Born: 4 May 1929, Ixelles, Belgium
Died: 20 January 1993 (age 63 years), Tolochenaz, Switzerland
Children: Luca Dotti, Sean Hepburn Ferrer
Spouse: Andrea Dotti (m. 1969–1982), Mel Ferrer (m. 1954–1968)
Grandchildren: Emma Kathleen Ferrer, Santiago Ferrer, Gregorio Ferrer
Parents: Ella van Heemstra, Joseph Victor Anthony Ruston
Audrey Hepburn (1929–1993) was a British actress and humanitarian, widely regarded as one of the most iconic and elegant figures in film history. Here are some key points about Audrey Hepburn:
- Early Life: Audrey Kathleen Hepburn-Ruston was born on May 4, 1929, in Brussels, Belgium. She spent her childhood in Belgium, England, and the Netherlands.
- Ballet Career: Before becoming an actress, Hepburn trained as a ballet dancer. Her dream of becoming a prima ballerina was derailed due to the hardships of World War II.
- Acting Career: Audrey Hepburn’s breakthrough role came in 1953 when she played the lead in the film “Roman Holiday.” Her performance earned her an Academy Award for Best Actress. She went on to star in numerous successful films, including “Sabrina” (1954), “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” (1961), “My Fair Lady” (1964), and “Charade” (1963).
- Fashion Icon: Audrey Hepburn was renowned for her timeless and classic style. Her collaboration with designer Hubert de Givenchy, especially in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” influenced fashion trends and solidified her status as a style icon.
- Academy Awards: Hepburn received several awards during her career, including three BAFTA Awards, one Academy Award, one Tony Award, and a Grammy Award for her humanitarian work.
- Humanitarian Work: In the latter part of her life, Audrey Hepburn devoted much of her time to humanitarian efforts, particularly as a Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF. She worked tirelessly on behalf of children in need around the world, visiting and advocating for programs to address malnutrition and other issues.
- Personal Life: Audrey Hepburn was married twice, first to actor Mel Ferrer and later to Italian psychiatrist Andrea Dotti. She had two sons, Sean Ferrer and Luca Dotti.
- Retirement: Hepburn semi-retired from acting in the late 1960s but returned for a few select roles in the 1970s and 1980s. Her last film was “Always” (1989).
- Recognition: Audrey Hepburn is considered one of the greatest actresses in the history of American cinema. She received numerous honors for her contributions to film and her humanitarian work.
- Death: Audrey Hepburn passed away on January 20, 1993, in Tolochenaz, Switzerland, at the age of 63, after battling appendiceal cancer.
Audrey Hepburn’s legacy extends beyond her acting career, as she is remembered for her elegance, humanitarian work, and enduring influence on fashion and popular culture.
Audrey Hepburn Quotes
“Actually, you have to be a little bit in love with your leading man and vice versa. If you’re going to portray love, you have to feel it. You can’t do it any other way. But you don’t carry it beyond the set.”
“As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself, the other for helping others.”
“Everything I learned I learned from the movies.”
“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.”
“I believe in manicures. I believe in overdressing. I believe in primping at leisure and wearing lipstick. I believe in pink. I believe happy girls are the prettiest girls. I believe that tomorrow is another day, and… I believe in miracles.”
“I believe in pink. I believe that laughing is the best calorie burner. I believe in kissing, kissing a lot. I believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong. I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls. I believe that tomorrow is another day and I believe in miracles.”
“I can testify to what UNICEF means to children because I was among those who received food and medical relief right after World War II.”
“I decided, very early on, just to accept life unconditionally; I never expected it to do anything special for me, yet I seemed to accomplish far more than I had ever hoped. Most of the time it just happened to me without my ever seeking it.”
“I don’t believe in collective guilt, but I do believe in collective responsibility.”
“I don’t want to be alone, I want to be left alone.”
“I had to make a choice at one point in my life, of missing films or missing my children. It was a very easy decision to make because I missed my children so very much.”
“I have to be alone very often. I’d be quite happy if I spent from Saturday night until Monday morning alone in my apartment. That’s how I refuel.”
“I heard a definition once: Happiness is health and a short memory! I wish I’d invented it, because it is very true.”
