden Globe Award for her performance as Best Actress in a Television Series Drama, and starred alongside Marc Singer, Barbara Barrie and Polly Bergen.
Then in 1978, she appeared in two popular roles, first as Julie Roy in the TV drama “Betrayal”, and then played Dr. Carol Lang in the TV miniseries “Pearl”.
The ’80s and Continued Success
She had a tremendous start to the decade with the role of Norma Cassidy in the 1982 musical comedy film “Victor/Victoria”, about a struggling female singer who pretends to be a man performing in drag in order to find work, and eventually becomes romantically involved with a man who is unaware of her true gender. Warren’s performance earned her nominations for an Academy Award, Golden Globe, and New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress, starring alongside Julie Andrews, James Garner and Robert Preston.
Lesley continued her successful acting career with a series of notable roles – in 1983, she played Faye Hanlon in the drama film “A Night in Heaven”, and the following year starred in the romantic comedy “Choose Me”, portraying the character of Eve; her performance in the film was well-received by critics and audiences alike. In 1984, she appeared in the musical drama “Songwriter”, playing the role of Gilda, a performance which earned her a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture.
Four years later, Lesley portrayed Kathleen McCarthy, alongside James Woods, Charles Durning and Charles Haid in the action crime film “Cop”, which follows a veteran police officer who is forced to partner a younger detective in order to solve a series of murders in New York City. The same year, she played the role of Juanita Hutchins in the TV film “Baja Oklahoma”, a comedy-drama co-starring alongside Peter Coyote, Swoosie Kurtz and Patrick Cassidy, that follows a divorced, aspiring country singer who tries to make a new life for herself in California. Warren’s performance in the film earned her a nomination for the CableACE Award for Best Actress in a Movie or Miniseries.
Nothing changed for her in the ’90s – she secured another notable role playing Barbara Walker in the TV series “Family of Spies”, which earned her Golden Globe and Primetime Emmy Award nominations.
In 1992 she portrayed the real-life character of Wanda Holloway in the 1992 TV film “Willing to Kill: The Texas Cheerleader Story”. The movie is based on a true crime story following Holloway’s attempt to hire a hitman to kill the mother of her daughter’s cheerleading rival, co-starring Tess Harper, Dennis Christopher and Olivia Burnette.
In 1996, Lesley played Sandy in the thriller film “Natural Enemy”, the following year she appeared in the comedy-drama “Going All the Way”, portraying Nina Casselman, while in 1998, Warren starred in the crime drama “Love Kills” as Evelyn Heiss and played Glenda Holbeck in the drama film “All of It”. The same year she also played the role of Regina Rich in the 1998 holiday comedy “Richie Rich’s Christmas Wish”, then finished the decade in the 1999 film “The Limey”, in which she portrayed Elaine, and the independent drama “Twin Falls Idaho”, in which she played Francine.
The 2000s
With the start of the new millennium, Lesley focused more on independent films. She had a number of supporting roles, including the part of Joan Holloway in the film “Secretary”, while in 2005, she was Nancy Boxer in the film “Constellation”. The same year, she secured the recurring role of Sophie Bremmer in the TV drama series “Desperate Housewives”.
From 2008 to 2012, Lesley Ann Warren played the main role of Jinx Shannon in the crime drama TV series “In Plain Sight”, co-starring Mary McCormack, Frederick Weller and Paul Ben-Victor. The show follows the life of a US Marshal who’s in charge of the Federal Witness Protection Program, and Warren’s character is the mother of the main protagonist.
Since 2015, Lesley has worked on a number of projects, both in television and film, but has had little to no success. Some of the titles include “I Am Michael” (2015), “Between Us” (2016), “3 Days with Dad” (2019), and “All Rise” (2021), among others.
It’s official! Television ✨ icon✨ @TheLesleyWarren will play Samara Strong, a glamorous 80s actress in an upcoming #AllRise episode. pic.twitter.com/ubwXsiHWPU
— All Rise (@AllRiseOWN) January 21, 2021
Net Worth
According to authoritative sources, Lesley Ann Warren’s net worth is estimated at over $6 million, as of mid-2023.
Personal Life, Marriage, Husband, Children
Lesley has been married two times. Her first marriage was to producer Jon Peters and lasted from 1967 until 1975; they have a son together, Christopher Peters.
Two years later, she started living with choreographer Jeffrey Hornaday – their romance lasted until 1985.
She was then involved in several high-profile relationships, though they were only brief. Some of the names she dated include Robert Evans, a producer, and singers Paul Stanley and Bobby Darin, while she also was in affairs with John Strasberg and Val Kilmer.
Since 2000, she’s been married to ad executive Ron Taft; they first met in a hair salon in 1991.
Body Measurements
Lesley Ann Warren has dark brown hair and brown eyes. She stands at a height of 5ft 8ins (1.73m), weighs approximately 130lbs (59kgs), with vital statistics of 35-24-36, bra size 34C.
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