Leigh Taylor-Young, an accomplished American actor, gained notoriety for her portrayal of “Rachel Welles” in the immensely popular soap opera “Peyton Place” and for her brief but widely reported marriage to co-star Ryan O’Neal.
Leigh Taylor-Young parents: Meet Carl Taylor and Pauline Young
Pauline Taylor and US diplomat Carl Taylor welcomed Leigh into the world on January 25, 1945, in Washington, DC. Following her mother’s marriage to Donald Earle Young, a business executive from Detroit, Leigh was reared in Oakland County, Michigan, together with her siblings, Dey Young (who is currently an actor and sculptor) and Lance Young (a film director). Her younger siblings are writer/director/producer Lance Young and actress/sculptor Dey Young. Her father worked as a diplomat. The siblings grew up in Michigan’s Oakland County.
When Leigh was five years old, she was sent to spend the summer with her paternal grandfather, Dr. Carl Taylor. There, books and her grandfather’s wisdom introduced her to the realm of faith and spirituality.
For her performance in “I Love You, Alice B. Toklas,” Leigh was nominated for a Golden Globe for “New Star of the Year.” She was introduced to icons like Andy Warhol and had Richard Avedon take pictures for “Vogue.” Soon after, she co-starred with her real-life spouse and “Peyton Place” co-star Ryan O’Neal in “The Big Bounce” (1969).
