Leslie Browne | |
|---|---|
| Born | Leslie Sue Brown (1957-06-29)June 29, 1957 (age 68) New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | dancer, actress |
| Spouse | Leonid Slepak[1] |
Leslie Browne (born June 29, 1957) is an Americanprima ballerina and actress. She was a principal dancer with theAmerican Ballet Theatre in New York City from 1986 until 1993. She was also nominated for anAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actress,[2] as well as aGolden Globe Award[3] at age 20, for portraying a young dancer invited to join a large New York ballet company inThe Turning Point (1977).
She was born in New York, the daughter of dancersIsabel Mirrow (1928-2014) and Kelly Kingman Brown (1928-1981).[4] Her middle name, Sue, was the name of her paternal grandmother, Sue Brown, a respected dance teacher in Mississippi. The lateNora Kaye andHerbert Ross were her godparents. She has two brothers and one sister; her brother Kevin is a film producer. At the age of seven she began dancing, and trained at her father's studio in Arizona, along with her brother Ethan and her sister Elizabeth. She earned a scholarship to study at theSchool of American Ballet, then joined the distinguishedNew York City Ballet.[5] She also studied acting atHB Studio[6] inGreenwich Village. She added an "e" to her last name for her stage name, considering it more feminine after being mistaken as male in aplaybill.[7][8]
In 1976 she joined theAmerican Ballet Theatre as a soloist, then became principal in 1986. She retired from the company in 1993. Since then she has made guest appearances, studied acting for three years, and made herBroadway debut in the showThe Red Shoes.[9] She has also choreographed, and taught dance. In 1997 she was awarded theDistinguished Achievement Award by the New York City Dance Alliance.
In 1977, a film based on her family,The Turning Point was created by Nora Kaye and Herbert Ross.[citation needed]Gelsey Kirkland was cast to play Emilia, but after Kirkland dropped out due to substance abuse issues as well as a dislike of the script, Ross cast Browne in the role, believing that she could play a fictionalized version of herself. She went on to be nominated for aGolden Globe award andAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
Browne also appeared in the dance filmsNijinsky (1980)[10] andDancers (1987), both directed byHerbert Ross. She also appeared on the television seriesHappy Days as a special guest star as a dancer-girlfriend of Fonzie's.
