Leslie Ash

After studying at the Italia Conti Academy stage school in the late 1970s, British actress Leslie Ash began a career as a fashion model. Before long she transitioned to acting, winning her first role in 1974 as Jill Page in the short-lived TV series "Chico the Rainmaker." Four years later Ash appeared in the British slapstick comedy "Rosie Dixon--Night Nurse," in which she plays the part of Natalie Dixon, the title character's sister, who, coincidentally, was played by her real-life sister, Debbie Ash. The following year she landed her first leading role as Steph, the love interest in the 1979 crime drama "Quadrophenia." Ash had numerous roles in movies and television shows in the 1980s, including a two-year stint as computer whiz Frederica "Fred" Smith on "C.A.T.S. Eyes," a drama following an all-female detective outfit, from 1985 to 1987. In 1992, Ash took a role in the comedy series "Men Behaving Badly," launching her into instant celebrity as it was broadcast into millions of homes in Great Britain each week. She played the role of Deborah, the neighbor and romantic obsession of Tony Smart, for six seasons. The show was remade for US television, airing on NBC from 1996 to 1997. Ash continued to act in various television movies and series. She also wrote "My Life Behaving Badly: The Autobiography," chronicling her life off-camera and her rise to stardom, which was published in 2007.