Lesley-Anne Down made £175 an episode on Upstairs, Downstairs, but earned a fortune in LA By Peter Robertson Updated: 21:51 BST, 29 June 2024 e-mail View comments Early struggle: Lesley-Anne in Upstairs, Downstairs, with co-star Anthony Andrews Actress Lesley-Anne Down, 70, is best-known for hit TV series such as Upstairs, Downstairs and North And South. Her latest role is as Margaret Thatcher in Reagan, a biopic of Ronald Reagan, to be released in cinemas on August 30, writes Peter Robertson. Born and raised in South London, Lesley-Anne lives in Georgia in the US with her third husband, cinematographer Don FauntLeRoy, 71, with whom she has a son George, 26.
She also has a son Jack, 42, by her second husband, the late director William Friedkin. Don has two daughters she regards as her own. What did your parents teach you about money? Quite a lot.
We were poor. I remember my mother (who saved when she could) saying: 'Money doesn't make you happy but it does make the misery more tolerable.' When I had money as an adult, I would send some to my parents every month.
When my dad Percy died in 2008, eight years after my mother, Isabella, he left 50 per cent to me and 50 per cent to my sister Angela, who is five years younger than me. I gave everything to Angela as I was being paid well. Funnily enough, it all amounted to exactly what I'd sent my parents over 20 years.
What was your first pay packet? I was 11 and a pupil at Mayfield Comprehensive in Putney, South London, and I was .
