Lesley Ann Warren

Lesley Ann Warren (born August 16, 1946) is an American actress, singer and dancer.

Warren began training as a ballet dancer at the age of 14, entering the School of American Ballet in 1961.

The following year she made a tape of herself singing the Queen of the Night aria from The Magic Flute (the first and only time she sang opera).

She entered the Actors Studio at the age of 17 — reputedly the youngest applicant ever to be accepted.

She made her Broadway debut in 110 in the Shade in 1963.

Her Broadway debut came in 1963 in the musical 110 in the Shade.

In 1965 she received wide recognition for playing the title role in the television musical production of Cinderella.

She won the Theatre World Award for her performance in the 1965 flop musical Drat! The Cat!

Warren achieved her first major television success in the title role of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella in 1965.

Her television appearances through the decade included Dr. Kildare; Gunsmoke; The Mod Squad; Love, American Style; and The Carol Burnett Show.

She then had starring roles in the Disney musical films The Happiest Millionaire (1967) and The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band (1968).

Her film debut in the 1967 musical comedy The Happiest Millionaire was the last movie Walt Disney produced before his death.

Warren would again share the screen with John Davidson the following year in the musical film The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band.

She placed No. 15 on the Laurel Awards list for Female New Face in 1968.

In the 1970s, Warren worked mostly on television, receiving a Golden Globe nomination for playing Dana Lambert in the CBS drama series Mission: Impossible (1970–71).

Notable in television roles throughout the 1970s, Warren was leading lady Dana Lambert during the 1970–71 season of the CBS action drama Mission: Impossible.

Her performance earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

Additional TV movies and miniseries of this time include The Daughters of Joshua Cabe (1972) and The Letters (1973).

Warren appeared in two feature films during the decade, Pickup on 101 (1972) and Harry and Walter Go to New York (1976).

In between films, she returned to the stage to portray Scarlett O'Hara in the 1973 Los Angeles production of the musical Scarlett, though poor reviews prevented the intended Broadway run.

Warren played a fatefully and fatally gullible psychiatric patient opposite Peter Falk and George Hamilton in the 1975 Columbo episode "A Deadly State of Mind".

Warren also played Lois Lane in the 1975 TV special It's a Bird... It's a Plane... It's Superman, adapted from the Broadway musical of the same name.

Additional television credits include The Legend of Valentino (1975), Betrayal (1978), and Pearl (1978).

In 1978, she won a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Drama Series for the NBC miniseries Harold Robbins' 79 Park Avenue.

(Warren would screen test for the role of Lois Lane in the 1978 Superman film, ultimately cast with Margot Kidder.)

She received critical acclaim, as well as the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama in 1978, for the NBC miniseries Harold Robbins' 79 Park Avenue.

Warren delved into the antics of The Muppet Show as the guest star of a third season episode in 1979.

Her other film appearances include Race for the Yankee Zephyr (1981), A Night in Heaven (1983), Choose Me (1984), Clue (1985), Burglar (1987), Cop (1988), Life Stinks (1991), Pure Country (1992), Color of Night (1994), The Limey (1999), and Secretary (2002).

Warren was born in Manhattan, the daughter of real estate agent William C. Warren (né Woronoff), and the former Carol Margot Dorothea Verblow, a nightclub singer who migrated to the US from Eastbourne.

She has a younger brother, Richard Lewis Warren.

Her family is Jewish, with roots in Russia on both sides.

She attended the Professional Children's School at the age of six and The High School of Music & Art at the age of 13.

In 1981, Warren returned to the big screen starring alongside Ken Wahl, George Peppard, and Donald Pleasence in Race for the Yankee Zephyr, a New Zealand suspense-action-thriller film directed by David Hemmings.

The following year, she played ditzy gun moll Norma Cassidy in Blake Edwards' musical comedy Victor/Victoria for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe and Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

In 1983, Warren was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for playing Norma Cassidy in Victor/Victoria.

She went to star in the 1983 romantic drama A Night in Heaven with Christopher Atkins; critics widely panned the film.

She received two additional Golden Globe nominations for performances in Songwriter (1984) and Family of Spies (1990).

Warren received another Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress for starring opposite Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson in the 1984 musical comedy film Songwriter.

That same year, she had a leading role in the love triangle drama Choose Me with Keith Carradine and Genevieve Bujold.

She turned down a chance to audition for the Kathleen Turner role in Romancing the Stone.