Carole Lesley

Biography

Maureen Rippingale (27 May 1935, in Chelmsford – 28 February 1974, in New Barnet), known professionally as Carole Lesley, was a British actress who had a short but significant career as a "blonde bombshell". Lesley 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 Doctor in Love, Operation Bullshine and What a Whopper, and played Helen of Troy 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 Railway Station, but by 1973 was felt by some to be "a deeply depressed, once beautiful woman, still haunted by a glamorous past". She died of a drug overdose.

Known For

Woman in a Dressing Gown

Hilda Harper

Three on a Spree

Susan

What a Whopper

Charlotte 'Charlie' Pinner

Trottie True

Clare as a child

No Trees in the Street

Lova

Operation Bullshine

Pvt. Marge White

Doctor in Love

Miss Kitten Strudwick

The Good Companions

Film Star (as Leslie Carroll)

Filmography

Year	Movie	Role
1962	The Pot Carriers	Wendy
1961	What a Whopper	Charlotte 'Charlie' Pinner
1961	Three on a Spree	Susan
1960	Doctor in Love	Miss Kitten Strudwick
1959	Operation Bullshine	Pvt. Marge White
1959	No Trees in the Street	Lova
1957	These Dangerous Years	Dinah Brown
1957	Woman in a Dressing Gown	Hilda Harper
1957	The Good Companions	Film Star (as Leslie Carroll)
1954	The Embezzler	Tea Shop Waitress
1949	Trottie True	Clare as a child
1947	The Silver Darlings	Una (child)

Year	TV Show	Role