Lesley Ann Warren Biography

Lesley Ann Warren (born August 16, 1946) is an American actress and singer. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for the 1982 film Victor/Victoria. She is also an Emmy Award nominee and five-time Golden Globe Award nominee, winning the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Drama Series for the 1977 NBC miniseries Harold Robbins' 79 Park Avenue.

Warren made her Broadway debut in 1963, and her film debut in The Happiest Millionaire in 1967. Her other film appearances include Clue (1985), Burglar (1987), Cop (1988), Color of Night (1994), and Secretary (2002). She has also appeared in numerous television shows, including Mission: Impossible, Desperate Housewives, Will & Grace, and In Plain Sight.

Early life and education

Warren was born in New York City, the daughter of Margot (ne Verblow), a singer, and William Warren, a real estate agent. Her family was Russian Jewish, on both sides, and her father's original surname was "Warrenoff".

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

Career

The Warren began her career as a ballet dancer, training at the School of American Ballet. She entered the Actors Studio at the age of 17"?reputedly the youngest applicant ever to be accepted. Her Broadway debut came in 1963 in the musical 110 in the Shade. She won the Theatre World Award for her performance in the 1965 flop musical Drat! The Cat!. In 1973, she portrayed Scarlett O'Hara in the Los Angeles production of the musical Scarlett; however, the play was poorly reviewed and did not continue to Broadway as planned.

Having failed to obtain the role of Liesl in the film version of The Sound of Music, Warren's first major television success was in the title role of Rodgers and Hammerstein's television special Cinderella in 1965. She later played the part of Dana Lambert, the leading female on the Mission: Impossible team, during the 1970-71 television season. According to The Complete Mission: Impossible Dossier by Patrick White, she was considered too inexperienced for the part and left after only one year. Despite her departure, throughout the 1970s Warren became a leading lady of TV movies, TV series, and TV miniseries. She appeared as a guest star in the third season of The Muppet Show and made an occasional feature film. 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. Warren went on to screen-test for the role of Lois Lane in the 1978 Superman film, a role that was ultimately won by Margot Kidder (footage of Warren's screen test has been included as a supplementary feature on VHS and DVD releases of the film).

In 1981, she starred with Ken Wahl, George Peppard, and Donald Pleasence in Race for the Yankee Zephyr, a New Zealand suspense-action-thriller film directed by David Hemmings. For her portrayal of dim-witted gangster's moll Norma Cassidy in the 1982 musical-comedy Victor/Victoria, Warren was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. Warren is also a five-time Golden Globe nominee and won for the 1977 miniseries Harold Robbins' 79 Park Avenue. She was Emmy-nominated for the TV movie Family of Spies (1991).

In 1975, Warren played a mental patient opposite Peter Falk and George Hamilton in the Columbo episode "A Deadly State of Mind". Warren played Princess Jeanetta in the Shelley Duvall's Faerie Tale Theatre episode The Dancing Princesses, an adaptation of the fairy tale The Twelve Dancing Princesses. She starred as one of the prime murder suspects, Miss Scarlet, in the comedy film version of the popular board game Clue (1985). In 1986, Lesley was prominently featured in Bob Seger's popular music video for his hit song "American Storm." In 1989, she appeared in the Aerosmith video "Janie's Got a Gun", wherein she played Janie's mother. She was also featured in a video for the Eagles' "Life in the Fast Lane". In 1994, Warren had a major supporting role in the erotic thriller Color of Night, in which she played a nymphomaniac; the film was poorly received, and she was nominated for a Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actress. However, it was successful on the home video market.

Warren had recurring roles on Will & Grace as Will Truman's father's mistress and on Desperate Housewives as Susan Mayer's mother. Other television roles have included Lily Lebowski's mother on Crossing Jordan and Kip Stedman's mother in Less than Perfect.

Warren played the role of Mary Shannon's mother in the USA Network original television series In Plain Sight.

Personal life

Warren married producer Jon Peters in 1967. They divorced in 1974. They have one son, Christopher Peters (born 1968), an actor and producer. She married Ronald Taft in 2000.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1965	Cinderella	Cinderella
1967	'	Cordy
1968		Alice Bower
1972	Pickup on 101	Nicky
1976	Harry and Walter Go to New York	Gloria Fontaine
1981	Treasure of the Yankee Zephyr	Sally
1982	Victor/Victoria	Norma Cassady
1983	'	Faye Hanlon
1984	Choose Me	Eve
1984	Songwriter	Gilda
1985	Clue	Miss Scarlet
1987	Burglar	Dr. Cynthia Sheldrake
1988	Cop	Kathleen McCarthy
1989	Worth Winning	Eleanor Larimore
1991	Life Stinks	Molly
1992	Pure Country	Lula Rogers
1994	Color of Night	Sondra Dorio
1995	Bird of Prey	Carla Carr
1996	Natural Enemy	Sandy	Video
1997	Going All the Way	Nina Casselman
1998	Love Kills	Evelyn Heiss
1998	All of It	Glenda Holbeck
1999	'	Elaine
1999	Twin Falls Idaho	Francine
1999	Teaching Mrs. Tingle	Faye Watson
2000	Ropewalk	Charlie's mom
2000	Trixie	Dawn Sloane
2001	Delivering Milo	Anna
2001	'	Anna
2001	Losing Grace	Mary Reed
2002	Secretary	Joan Holloway
2004	My Tiny Universe	Vee
2005	Constellation	Nancy Boxer
2005	When Do We Eat?	Peggy Stuckman
2005	Deepwater	Pam
2005	'	Mrs. Becky Harris
2006	Miracle Dogs Too	Nurse Bleaker	Video
2006	10th & Wolf	Tina
2010	Stiffs	Joy Tramontana
2010	'	Joan Dunning
2010	Peep World	Marilyn Meyerwitz
2013	Jobs	Clara Jobs
2015	I Am Michael	Susan
2015	'	Wendy
2016	It Snows All the Time	Anne
2016	Between Us	Elsa
2017	Life Support	Dawn	Post-production
2018	American Pets		Post-production

