Leslie France

Leslie France is a film and stage actress with 30+ years of professional experience, who recently appeared in the acclaimed feature film, Where the Crawdad's Sing and co-starred in the series The Resident and National Treasure. She has also worked on independent films, including the lead role in Confession of a Florist from which her "soulful performance" ("Variety") garnered rave reviews. On stage, she has performed in numerous plays, including Look Homeward Angel, King Lear, and A Midsummer's Night's Dream. France trained in New York City at the William Esper Studio, HB Studios and graduated from the Asolo Professional Actor Training Program, where she studied under the legendary Jose Quintero. Growing up in New Jersey in a large Italian family of artists and educators, she regularly crossed the George Washington Bridge to study dance, acting, music and painting. But it was a Broadway production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof that sparked her lifelong passion for acting. In 1999, France took a hiatus from acting to raise her son, Oscar, while sharing her passion for performing by teaching acting at Chapman University, UCLA Extension, and The Los Angeles Film School. At Florida State, she led the building of a film-theatre, inter-disciplinary program, while serving a dual-role assignment on the faculties of the School of Theatre and College of Motion Picture Arts. She was a favorite among students for bringing an unusual combination of academic rigor and fun to the classroom.