“I love people who make me laugh. I honestly think it’s the thing I like most, to laugh. It cures a multitude of ills. It’s probably the most important thing in a person.”
“I never think of myself as an icon. What is in other people’s minds is not in my mind. I just do my thing.”
“I never thought I’d land in pictures with a face like mine.”
“I probably hold the distinction of being one movie star who, by all laws of logic, should never have made it. At each stage of my career, I lacked the experience.”
“I was asked to act when I couldn’t act. I was asked to sing ‘Funny Face’ when I couldn’t sing, and dance with Fred Astaire when I couldn’t dance – and do all kinds of things I wasn’t prepared for. Then I tried like mad to cope with it.”
“I was born with an enormous need for affection, and a terrible need to give it.”
“I’m an introvert… I love being by myself, love being outdoors, love taking a long walk with my dogs and looking at the trees, flowers, the sky.”
“I’m half-Irish, half-Dutch, and I was born in Belgium. If I was a dog, I’d be in a hell of a mess!”
“I’ve been lucky. Opportunities don’t often come along. So, when they do, you have to grab them.”
“If I get married, I want to be very married.”
“If I’m honest I have to tell you I still read fairy-tales and I like them best of all.”
“If my world were to cave in tomorrow, I would look back on all the pleasures, excitements and worthwhilenesses I have been lucky enough to have had. Not the sadness, not my miscarriages or my father leaving home, but the joy of everything else. It will have been enough.”
“It’s that wonderful old-fashioned idea that others come first and you come second. This was the whole ethic by which I was brought up. Others matter more than you do, so ‘don’t fuss, dear; get on with it.’”
“Let’s face it, a nice creamy chocolate cake does a lot for a lot of people; it does for me.”
“Living is like tearing through a museum. Not until later do you really start absorbing what you saw, thinking about it, looking it up in a book, and remembering – because you can’t take it in all at once.”
“My first big mission for UNICEF in Ethiopia was just to attract attention, before it was too late, to conditions which threatened the whole country. My role was to inform the world, to make sure that the people of Ethiopia were not forgotten.”
“Nothing is impossible, the word itself says ‘I’m possible’!”
“Paris is always a good idea.”
“People in Ethiopia, the Sudan, etc., don’t know Audrey Hepburn, but they recognize the name UNICEF. When they see UNICEF, their faces light up, because they know that something is happening. In the Sudan, for example, they call a water pump ‘UNICEF.’”
“People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed; never throw out anyone.”
“Pick the day. Enjoy it – to the hilt. The day as it comes. People as they come… The past, I think, has helped me appreciate the present – and I don’t want to spoil any of it by fretting about the future.”
“Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, it’s at the end of your arm, as you get older, remember you have another hand: The first is to help yourself, the second is to help others.”
“Since the world has existed, there has been injustice. But it is one world, the more so as it becomes smaller, more accessible. There is just no question that there is more obligation that those who have should give to those who have nothing.”
“Success is like reaching an important birthday and finding you’re exactly the same.”
“Taking care of children has nothing to do with politics. I think perhaps with time, instead of there being a politicization of humanitarian aid, there will be a humanization of politics.”
“The ‘Third World’ is a term I don’t like very much because we’re all one world. I want people to know that the largest part of humanity is suffering.”
“The beauty of a woman is not in a facial mode but the true beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul. It is the caring that she lovingly gives the passion that she shows. The beauty of a woman grows with the passing years.”
“The beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the figure that she carries or the way she combs her hair.”
“The beauty of a woman must be seen from in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart, the place where love resides.”
“The best thing to hold onto in life is each other.”
“The most important thing is to enjoy your life – to be happy – it’s all that matters.”
“There are certain shades of limelight that can wreck a girl’s complexion.”
“There is a moral obligation that those who have should give to those who don’t.”
“There is more to sex appeal than just measurements. I don’t need a bedroom to prove my womanliness. I can convey just as much sex appeal, picking apples off a tree or standing in the rain.”
“Water is life, and clean water means health.”
“When you have nobody you can make a cup of tea for, when nobody needs you, that’s when I think life is over.”
“You can tell more about a person by what he says about others than you can by what others say about him.”