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1965	Cinderella	Cinderella	TV film
1965	For the People	Terry	"Dangerous to the Public Peace and Safety"
1966	Dr. Kildare	Bonda Jo Weaver	Guest role (4 episodes)
1966	Gunsmoke	Betsy Payson	"Harvest"
1966	Run for Your Life	Julie Foster	"The Last Safari"
1969	'	Virginia 'Ginny' Wells	"A Run for the Money"
1969	Seven in Darkness	Deborah Cabot	TV film
1969	Love, American Style	Tippi	"Love and the Divorce Sale"
1970-71	Mission: Impossible	Dana Lambert	Main role (season 5)
1971	Love Hate Love	Sheila Blunden	TV film
1971	Cat Ballou	Cat Ballou	TV film
1972	Assignment: Munich	Cathy Lange	TV film
1972	'	Mae	TV film
1973	Dr. Simon Locke	Laura March	"Requiem for a Canary"
1973	Night Gallery	Hyacinth	"Death on a Barge"
1973	'	Laura Reynolds	TV film
1973	Saga of Sonora	Emmy Lou	TV film
1975	It's a Bird... It's a Plane... It's Superman	Lois Lane	TV film
1975	Columbo	Nadia Donner	"A Deadly State of Mind"
1975	S.W.A.T.	Linda	"Deadly Tide: Parts 1 & 2"
1975	Doctors' Hospital	Sybil Payson	"Sleepless and Pale Eyelids"
1975	Harry O	Gail Stephens	"APB Harry Orwell"
1975	'	Laura Lorraine	TV film
1976	Snip	Beverly	Unsold TV series
1976	Jigsaw John	Claudine	"Too Much, Too Soon"
1977	79 Park Avenue	Marja Fludjicki / Marianne	TV miniseries
1978	Betrayal	Julie Roy	TV film
1978	Pearl	Dr. Carol Lang	TV miniseries
1979	Portrait of a Stripper	Susie Hanson	TV film
1980	Beulah Land	Sarah Pennington	TV miniseries
1982	Portrait of a Showgirl	Jillian Brooks	TV film
1985	Evergreen	Anna Friedman	TV miniseries
1986	Apology	Lily	TV film
1986	'	Kelsey Wilkes	TV film
1987	Faerie Tale Theatre	Jeanetta	"The Dancing Princesses"
1988	Baja Oklahoma	Juanita Hutchins	TV film
1990	Family of Spies	Barbara Walker	TV miniseries
1990	American Playwrights Theater: The One-Acts	Flora	"27 Wagons Full of Cotton"
1990	Lola	Lola Baltic	TV film
1991	'	Melanie Evans	TV film
1992	In Sickness and in Health	Anita Mattison	TV film
1992	Willing to Kill: The Texas Cheerleader Story	Wanda Holloway	TV film
1993	'	Carol Sanders	TV film
1995	Murderous Intent	Gayle	TV film
1999	Jesse	Susan	"Momma Was a Rollin' Stone"
2000	Twice in a Lifetime	Rhonda Finkelstein / Sadie Arnstein	"Matchmaker, Matchmaker"
2001	Wolf Girl	Dr. Klein	TV film
2001-2006	Will & Grace	Tina	Recurring role
2002	St. Sass	Slim Kaplan	TV film
2002-2005	Crossing Jordan	Arlene Lebowski	"Don't Look Back", "Locard's Exchange"
2003	Touched by an Angel	Kelly Cartwright	"As It Is in Heaven"
2003	'	Sylvia Bakey	"Choirboys", "Special Deliveries"
2003	Recipe for Disaster	Marie Korda	TV film
2004	Less than Perfect	Diane Steadman	"Claude's Apartment"
2005-2011	Desperate Housewives	Sophie Bremmer	Recurring role
2008-2012	In Plain Sight	Jinx Shannon	Main role
2009	Bound by a Secret	Jane Tetley	TV film
2011	Working Class	Barbara	"Medieval Woman"
2013	Psych	Leslie	"100 Clues"
2015	Community	Deb Perry	"Lawnmower Maintenance & Postnatal Care", "Advanced Safety Features"
2015	Gigi Does It	Tretchy Feinberg	"Wart-a-Colors", "Whine"
2016	Blunt Talk	Cornelia	3 episodes
2016-17	Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce	Dina	"No Means... No", "Let Them Eat Cupcakes"