Lesley-Anne Down

Lesley-Anne Down was born and raised in Putney, which is located on the Thames-side part of London. She responded to a newspaper ad looking for child models when she was 10 and appeared in ads for Clairol, Clarks shoes and Caress soap. Landed her first role as a troubled teen in The Smashing Bird I Used to Know when she was 12. Left school at age 15. Became involved with writer Bruce Robinson (The Killing Fields) when she was 15 and he was 23; credits him for teaching her about the world. Went through a messy two-year custody trial with her ex-husband, director William Friedkin (The Exorcist) for their son, Jack. Although both were married to others at the time, she met and fell in love with her current husband, director/cinematographer Don Fauntleroy, on the set of NORTH AND SOUTH in 1985. Writes under the pseudonym W.F. Steinberg; some of her writing projects include The Devil’s Breath and Saving Grace. She was nominated for a Golden Globe Award in the Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV category in 1986, for NORTH AND SOUTH. She has won German Bravo Awards and the Evening Standard British Film Award for Most Promising Newcomer-Actress in 1978. She has also appeared on the cover of numerous publications, including Life magazine. Her official Web site is www.lesleyannedown.com.