BIOGRAPHY:

Audrey Hepburn was a famous British actress, model and humanitarian. This charming, sophisticated and endlessly talented woman has become a role model throughout the world. The artist is deservedly considered a style icon and a standard of femininity.

Childhood and youth:

Audrey Kathleen Ruston was born in May 1929 in the town of Ixelles near Brussels. The girl’s parents were the English banker John Victor Ruston and the Dutch baroness Ella van Hiemstra. Later, the father added the name Hepburn to his surname, so his daughter became Audrey Hepburn-Ruston.

Despite her aristocratic origins, the future actress had to face serious difficulties as a child. At the age of six, the girl experienced her parents’ divorce, after which she settled with her mother in the Netherlands.

Audrey’s school years were spent in Nazi-occupied Arnhem. After the German invasion, she took the pseudonym Edda van Hiemstra, because the English sound of her real name posed a threat at that moment. To this day, many mistakenly believe this option is the true name of the actress.

During the war, Hepburn had to starve, which did not have the best effect on her health. The actress’s proper metabolism was never restored even after the end of the war; later she suffered from anemia, respiratory diseases, and depression.

When the war ended, Audrey, who showed an interest in art, studied at the Arnhem Conservatory and moved to Amsterdam. There he and his mother worked as nurses. Since 1946, without giving up her job, Hepburn began taking ballet lessons from Sonya Gaskell. Then, in her youth, the girl studied the art of dance with famous teachers – Marie Rampert and Vaslav Nijinsky.

Hepburn practiced ballet to the point of exhaustion, but the consequences of chronic malnutrition would not have allowed her to become a prima ballerina. In those years, Audrey’s mother had to take on any menial job to feed the family. Hepburn also had to earn money, and becoming an artist was the best decision.

Films and musicals:

Audrey began acting in films in the late 40s, but real success came to the actress in 1953, when the comedy “Roman Holiday” was released. Director William Wyler has long wanted to make a romantic film, and certainly in Italy. For the sake of this dream, the American was ready to cut the budget, so the film became black and white, and the little-known Hepburn was invited to play the main role (although it was originally planned that either Elizabeth Taylor or Gene Simmons would be in the frame).

During the casting, the director used a trick. After Audrey’s audition was completed, he asked the operator not to turn off the camera. The actress, relaxed, became natural in the frame, and Wyler saw that she was ideal for the role. Audrey’s partner in the film about a chance meeting between Princess Anne and journalist Joe Bradley turned out to be Gregory Peck. Filming took place on Roman streets, in palaces or pavilions at the Cinecittà studio.

In several scenes, real Italian aristocrats and reporters from the country’s leading publications appeared in the frame. At the end of filming, the costume designers gave all the dresses and accessories to the artist as a wedding gift (at that time, Audrey was engaged to millionaire James Hanson, but the wedding never took place). After its release, the film received three Oscar statuettes, one of which went to Hepburn for Best Actress.

After the stunning success of Roman Holiday, Wyler cast Audrey in three more of his films. These were films of different genres: the comedy “Sabrina”, the drama “The Children’s Hour”, the comedy detective “How to Steal a Million”. The first of them not only strengthened Hepburn’s popularity, but also marked the beginning of the actress’s friendship with the young French fashion designer Hubert Givenchy.

Since at the time of filming the couturier was busy creating a new collection, Audrey, whose height was 170 cm with a weight of 45 kg, simply chose samples from ready-made ones. Part of the filming took place in Europe, part in the States, where Givenchy could not come and therefore sent sketches to Edith Head, a Hollywood costume designer. In the end, it was she who received the Oscar for her outfits in Sabrina.

Hepburn also collaborated with Hubert in How to Steal a Million, a comedy where her partner was Peter O’Toole. In addition to the dresses for Audrey, the filmmakers had to spend a lot of money on creating copies of famous paintings by world painters: filming in the museum turned out to be difficult.

Hepburn also starred with other directors. One of the most significant roles in her filmography was the role played in Blake Edwards’ film “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” based on Truman Capote’s novel of the same name. The image of Holly Golightly turned out to be truly iconic for many years, and the notorious “little black dress” of the heroine was a real hit.

Despite the fact that the film subsequently became one of the most romantic films of world cinema, it managed to be criticized, primarily by Capote himself, who became indignant at the casting stage, seeing only Marilyn Monroe in the role of the heroine, and then complained that The plot of the book was greatly changed, making the story too simplified.

Roles in musicals deserve special attention in Audrey’s creative biography. In 1957, the actress starred in Funny Face, where her co-star was the king of the genre, Fred Astaire. Next to the famous actor, Audrey looked decent. The picture has become a real encyclopedia of fashion. In addition to Hepburn, popular models of that time worked there – Dovima and Susie Parker, and fashion photographer Richard Avedon (who also became the prototype of the hero played by Astaire) took many behind-the-scenes shots that went down in the history of photography.

The actress played one of her best roles in the film adaptation of the 1964 Broadway musical My Fair Lady by George Cukor. At first it was assumed that the actors from the theatrical production, Julie Andrews and Rex Harrison, would star in the film. As a result, the latter remained, and Andrews, according to producer Jack Warner, lacked the subtlety and aristocracy that Audrey had. For filming, the actress took vocal lessons, but during editing, her voice was dubbed by Marni Nixon. Hepburn later admitted that if she had known that this would happen, she would have refused to work in the film.

