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Audrey Hepburn is a Actor British born on 4 may 1929 at Ixelles / Elsene (Belgique)
Audrey Hepburn (/ˈɔːdri ˈhɛpˌbɜrn/; born Audrey Kathleen Ruston; 4 May 1929 – 20 January 1993) was a British actress and humanitarian. Recognised as a film and fashion icon, Hepburn was active during Hollywood's Golden Age. She was ranked by the American Film Institute as the third greatest female screen legend in Golden Age Hollywood and was inducted into the International Best Dressed List Hall of Fame. She is also regarded by some to be the most naturally beautiful woman of all time.
Born in Ixelles, a district of Brussels, Hepburn spent her childhood between Belgium, England, and the Netherlands, including German-occupied Arnhem during the Second World War where she worked as a courier for the Dutch resistance and assisted with fundraising. In Amsterdam, she studied ballet with Sonia Gaskell before moving to London in 1948 to continue her ballet training with Marie Rambert and perform as a chorus girl in West End musical theatre productions. She spoke several languages, including English, French, Dutch, Italian, Spanish, and German.
Following minor appearances in several films, Hepburn starred in the 1951 Broadway play Gigi after being spotted by French novelist Colette. Hepburn shot to stardom for playing the lead role in Roman Holiday (1953), for which she was the first actress to win an Academy Award, a Golden Globe and a BAFTA Award for a single performance. The same year, she won a Tony Award for Best Lead Actress in a Play for her performance in Ondine. Hepburn went on to star in a number of successful films, such as Sabrina (1954), The Nun's Story (1959), Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961), Charade (1963), My Fair Lady (1964) and Wait Until Dark (1967), for which she received Academy Award, Golden Globe and BAFTA nominations. Hepburn won a record three BAFTA Awards for Best British Actress in a Leading Role. In recognition of her film career, she was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award from BAFTA, Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award, the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award, and the Special Tony Award. Hepburn remains one of the few people who have won Academy, Emmy, Grammy, and Tony Awards.
Hepburn appeared in fewer films as her life went on, devoting much of her later life to UNICEF. Although contributing to the organisation since 1954, she worked in some of the most profoundly impoverished communities of Africa, South America and Asia between 1988 and 1992. She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in recognition of her work as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador in December 1992. A month later, Hepburn died of appendiceal cancer at her home in Switzerland at the age of 63.
In 1952, Hepburn was engaged to the young James Hanson, Baron Hanson, whom she had known since her London dancing days. She called it "love at first sight"; however, after having her wedding dress fitted and the date set, she decided the marriage would not work because the demands of their careers would keep them apart most of the time. She issued a statement about her decision, saying, "When I get married, I want to be really married." In the early 1950s, she also dated future Hair producer Michael Butler.
Hepburn and Gregory Peck bonded during the filming of Roman Holiday (1953) and there were rumours that they were romantically involved; both denied it. Hepburn, however, added, "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." They did however become lifelong friends. During the filming of Sabrina (1954), Hepburn and the already-married William Holden became romantically involved. She hoped to marry him and have children, but she broke off the relationship when Holden revealed that he had undergone a vasectomy. Although a common perception that Bogart and Hepburn (both starred in Sabrina together) did not get along, Hepburn commented that, "Sometimes it's the so-called 'tough guys' that are the most tender hearted, as Bogey was with me."
At a cocktail party hosted by Gregory Peck, Hepburn met American actor Mel Ferrer. Ferrer recalled that, "We began talking about theatre; she knew all about the La Jolla Playhouse Summer Theatre, where Greg Peck and I had been co-producing plays. She also said she'd seen me three times in the movie Lili. Finally, she said she'd like to do a play with me, and she asked me to send her a likely play if I found one."
Ferrer, vying for Hepburn to take the title role, sent her the script for the play Ondine. She agreed and rehearsals started in January 1954. Eight months later, on 25 September 1954, after meeting, working together, and falling in love, the pair were married in Bürgenstock while preparing to star together in the film War and Peace (1955).
