b. 1 July 1931, Paris, France. An elegant, captivating actress and dancer. Caron's mother was Margaret Petit, an American ballet dancer, and her father, Claude Caron, a wealthy chemist with his own pharmacy in Paris. The good life continued until France was occupied during World War II when the Caron family, like so many others, lost their fortune. Even so, Leslie Caron took ballet lessons, and had a ballet called La Rencontre written especially for her. She was 17 and dancing professionally with the Ballet des Champs Elysées when she was seen by Gene Kelly who returned to Pa...