Audrey actively acted until 1967, after which there was a rather long break in her acting career. The artist returned to the screen with the release of the 1976 film “Robin and Marian.” From then on, she switched to age roles and acted occasionally. The last work was the role played by the actress in Steven Spielberg’s film “Always” (1989).

Public activity:

After finishing her acting career, Audrey was appointed to the position of UNICEF Special Ambassador. At the same time, the actress began collaborating with the organization back in 1954: then the celebrity participated in programs broadcast on the radio. Hepburn felt grateful to the foundation for her own salvation after the Nazi occupation. The artist devoted the last years of her life to improving the fate of children living in poor countries.

Over five years with UNICEF, Audrey traveled to more than 20 countries around the world, caring for disadvantaged children and their families. Thus, she visited Ethiopia, Turkey, Vietnam, the countries of South and Central America, and worked on the implementation of programs to supply those in need with humanitarian aid, conduct vaccinations, and provide drinking water.

The actress’s work was made easier by speaking several languages. She spoke French, Dutch, English, Italian, Spanish. In 1992, Audrey Hepburn received the United States’ highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, for her work with UNICEF.

Personal life:

The actress’s personal life was filled with both happy moments and dramatic experiences. During the filming of Sabrina, Hepburn began a romantic relationship with co-star William Holden. He was married to actress Brenda Marshall, and in their family it was considered the norm to have affairs on the side. To prevent children from being born from casual relationships, Holden, who had two sons, had a vasectomy. Audrey dreamed of marriage and having children. When the actress learned about her chosen one’s inability to become a father, she immediately broke off relations with him.

Audrey Hepburn met her future husband, director and actor Mel Ferrer, while working in the production of Ondine. Even Ferrer’s third marriage and five children did not prevent the feelings that flared up between them. The actors got married in 1954, and six years later the couple had a son, Sean Hepburn Ferrer. Mel and Audrey’s marriage lasted 14 years, and after the divorce, the reasons for the separation were not voiced by the spouses.

The actress was painfully worried about the breakup with Ferrer, she even had to seek qualified medical help. The Hollywood star was treated by Italian psychiatrist Andrea Dotti, whom she later married and gave birth to a son, Luke. After some time, relations in the family went wrong, Dottie began to cheat on his wife. Audrey tried not to notice it, but even her iron patience lasted a little more than ten years.

At 50, Hepburn fell in love again. The actress’s chosen one was the Dutchman Robert Walders, with whom she was in a relationship until the end of her days. The marriage between the artist and Walders was never officially formalized, but this did not interfere with their happiness.

Death:

Working for UNICEF took a lot of energy from Audrey. Numerous trips had a negative impact on the celebrity’s health in old age. A visit to Somalia and Kenya in 1992 was the last for the actress. During the trip, Hepburn felt unbearable pain in her abdomen; African doctors recommended that the mission be curtailed as an emergency, but the artist refused.

Audrey underwent a full examination only upon her arrival from Africa. Unfortunately, she was diagnosed with a tumor in her colon. A couple of weeks later the operation was performed, which the doctors called successful. However, three weeks later, the actress was hospitalized again with renewed pain. It turned out that the tumor metastasized to neighboring tissues, which later became the cause of death.

Soon the celebrity returned from the hospital to Switzerland, to the city of Tolochenaz, since the doctors were already powerless. Audrey spent her last Christmas with her children and Walders, calling it the happiest of her life. On January 20, 1993, the great actress’s heart stopped forever. Hepburn died surrounded by her family.

Filmography:

1953 — “Roman Holiday”
1954 — “Sabrina”
1956 — “War and Peace”
1957 — “Funny Face”
1959 — “The Story of a Nun”
1961 – “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”
1963 — “Charade”
1964 — “My Fair Lady”
1966 — “How to Steal a Million”
1967 — “Wait for Darkness”
1976 — “Robin and Marian”
1979 — “Blood Ties”
1981 – “They All Laughed”
1989 — “Always”

Interesting Facts:

• In the famous scene from Roman Holiday, which took place near the antique stone slab of the Mouth of Truth, Gregory Peck decided to improvise and pretend that the deity had deprived his hero of his hand. For Audrey, this was unexpected, and the cameraman managed to capture Hepburn’s genuine horror, which ultimately became one of the most striking shots of the film.
• The main musical theme of the film “Sabrina” was the composition La Vie en Rose, which was included in the repertoire of Edith Piaf.
• The film “The Audrey Hepburn Story” is dedicated to the biography of the celebrity. The main role in it was played by Jennifer Love Hewitt, whose performance was considered unconvincing by critics: “lacking charm, grace and magnetism.”
• Today the book “Audrey Hepburn. A Life Told by Herself,” however, it was not written by the actress herself: the son of movie star Sean Hepburn Ferrer reported that his mother did not participate in the creation of works with her own memories.
• Audrey Hepburn has become the de facto symbol of elegance and grace. It was with her appearance on the screens that lush blondes like Jayne Mansfield and Marilyn Monroe, who then ruled the roost, were replaced by another beauty: immaculate, natural, sophisticated.
• However, Audrey Hepburn received the status of a style icon not only due to her appearance. Her faithful friend, fashion designer Hubert de Givenchy, helped the actress create a memorable and unique image. In his outfits, Audrey shone in her best films: “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”, “Sabrina”, “Funny Face”, “How to Steal a Million”, “Charade” and others.
• Fans of Hepburn remember not only her thin waist, but also her kind heart. At the end of her career, she became a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador to draw attention to the problems of children in disadvantaged countries.