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Date of birth
Born to Dutch parents baroness Ella Van Heemstra and Joseph Victor Anthony Ruston, who later adopted the more aristocratic surname Hepburn-Ruston, believing himself to be descended from James Hepburn, 4th earl of Bothwell. -
Early Education
Audrey had British citizenship through her father and attended school in Kent,England the school name is unknown but it was a small private school in Elham in 1939. -
World War II
Throughout World War II, Audrey endured hardships in Nazi-occupied Holland. She still managed to attend school and take ballet lessons, however. During this time her mother temporarily changed Audrey’s name to Edda Van Heemstra, worried that her birth name would reveal her British heritage. -
Beginning of her Career
In her early 20s, she studied acting and worked as a model and dancer. Her big break came after she caught the eye of French novelist Colette, who insisted that Hepburn be cast in the title role in the stage adaptation of Gigi. -
After the War
After the war, she continued to study ballet and acting in Amsterdam and in London. -
Audrey's 1st Acting Experience
Even though she had inexperience, Hepburn was cast, earning rave reviews when the play opened on Broadway -
Audrey's 2nd Experience
Her next project took her to Rome, where she starred in her first major American film, Roman Holiday. A young princess who exchanges the burden of royalty for a day of adventure and romance with a reporter (played by Gregory Peck), Hepburn demonstrated her ability to combine a regal bearing with a tomboyish winsomeness that utterly charmed audiences. -
Audrey's 1st Award
After filming Roman Holiday, she won an Academy Award for best actress. Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-vR7D21wqI -
Audreys 2nd Award
She won a Tony Award for her performance, which turned out to be her last on Broadway. -
She got Married!
Mel Ferrer was an actor and director with two ex-wives, four children and 12 years on Hepburn when they were introduced at a party at Roman Holiday's British opening.There was no doubt the pair were an odd match, but Hepburn quickly developed a fondness for Ferrer. On September 25, 1954, the couple hosted an intimate wedding ceremony in Switzerland, exchanging vows far from public eye. -
Change in Character
By the 1960s, Hepburn had outgrown her ingenue image and begun playing more sophisticated and worldly, albeit often still vulnerable, characters, including the effervescent and mysterious Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961), an adaptation of Truman Capote’s novella; a chic young widow caught up in a suspenseful Charade. (Excerpt from biography.) -
First Born!
On July 17, 1960, she gave birth to her first son, Sean Hepburn Ferrer. -
Audrey in Breakfast at Tiffanys
She continued to enchant movie audiences, however, in such light romantic comedies. For example, Breakfast at Tiffanys! which is one of many of her Iconic pictures. -
Her most Controversial Role
Her most controversial role was perhaps that of Eliza Doolittle in the motion picture musical My Fair Lady (1964). Although Hepburn gave an admirable performance as the Cockney flower girl who is transformed into an elegant lady, many viewers had trouble accepting Hepburn in a role they felt belonged to Julie Andrews, who had created the part onstage. -
Audrey was Done
After appearing in the thriller Wait Until Dark (1967), Hepburn went into semiretirement -
The Divorce and New man?
Having divorced Mel Ferrer in 1968, she married prominent Italian psychiatrist Andrea Dotti and chose to focus on her family rather than her career. -
Second Born!
Audery after a decade had Luca Dotti born on February 8, 1970 in Lausanne, Vaud, Switzerland. -
Her return
She did not return to acting until 1976, when she costarred in the nostalgic love story Robin and Marian.She then was casted in a few more films. -
Change in Career
in 1988 she began a new career as a special goodwill ambassador for United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). She devoted herself to humanitarian work, visiting famine-stricken villages in Latin America, Africa, and Asia. -
Her passing
she continued this work until shortly before her death of cancer in 1993. Later that year she posthumously received the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The award was accepted by her son Sean Hepburn Ferrer. video: https://classichollywood.wordpress.com/2014/02/11/audrey-hepburn/ -
Famous Quote
Her famous Quote: "For beautiful eyes, look for the good in others; for beautiful lips, speak only words of kindness; and for poise, walk with the knowledge that you are never alone." From people.com -
Resource Page
- Team, B. (2024, January 16). Audrey Hepburn. Encyclopædia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Audrey-Hepburn
- Leach, M. (2022, September 21). Love stories: The true story of Audrey Hepburn’s two greatest romances. Audrey Hepburn’s two greatest romances: Mel Ferrer and Robert Wolders - 9Honey. https://honey.nine.com.au/latest/audrey-hepburn-love-story-marriage-affair-greatest-romances/b32cb970-0c7d-4b1e-ac2a-ae76757b4bdc
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Resource Page #2
- annstj, P. by. (2019, March 17). Audrey Hepburn – Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award 1992. the classic hollywood blog. https://classichollywood.wordpress.com/2014/02/11/audrey-hepburn/
- IMDb. (n.d.). Audrey Hepburn - Biography. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000030/bio/#
- Montasem, S. (n.d.). How to get Audrey Hepburn’s iconic wedding looks with our dresses. Sabina Montasem. https://www.sabinamotasem.com/blogs/news/how-to-get-audrey-hepburns-iconic-wedding-looks-with-our-