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 Southend-on-Sea and Colchester. It is located north-east of London a ...

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

, 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 ''Woman in a Dressing Gown'' is a 1957 British drama film directed by J. Lee Thompson and starring Yvonne Mitchell, Anthony Quayle, Sylvia Syms, and Carole Lesley. The film won four awards at the 7th Berlin International Film Festival includin ...

'', which won the 1958

Golden Globe Award for Best English-Language Foreign Film Golden Globe Award for Best English-Language Foreign Film was a Golden Globe award that was split from Best Foreign Film in 1957. It was discontinued in 1973. Winners * 1948 – ''Hamlet'' * 1955 – ''Richard III'' * 1957 – ''Woman in a Dressi ...

. She also appeared in ''

No Trees in the Street ''No Trees in the Street'' is a 1959 British crime thriller directed by J. Lee Thompson and written by Ted Willis, from his 1948 stage play of the same name. The film is set in the slums of London. It depicts the life of impoverished teenager T ...

'', ''

These Dangerous Years ''These Dangerous Years'' (also known as ''Dangerous Youth'') is a 1957 British drama musical film directed by Herbert Wilcox and starring George Baker, Frankie Vaughan, Carole Lesley, Thora Hird, Kenneth Cope, David Lodge and John Le Mesurie ...

'', ''

Doctor in Love ''Doctor in Love'' is a 1960 British comedy film, the fourth of the seven films in the ''Doctor'' series, starring James Robertson Justice as Sir Lancelot Spratt and Michael Craig as Dr Richard Hare. This was the first film in the series not t ...

'', ''

Operation Bullshine ''Operation Bullshine'' is a 1959 British colour comedy film directed by Gilbert Gunn and starring Donald Sinden, Barbara Murray and Carole Lesley. The working title of the film was ''Girls in Arms'' that features as a marching song in the fil ...

'' and ''

What a Whopper ''What a Whopper'' is a 1961 British comedy film directed by Gilbert Gunn. It was written by Terry Nation, from a story by Jeremy Lloyd and Trevor Peacock. Pop singer Adam Faith stars as a writer who travels with some friends to Scotland to fake ...

'', and played

Helen of Troy Helen of Troy, Helen, Helena, (Ancient Greek: Ἑλένη ''Helénē'', ) also known as beautiful Helen, Helen of Argos, or Helen of Sparta, was a figure in Greek mythology said to have been the most beautiful woman in the world. She was believe ...

in a television play. However,

Associated Associated may refer to: *Associated, former name of Avon, Contra Costa County, California * Associated Hebrew Schools of Toronto, a school in Canada *Associated Newspapers, former name of DMG Media, a British publishing company See also *Associati ...

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 O ...

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
1935 births 1974 deaths English film actresses 20th-century English actresses Actors from Chelmsford Drug-related suicides in England 1974 suicides {{UK-actor-stub