Before having their only son, Hepburn had two miscarriages – one in March 1955 and another in 1959. The latter occurred when filming The Unforgiven (1960) where breaking her back after falling off a horse and onto a rock resulted in hospital stay and miscarriage induced by physical and mental stress. Hepburn took a year off work in order to carry a child to term. Sean Hepburn Ferrer, their son, was born on 17 July 1960.
Despite the insistence from gossip columns that their marriage would not last, Hepburn claimed that she and Ferrer were inseparable and happy together, though she admitted that he had a bad temper. Ferrer was rumoured to be too controlling of Hepburn and had been referred to by others as being her "Svengali" – an accusation that Hepburn laughed off. William Holden was quoted as saying, "I think Audrey allows Mel to think he influences her." Hepburn had another two miscarriages later, in 1965 and 1967. After a 14-year marriage, the couple divorced on 5 December 1968. Their son believed that Hepburn had stayed in the marriage too long.
In June 1968 she was invited on a cruise by Princess Olimpia Emmanuela Torlonia di Civitella-Cesi and her industrialist husband Paul-Annik Weiller (1933–1998). On the cruise she met the Italian psychiatrist Andrea Dotti and fell in love with him on a trip to the Greek ruins. She believed she would have more children and possibly stop working. She married him on 18 January 1969 at age 39 and gave birth to their son, Luca Dotti, on 8 February 1970. While pregnant with Luca in 1969, Hepburn was more careful, resting for months and passing the time by painting before delivering him by caesarean section. Hepburn tried for another child but in 1974 had another miscarriage.
Although Dotti loved Hepburn and was well-liked by Sean, who called him "fun", he began having affairs with younger women. Hepburn had a romantic relationship with actor Ben Gazzara during the filming of the 1979 movie Bloodline. The Dotti-Hepburn marriage lasted thirteen years and ended in 1982 when Hepburn felt Luca and Sean were old enough to handle life with a single mother. Although Hepburn broke off contact with Ferrer, and only spoke to him two more times during the remainder of her life, she remained in touch with Dotti for the benefit of Luca. On 30 September 2007, Andrea Dotti died after complications from a colonoscopy.
From 1980 until her death, Hepburn lived with and was romantically involved with Dutch actor Robert Wolders, the widower of actress Merle Oberon. She met Wolders through a friend in the later stage of her marriage to Dotti. The divorce from Dotti finalised, Wolders and Hepburn started their lives together, although they never married. In 1989, she called the nine years she had spent with him the happiest years of her life. "Took me long enough", she said in an interview with American journalist Barbara Walters. Walters then asked why they never married; Hepburn replied that they were married, just not formally.
Hepburn's children
Hepburn had two surviving children, Sean, with Mel Ferrer, born on 17 July 1960 and Luca, with Andrea Dotti, born on 8 February 1970.
Audrey's son Sean founded the Audrey Hepburn Children's Fund. shortly after his mother's passing. After 20 years as its chairman he handed the reins to his brother Luca to become the Honorary Chair of the Audrey Hepburn Society at the US Fund for UNICEF. The Society celebrates UNICEF's biggest donors and has raised almost US$100,000,000 to date. He also became patron of the Pseudomyxoma Survivor charity, dedicated to providing support to patients of the rare cancer she suffered from, pseudomyxoma peritonei, and is also the rare disease ambassador since 2014 and for 2015 on behalf of European Organisation for Rare Diseases.
Illness
Upon return from Somalia to Switzerland in late September 1992, Hepburn began suffering from abdominal pains. She went to specialists and received inconclusive results, so she decided to have herself examined while on a trip to Los Angeles in October. On 1 November, Hepburn checked in at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center with her family. Doctors performed a laparoscopy and discovered abdominal cancer that had spread from her appendix, a rare form of cancer belonging to a group of cancers known as pseudomyxoma peritonei (PMP). Having grown slowly over several years, the cancer had metastasised, not as a tumour, but as a thin coating over her small intestine. After surgery, the doctors put Hepburn through 5-fluorouracil Leucovorin chemotherapy. A few days later, she had an obstruction and medication was not enough to dull the pain. She underwent further surgery on 1 December. After one hour, the surgeon decided that the cancer had spread too far to be removed fully and was inoperable.
