Leslie Caron was born in Montreal, Quebec on May 23, 1938. A true child of the silver screen, she was born into a family of actors. Her father, Philippe Caron, was a renowned comic actor of stage and screen, while her mother, Yvonne Vendroux, was an actress who had appeared in more than 80 films. Leslie began acting at the age of four when she starred in her first film, Les Triplettes de Belleville
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She also acted alongside her two sisters in the comedy La Famille Plouffe during which time she learned to sing and dance. As a young girl she appeared in several films including Marcel Carné's Le Dernier des Loisons (1944), Jacques-Yves Cousteau's Les Naufragés du Titanic (1953) and Claude Autant-Lara's Un Homme et son péché (1948). Her breakout role was that of the rebellious teenager Annette in Michel Audiard's La Haine (1962).
When she was 16 years old, Leslie starred alongside Yves Montand in the romantic comedy Un Homme et son péché which earned her both the Prix Jean Vigo and the Prix Louis Delluc at the Cannes Film Festival. She made her American debut in The Young Lovers (1958) followed by her most famous role as Suzanne Valadon in the film adaptation of Gertrude Stein's The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas.
The role earned her an Oscar nomination for Best Actress and brought her instant fame. Two years later, with no prior acting experience Leslie starred in La Cage aux Folles alongside Gene Kelly and Donald O'Connor.
