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Charmian Carr (born Charmian Anne Farnon; December 27, 1942 – September 17, 2016) was an American actress. She was best known for her role as Liesl, the eldest von Trapp daughter in the 1965 film version of The Sound of Music.
While a student at San Fernando High School, graduating in 1960, Farnon was a cheerleader and played basketball and volleyball. Prior to being signed to be in The Sound of Music, "she had never had a singing lesson and had never tried to act."
Director Robert Wise thought that Farnon was too long a surname paired with Charmian. He gave her a list of single syllable surnames and she chose Carr. She won the role of Liesl von Trapp over Geraldine Chaplin, Kim Darby, Patty Duke, Shelley Fabares, Teri Garr, Mia Farrow, and Lesley Ann Warren. The film was on the whole a very happy experience for Carr. However, during the filming of her dance scene with Rolf Gruber (played by Daniel Truhitte) in the gazebo, the costumers had forgotten to put no-slip pads on Carr's shoes. She slid through a window of the gazebo, and Carr "had to complete the scene in agony." In this scene, she performed a musical number, "Sixteen Going on Seventeen."
Carr owned the interior design firm Charmian Carr Designs in Encino, California, and was Michael Jackson's interior designer for five years. She wrote the books Forever Liesl and Letters to Liesl. Carr reunited with many of her co-stars from The Sound of Music on The Oprah Winfrey Show in October 2010 to celebrate the film's 45th anniversary. In 2014, Carr recorded "Edelweiss" with the great-grandchildren of the von Trapps on the album Dream a Little Dream by the von Trapps and Pink Martini.
In 1967, Carr married dentist Jay Brent. They had two daughters: Jennifer (born 1970) and Emily (born 1974). At some point, Carr began an affair with childhood sweetheart Gary Oldham after reuniting at a school reunion. This led to her and Brent divorcing in 1991.
Carr died in Los Angeles on September 17, 2016, from complications related to frontotemporal dementia at age 73. She is survived by her four siblings, two daughters, niece, and four grandchildren.
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