Leigh Taylor-Young - Early Life

Early Life

"Someone once told me that success is when preparation meets with opportunity. So obviously the most important thing is to be prepared when the opportunity comes."

Leigh Taylor-Young was born on January 25, 1945, in Washington, D.C. Her last name is an amalgamation of the last names of her father, a diplomat, and her stepfather, a successful Detroit executive. Her younger siblings are actress and sculptor Dey Young and writer/director Lance Young. Taylor-Young was raised in Oakland County, Michigan, and graduated from Groves High School in Beverly Hills, Michigan, in 1963. Before attending Northwestern University as an economics major, she spent a summer shifting scenery and sweeping up at a Detroit little theater. However, she left before graduating to pursue a full-time acting career, making her professional debut on Broadway in Three Bags Full. About dropping out of college, the actress explained:

"I left there because I lost the most wonderful teacher. I didn't want to go back when she left. My parents naturally were upset, and I spent four months at home thinking what to do, then went to New York."