After coming to terms with the gravity of Hepburn's illness, her family decided to return home to Switzerland in order to celebrate her last Christmas. Because Hepburn was still recovering from surgery, she was unable to fly on commercial aircraft. Hubert de Givenchy offered to help and arranged for Rachel Lambert "Bunny" Mellon to send her private Gulfstream jet, filled with flowers, to take Hepburn from Los Angeles to Geneva. She spent her last days in hospice care at her home in Tolochenaz, Vaud, Switzerland and occasionally was well enough to take walks in her garden, but gradually became more confined to bed rest as she grew weaker.
Death
On the evening of 20 January 1993, Hepburn died at home in her sleep of appendiceal cancer. After her death, Gregory Peck went on camera and tearfully recited her favourite poem, "Unending Love" by Rabindranath Tagore.
Funeral services were held at the village church of Tolochenaz, Switzerland, on 24 January 1993. Maurice Eindiguer, the same pastor who wed Hepburn and Mel Ferrer and baptised her son Sean in 1960, presided over her funeral while Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan, of UNICEF, delivered a eulogy. Many family members and friends attended the funeral, including her sons, partner Robert Wolders, brother Ian Quarles van Ufford, ex-husbands Andrea Dotti and Mel Ferrer, Hubert de Givenchy, executives of UNICEF, and fellow actors Alain Delon and Roger Moore. Flower arrangements were sent to the funeral by Gregory Peck, Elizabeth Taylor, and the Dutch royal family.
The same day as her funeral, Hepburn was interred at the Tolochenaz Cemetery, a small cemetery that sits atop a hill overlooking the village.
(1964)
(Actress)
(1959)
(Actress)
(1956)
(Actress)
(1953)
(Actress)
(1954)
(Actress)
(1961)
(Actress)
Source : Wikidata
Audrey Hepburn
Birth name Audrey Kathleen Ruston
Nationality United-kingdom
Birth 4 may 1929 at Ixelles / Elsene (Belgique)
Death 20 january 1993 (at 63 years) at Tolochenaz (Suisse)
Awards Emmy Award, Academy Award for Best Actress, Presidential Medal of Freedom, Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award
Nationality United-kingdom
Birth 4 may 1929 at Ixelles / Elsene (Belgique)
Death 20 january 1993 (at 63 years) at Tolochenaz (Suisse)
Awards Emmy Award, Academy Award for Best Actress, Presidential Medal of Freedom, Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award
Born in Ixelles, a district of Brussels, Hepburn spent her childhood between Belgium, England, and the Netherlands, including German-occupied Arnhem during the Second World War where she worked as a courier for the Dutch resistance and assisted with fundraising. In Amsterdam, she studied ballet with Sonia Gaskell before moving to London in 1948 to continue her ballet training with Marie Rambert and perform as a chorus girl in West End musical theatre productions. She spoke several languages, including English, French, Dutch, Italian, Spanish, and German.
Following minor appearances in several films, Hepburn starred in the 1951 Broadway play Gigi after being spotted by French novelist Colette. Hepburn shot to stardom for playing the lead role in Roman Holiday (1953), for which she was the first actress to win an Academy Award, a Golden Globe and a BAFTA Award for a single performance. The same year, she won a Tony Award for Best Lead Actress in a Play for her performance in Ondine. Hepburn went on to star in a number of successful films, such as Sabrina (1954), The Nun's Story (1959), Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961), Charade (1963), My Fair Lady (1964) and Wait Until Dark (1967), for which she received Academy Award, Golden Globe and BAFTA nominations. Hepburn won a record three BAFTA Awards for Best British Actress in a Leading Role. In recognition of her film career, she was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award from BAFTA, Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award, the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award, and the Special Tony Award. Hepburn remains one of the few people who have won Academy, Emmy, Grammy, and Tony Awards.
