Lesley-Anne Down made £175 an episode on Upstairs, Downstairs, but earned a fortune in LA
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 in a West End fashion show for modern school uniforms. I probably got paid £5 or £10. I was meant to be in school and my deputy headmistress was sitting in the audience, so it became an absolute hoopla. A picture of me in school uniform made front page news.
Have you ever struggled to make ends meet?
Yes. When I started on Upstairs, Downstairs I was paid £175 per episode (each took two weeks to make) and when I finished I was on £285. I shared a flat on the King's Road, Chelsea, with my boyfriend, the actor/director Bruce Robinson, but we couldn't afford it and moved to a Peabody Estate council flat in Fulham. But then I went on to do films, like Hammer House Of Horror, for which I'd get about £5,000 which was certainly enough to make ends meet.
Have you ever been paid silly money?
Yes. The first was for the movie The Betsy,which starred Laurence Olivier. I was 23, worked on it for seven weeks playing Lady Bobby Ayres and got paid $50,000. To me that was silly money! I think I got $150,000 for Hanover Street and $200,000 for The First Great Train Robbery.
The easiest money was for doing absolutely nothing – CBS gave me $250,000 to not go to another network for a year!
What has been the best year of your financial life?
When I did North And South, the American Civil War drama in which I played Patrick Swayze's love interest Madeline. I got $650,000 for each of the three series, which started in 1985, the year I met my husband Don on it – he was director of photography.
The most expensive thing you bought for fun?
I buy things for other people. In the 1980s I bought Don a Rolex watch which is worth about $30,000 now. I got rid of my gold Rolex when we lived in LA. People were getting mugged for them.
What's your biggest money mistake?
Everybody's biggest money mistake is selling a property. If you buy somewhere and you want to move, you should leverage and keep the one you've got. You'll be 1,000 times better off. So my biggest money mistake has been selling. When Don and I came to Georgia, we kept our places in Malibu.
The best money decision you've made?
Buying property. There are lots I should've bought too.
Are you a spender or a saver?
Saver. I enjoy saving. I lovemoney. I love figures. When I was a schoolkid I got an F in maths because I hated how it was taught. But when the tests came I got an A. I check my bank statements every other day.
Do you have a pension?
I have the SAG-AFTRA (Screen Actors Guild – American Federation Of Television and Radio Artists) pension and at 73, I will have a pension from savings. I also benefit from royalties.
Do you own any property?
Yes – one in Georgia and two in Malibu. I feel most at home in Georgia. I was in Los Angeles for 40 years but that was too long.
Do you donate money to charity?
Yes. I give to charities for children and animals.
What would you have done if acting hadn't worked out?
I was always religious and regularly went to church. I thought about being a missionary – although I don't think I really understood what one was.
If you were Chancellor, what would you do?
I would not take the job! Everyone would hate you. But if I did, I'd say: 'Don't you think it's time we all just pulled our socks up and looked after ourselves?' The only people that really need looking after by the Government are those with disabilities. People who can, should work.
What is your No 1 financial priority?
To leave the four kids enough money to live well. Friends like to spend on travelling but I don't want to travel – I've been there and done that.