1935-05-27 Chelmsford, Essex, England
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 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.
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The Pot Carriers | Wendy | 1962-03-10 |
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What a Whopper | Charlotte 'Charlie' Pinner | 1961-10-17 |
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Three on a Spree | Susan | 1961-06-28 |
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Doctor in Love | Kitten Strudwick | 1960-07-12 |
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No Trees in the Street | Lova | 1959-03-03 |
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Operation Bullshine | Pvt. Marge White | 1959-06-30 |
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The Good Companions | Film Star (as Leslie Carroll) | 1957-04-22 |
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Woman in a Dressing Gown | Hilda Harper | 1957-07-03 |
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These Dangerous Years | Dinah Brown | 1957-07-03 |
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The Embezzler | Tea Shop Waitress | 1954-07-01 |
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Trottie True | Clare as a child | 1949-09-29 |
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The Silver Darlings | Una (child) | 1947-09-03 |