Hepburn appeared in fewer films as her life went on, devoting much of her later life to UNICEF. Although contributing to the organisation since 1954, she worked in some of the most profoundly impoverished communities of Africa, South America and Asia between 1988 and 1992. She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in recognition of her work as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador in December 1992. A month later, Hepburn died of appendiceal cancer at her home in Switzerland at the age of 63.
Biography
Marriages, relationships and childrenIn 1952, Hepburn was engaged to the young James Hanson, Baron Hanson, whom she had known since her London dancing days. She called it "love at first sight"; however, after having her wedding dress fitted and the date set, she decided the marriage would not work because the demands of their careers would keep them apart most of the time. She issued a statement about her decision, saying, "When I get married, I want to be really married." In the early 1950s, she also dated future Hair producer Michael Butler.
Hepburn and Gregory Peck bonded during the filming of Roman Holiday (1953) and there were rumours that they were romantically involved; both denied it. Hepburn, however, added, "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." They did however become lifelong friends. During the filming of Sabrina (1954), Hepburn and the already-married William Holden became romantically involved. She hoped to marry him and have children, but she broke off the relationship when Holden revealed that he had undergone a vasectomy. Although a common perception that Bogart and Hepburn (both starred in Sabrina together) did not get along, Hepburn commented that, "Sometimes it's the so-called 'tough guys' that are the most tender hearted, as Bogey was with me."
At a cocktail party hosted by Gregory Peck, Hepburn met American actor Mel Ferrer. Ferrer recalled that, "We began talking about theatre; she knew all about the La Jolla Playhouse Summer Theatre, where Greg Peck and I had been co-producing plays. She also said she'd seen me three times in the movie Lili. Finally, she said she'd like to do a play with me, and she asked me to send her a likely play if I found one."
Ferrer, vying for Hepburn to take the title role, sent her the script for the play Ondine. She agreed and rehearsals started in January 1954. Eight months later, on 25 September 1954, after meeting, working together, and falling in love, the pair were married in Bürgenstock while preparing to star together in the film War and Peace (1955).
Before having their only son, Hepburn had two miscarriages – one in March 1955 and another in 1959. The latter occurred when filming The Unforgiven (1960) where breaking her back after falling off a horse and onto a rock resulted in hospital stay and miscarriage induced by physical and mental stress. Hepburn took a year off work in order to carry a child to term. Sean Hepburn Ferrer, their son, was born on 17 July 1960.
Despite the insistence from gossip columns that their marriage would not last, Hepburn claimed that she and Ferrer were inseparable and happy together, though she admitted that he had a bad temper. Ferrer was rumoured to be too controlling of Hepburn and had been referred to by others as being her "Svengali" – an accusation that Hepburn laughed off. William Holden was quoted as saying, "I think Audrey allows Mel to think he influences her." Hepburn had another two miscarriages later, in 1965 and 1967. After a 14-year marriage, the couple divorced on 5 December 1968. Their son believed that Hepburn had stayed in the marriage too long.
In June 1968 she was invited on a cruise by Princess Olimpia Emmanuela Torlonia di Civitella-Cesi and her industrialist husband Paul-Annik Weiller (1933–1998). On the cruise she met the Italian psychiatrist Andrea Dotti and fell in love with him on a trip to the Greek ruins. She believed she would have more children and possibly stop working. She married him on 18 January 1969 at age 39 and gave birth to their son, Luca Dotti, on 8 February 1970. While pregnant with Luca in 1969, Hepburn was more careful, resting for months and passing the time by painting before delivering him by caesarean section. Hepburn tried for another child but in 1974 had another miscarriage.
Although Dotti loved Hepburn and was well-liked by Sean, who called him "fun", he began having affairs with younger women. Hepburn had a romantic relationship with actor Ben Gazzara during the filming of the 1979 movie Bloodline. The Dotti-Hepburn marriage lasted thirteen years and ended in 1982 when Hepburn felt Luca and Sean were old enough to handle life with a single mother. Although Hepburn broke off contact with Ferrer, and only spoke to him two more times during the remainder of her life, she remained in touch with Dotti for the benefit of Luca. On 30 September 2007, Andrea Dotti died after complications from a colonoscopy.
