Leslie Browne (born June 29, 1957) is an American

prima ballerina A ballet dancer ( it, ballerina fem.; ''ballerino'' masc.) is a person who practices the art of classical ballet. Both females and males can practice ballet; however, dancers have a strict hierarchy and strict gender roles. They rely on ye ...

and actress. She was a principal dancer with the American Ballet Theatre in New York City from 1986 until 1993. She was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, as well as a Golden Globe Award at age 20, for portraying a young dancer invited to join a large New York ballet company in '' The Turning Point'' (1977).

Personal life

She was born in New York, the daughter of dancers Isabel Mirrow (1928-2014) and Kelly Kingman Brown (1928-1981). Her middle name, Sue, was the name of her maternal grandmother, Sue Brown, a respected dance teacher in Mississippi. The late

Nora Kaye Nora Kaye-Ross (January 17, 1920 – February 28, 1987) was an American prima-ballerina known for her ability to perform dramatic roles. Called the ''Duse of Dance'' after the acclaimed actress Eleonora Duse, she also worked in films as a chore ...

and

Herbert Ross Herbert David Ross (May 13, 1927 – October 9, 2001) was an American actor, choreographer, director and producer who worked predominantly in theater and film. He was nominated for two Academy Awards and a Tony Award. He is known for directing ...

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 the School of American Ballet, then joined the distinguished

New York City Ballet New York City Ballet (NYCB) is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company. Léon Barzin was the company' ...

. She also studied acting at

HB Studio The HB Studio (Herbert Berghof Studio) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization offering professional training in the performing arts through classes, workshops, free lectures, theater productions, theater rentals, a theater artist residency progra ...

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...

. She added an "e" to her last name for her stage name, considering it more feminine after being mistaken as male in a playbill.

Ballet career

In 1976 she joined the '' American 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 her

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

debut in the show '' The Red Shoes''. She has also choreographed, and taught dance. In 1997 she was awarded the ''Distinguished Achievement Award'' by the New York City Dance Alliance.

''The Turning Point''

In 1977, a film based on her family, '' The Turning Point'' was created by Nora Kaye and Herbert Ross.

Gelsey Kirkland Gelsey Kirkland (born December 29, 1952) is an American ballerina. She received early ballet training at the School of American Ballet. Kirkland joined the New York City Ballet in 1968 at age 15, at the invitation of George Balanchine. She was ...

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 a Golden Globe award and Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

Other works

Browne also appeared in the dance films ''

Nijinsky Vaslav (or Vatslav) Nijinsky (; rus, Вацлав Фомич Нижинский, Vatslav Fomich Nizhinsky, p=ˈvatsləf fɐˈmʲitɕ nʲɪˈʐɨnskʲɪj; pl, Wacław Niżyński, ; 12 March 1889/18908 April 1950) was a ballet dancer and choreog ...

'' (1980) and '' Dancers'' (1987), both directed by

. She also appeared on the television series ''

Happy Days ''Happy Days'' is an American television sitcom that aired first-run on the ABC network from January 15, 1974, to July 19, 1984, with a total of 255 half-hour episodes spanning 11 seasons. Created by Garry Marshall, it was one of the most su ...

'' as a special guest star as a dancer-girlfriend of Fonzie's.

References

External links

* *
NYC Dance Alliance

{{DEFAULTSORT:Browne, Leslie American ballerinas American film actresses 1957 births Living people 21st-century American women