Carole Lesley (27 May 1935 – 28 February 1974) was a British actress who had a short but significant career as a "blonde bombshell". She was born Maureen Rippingale in

Chelmsford Chelmsford () is a city in the City of Chelmsford district in the county of Essex, England. It is the county town of Essex and one of three cities in the county, along with Colchester and Southend-on-Sea. It is located north-east of London ...

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

, but ran away from home at the age of 16, "aiming to become a star". She starred in several films in the late 1950s and early 1960s, including the 1957 film '' Woman in a Dressing Gown'', which won the 1958 Golden Globe Award for Best English-Language Foreign Film. She also appeared in '' No Trees in the Street'', '' These Dangerous Years'', '' Doctor in Love'', '' Operation Bullshine'' and '' What a Whopper'', and played

Helen of Troy Helen (), also known as Helen of Troy, or Helen of Sparta, and in Latin as Helena, was a figure in Greek mythology said to have been the most beautiful woman in the world. She was believed to have been the daughter of Zeus and Leda (mythology), ...

in a television play. However, Associated decided to end her contract, which devastated her and she disappeared from the public eye. She subsequently lived in a semi-detached house overlooking New Barnet station in north London, but by 1973 was described as "a deeply depressed, once beautiful woman, still haunted by a glamorous past". She was found dead by her husband Michael Dalling in their

New Barnet New Barnet is a neighbourhood on the north east side of the London Borough of Barnet. It is a largely residential North London suburb located east of Chipping Barnet, west of Cockfosters, south of the village of Monken Hadley and north of Oaklei ...

home on 28 February 1974. At her inquest it was determined that she had died of a drug overdose and that she had "killed herself".

Filmography

References

External links

*
Deborah Orr article featuring photo of Carole LesleyCarole Lesley - 'The actress who never went to Hollywood' featuring several Pathe News clips
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lesley, Carole 1935 births 1974 deaths English film actresses 20th-century English actresses Actresses from Chelmsford Drug-related suicides in England 1974 suicides