Leslie Winston is an American actress known for her role in The Waltons (1979 – 1981), a historical drama television series wherein she played the wife of Ben Walton, portrayed by Eric Scott. She is currently 68 years old, was married to Bob Yannetti, a TV director, and is not related to Judy Norton: they are only close friends.
Fans of The Waltons show surely holds the actress in fond memory for the awesome chemistry between her character Cindy and Ben Walton, and the sensational nature of the show in general. Although Leslie’s acting years wrapped up too soon, the impression of her appearances and the bonds she made from her time on the filming set surely lasted a lot longer.
Profile Summary of Leslie Winston
- Full Name: Leslie Winston Yannetti
- Gender: Female
- Place of Birth: Austin, Texas, United States of America
- Date of Birth: May 13, 1956
- Leslie Winston’s Age: 68 Years Old
- Ethnicity: White
- Nationality: American
- Zodiac Sign: Taurus
- Sexual Orientation: Straight
- Religion: Christianity
- Leslie Winston’s Parents: Hal and Carol Winston
- Siblings: Two Sisters (Lisa Shaw and Laura Moritz)
- Marital Status: Widowed
- Leslie Winston’s Husband: Robert “Bob” Yannetti
- Duration of Marriage: (1981 – 15 April 2011)
- Leslie Winston’s Children: Two Daughters (Allison and Joey Yannetti)
- Famous for: Career as an Actress
68 Years Old Leslie Winston Was Born in Austin, Texas, but Spent Most of Her Childhood in Manson City, Iowa
Yeah, The Waltons actress is 68 years old at the moment. If you know where to look, you would easily find that she was born on the 13th of May 1956. Born to Hal and Carol Winston in Austin, Texas, Leslie was mostly raised in Manson City, Iowa. Her father Harold R. Winston met her mother who was then known as Carol Sundeen at the University of Iowa. They fell in love and got married at the Danforth Chapel in Iowa City; this was in 1955.
The same year her parents got married, her father started serving in the United States Air Force. He was stationed in Austin, Texas, where he had Leslie with his wife. By 1957, he was done serving the Air Force, so the family relocated back to Iowa City for the patriarch to complete his law school. It was here that Leslie Winston’s immediate younger sister Lisa Shaw was birthed.
Following Leslie’s father’s graduation from high school, the family settled in Manson City where the actress attended Manson City High School. She graduated from the school in 1974. If we are not mistaken, it was around this time that Leslie’s youngest sister Laura Moritz was born. So while several reports have suggested that the actress has no siblings, or that nothing is known about members of her family, we can confirm that she has two sisters—Lisa and Laura. The latter is married to Robert Moritz and the former to Bill Shaw.
Both of her parents are late. Her father died on the 2nd of February 2017, a few days before his 85th birthday. Her mother, a prominent radio personality who worked with KCMR for many years died about six years earlier. Carol J. Winston passed away on the 14th of January 2011 at the age of 77.
She Began Acting as a Kid and Made Her Screen Debut at Age 22
As far as we know, Leslie’s acting days started with summer theater productions. The actress joined a summer theater program when she was just between her 5th and 6th grades. She involved herself in school plays all through her junior and senior years in high school. Her drama director at the time, David Giese, had a positive influence on her which inspired Leslie to pursue a career in acting.
Leslie Winston, as stated earlier, graduated from high school in 1974. Thereafter, she decided to further her education at the University of Iowa where she studied drama. Two years later, she transferred to the University of California, Los Angeles. She left with just a semester to go after getting a television role. At this time she was around 22 years old. To the best of our knowledge, her first screen role was in “The Foundlings” episode of the television series, B.J. and the Bear. It aired on the 4th of October 1978.
Her Time on The Waltons Show
Leslie Winston was part of a late-night television series remake of Peyton’s Place when she got a role on the hit Waltons series. Her first appearance on the show was in March 1979 and she remained a cast till the show’s conclusion in 1981.
Leslie played Cindy, Ben Walton’s wife, appearing in 42 episodes of the show’s last 3 seasons. She also reprised her role in four of the reunion TV movies of the series. This was between 1982 (thrice) and 1993. During her time as an actress, Leslie Winston also appeared in Quincy M.E (1979 – 1981), Prince of Bel Air (1986), and L.A. Law (1993).
Below Is a List of Leslie Winston’s Movies and TV Shows
- B.J and the Bear (1978)
- Centennial (1978)
- Makin’ It (1979)
- CBS Afternoon Playhouse (1980)
- Mai . Roodo (1980)
- The Waltons (1979-1981)
- Quincy M.E (1979-1981)
- A Wedding on Walton’s Mountain (1982)
- Mother’s Day on Walton’s Mountain (1982)
- A Day for Thanks on Walton’s Mountain (1982)
- Prince of Bel Air (1986)
- L.A. Law (1993)
- A Walton Thanksgiving Reunion (1993)
What Is Leslie Winston Doing Now?
Leslie Winston’s acting days came to an end in 1993. Prior to that, she had had a bad fall that severely affected her elbow and put her out of the job for a year. Upon her return after recovering, roles became harder for the actress to land. This made it easier for her to give up acting and focus on caring for her family when she and Bob Yannetti had their daughters.
She took to working behind the camera after she gave up acting. From what we gathered, she began looping, an audio work usually done in the post-production stage of filming. In this capacity, she has worked on hit shows such as Ally McBeal and Boston Legal.
The former actress and mother of two regards herself as fortunate because with the new role, she didn’t have to burn so much time on auditions for roles she could end up not getting. This, according to her, gave her time to be involved in her daughters’ lives—in ways such as being their Brownie troop leader.
Leslie Winston’s Spouse Robert “Bob” Yannetti Died in April 2011
Leslie Winston got married to late TV director, Robert Peter Yannetti, in the early 80s. Robert was born on May 30, 1953, in the Bronx, NY. He worked on a lot of television series and movies as an assistant director. He was a bit of an actor in the 80s when he respectively played Sal in the TV movie, Off the Minnesota Strip, and Carlo in the “Equinox” episode of the TV series, The Incredible Hulk.
Records have it that he started his directing career as an assistant director in the early 80s and as an episodic TV director in 2002. Leslie and Bob were married for 30 years and in that time had two daughters. The names of their daughters are Joanna Yannetti and Allison Yannetti.
Robert passed away suddenly on April 15, 2011. Since that time Leslie Winston hasn’t been romantically linked to anyone and is probably single at this time.
Is Leslie Winston Related to Judy Norton?
Leslie Winston is not related to Judy Norton, but they are very close friends. Winston speaks fondly of her time as a cast on The Waltons show. Aside from the success of the show, the casts had a good relationship with each other, on and off camera, and were like a family. It was during that time that Leslie became close friends with Judy Norton and Mary McDonough. They both played her sisters-in-law on the show and together, they were labeled “the three musketeers.”
Mary McDonough was reportedly one of Leslie Winston’s bridesmaids during her wedding. It was she who referred to Leslie and Judy as real sisters. The bond they enjoyed lasted beyond their years on The Waltons set. Leslie was also a very close friend of Eric Scott who played the role of Ben Walton, her character’s husband.
Despite both of them being married to their respective partners, they maintained a special bond that brought the two families very close. Eric Scott and his wife, Karey Louis Scott, joined Leslie and Bob on their honeymoon in Hawaii after their wedding. At another time, Leslie Winston surprised her father by bringing Eric Scott and his wife and also her own real-life husband to visit him. They sort of gave him a “heart attack” as it was overwhelming to see the cast of the show in his house.
