Birthday:
4 May 1929, Ixelles, Belgium
Height:
5' 6½" (1.69 m)
Biography
Audrey Hepburn was born on May 4, 1929 in Brussels,
Belgium. She really was blue-blood from the beginning with her father, a
wealthy English banker, and her mother, a Dutch baroness. After her
parents divorced, Audrey went to London with her mother where she went
to a private girls school. Later, when her mother moved back to the
Netherlands, she attended private schools as well. While vacationing
with her mother in Arnhem, Netherlands, Hitler's army took over the
town. It was here that she fell on hard times during the Nazi
occupation. Audrey suffered from depression and malnutrition. After the
liberation, Audrey went to a ballet school in London on a scholarship
and later began a modeling career. As a model, she was graceful and, it
seemed, she had found her niche in life - until the film producers came
calling. After being spotted modeling by a producer, she was signed to a
bit part in the European film Dutch in Seven Lessons (1948) in 1948.
Later, she had a speaking role in the 1951 film, Young Wives' Tale
(1951) as Eve Lester. The part still wasn't much, so she headed to
America to try her luck there. Audrey gained immediate prominence in the
US with her role in Roman Holiday (1953) in 1953. This film turned out
to be a smashing success as she won an Oscar as Best Actress. This
gained her enormous popularity and more plum roles. One of the reasons
for her popularity was the fact that she was so elf-like and had class,
unlike the sex-goddesses of the time. Roman Holiday (1953) was followed
by another similarly wonderful performance in the 1957 classic Funny
Face (1957). Sabrina (1954), in 1954, for which she received another
Academy nomination, and Love in the Afternoon (1957), in 1957, also
garnered rave reviews. In 1959, she received yet another nomination for
her role in The Nun's Story (1959). Audrey reached the pinnacle of her
career when she played Holly Golightly in the delightful film Breakfast
at Tiffany's (1961) in 1961. For this she received another nomination.
She scored commercial success again in the espionage caper Charade
(1963). One of Audrey's most radiant roles was in the fine production of
My Fair Lady (1964) in 1964. Her co-star, Rex Harrison, once was asked
to identify his favorite leading lady. Without hesitation, he replied,
"Audrey Hepburn in 'My Fair Lady.'" After a couple of other movies, most
notably Two for the Road (1967), she hit pay dirt and another
nomination in 1967's Wait Until Dark (1967). By the end of the sixties,
after her divorce from actor Mel Ferrer, Audrey decided to retire while
she was on top. Later she married Dr. Andrea Dotti. From time to time,
she would appear on the silver screen. One film of note was Robin and
Marian (1976), with Sean Connery in 1976. In 1988, Audrey became a
special ambassador to the United Nations UNICEF fund helping children in
Latin America and Africa, a position she retained until 1993. She was
named to People's magazine as one of the 50 most beautiful people in the
world. Her last film was Always (1989) in 1989. Audrey Hepburn died on
January 20, 1993 in Tolochnaz, Switzerland, from appendicular cancer.
She had made a total of 31 high quality movies. Her elegance and style
will always be remembered in film history as evidenced by her being
named in Empire magazine's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All
Time."
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