From 1980 until her death, Hepburn lived with and was romantically involved with Dutch actor Robert Wolders, the widower of actress Merle Oberon. She met Wolders through a friend in the later stage of her marriage to Dotti. The divorce from Dotti finalised, Wolders and Hepburn started their lives together, although they never married. In 1989, she called the nine years she had spent with him the happiest years of her life. "Took me long enough", she said in an interview with American journalist Barbara Walters. Walters then asked why they never married; Hepburn replied that they were married, just not formally.
Hepburn's children
Hepburn had two surviving children, Sean, with Mel Ferrer, born on 17 July 1960 and Luca, with Andrea Dotti, born on 8 February 1970.
Audrey's son Sean founded the Audrey Hepburn Children's Fund. shortly after his mother's passing. After 20 years as its chairman he handed the reins to his brother Luca to become the Honorary Chair of the Audrey Hepburn Society at the US Fund for UNICEF. The Society celebrates UNICEF's biggest donors and has raised almost US$100,000,000 to date. He also became patron of the Pseudomyxoma Survivor charity, dedicated to providing support to patients of the rare cancer she suffered from, pseudomyxoma peritonei, and is also the rare disease ambassador since 2014 and for 2015 on behalf of European Organisation for Rare Diseases.
Illness
Upon return from Somalia to Switzerland in late September 1992, Hepburn began suffering from abdominal pains. She went to specialists and received inconclusive results, so she decided to have herself examined while on a trip to Los Angeles in October. On 1 November, Hepburn checked in at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center with her family. Doctors performed a laparoscopy and discovered abdominal cancer that had spread from her appendix, a rare form of cancer belonging to a group of cancers known as pseudomyxoma peritonei (PMP). Having grown slowly over several years, the cancer had metastasised, not as a tumour, but as a thin coating over her small intestine. After surgery, the doctors put Hepburn through 5-fluorouracil Leucovorin chemotherapy. A few days later, she had an obstruction and medication was not enough to dull the pain. She underwent further surgery on 1 December. After one hour, the surgeon decided that the cancer had spread too far to be removed fully and was inoperable.
After coming to terms with the gravity of Hepburn's illness, her family decided to return home to Switzerland in order to celebrate her last Christmas. Because Hepburn was still recovering from surgery, she was unable to fly on commercial aircraft. Hubert de Givenchy offered to help and arranged for Rachel Lambert "Bunny" Mellon to send her private Gulfstream jet, filled with flowers, to take Hepburn from Los Angeles to Geneva. She spent her last days in hospice care at her home in Tolochenaz, Vaud, Switzerland and occasionally was well enough to take walks in her garden, but gradually became more confined to bed rest as she grew weaker.
Death
On the evening of 20 January 1993, Hepburn died at home in her sleep of appendiceal cancer. After her death, Gregory Peck went on camera and tearfully recited her favourite poem, "Unending Love" by Rabindranath Tagore.
Funeral services were held at the village church of Tolochenaz, Switzerland, on 24 January 1993. Maurice Eindiguer, the same pastor who wed Hepburn and Mel Ferrer and baptised her son Sean in 1960, presided over her funeral while Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan, of UNICEF, delivered a eulogy. Many family members and friends attended the funeral, including her sons, partner Robert Wolders, brother Ian Quarles van Ufford, ex-husbands Andrea Dotti and Mel Ferrer, Hubert de Givenchy, executives of UNICEF, and fellow actors Alain Delon and Roger Moore. Flower arrangements were sent to the funeral by Gregory Peck, Elizabeth Taylor, and the Dutch royal family.
The same day as her funeral, Hepburn was interred at the Tolochenaz Cemetery, a small cemetery that sits atop a hill overlooking the village.
Best films
(1964)(Actress)
(1959)(Actress)
(1956)(Actress)
(1953)(Actress)
(1954)(Actress)
(1961)(Actress)
Usually with
Filmography of Audrey Hepburn (33 films)
| Year | Name | Job | Roles |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Trumbo | Actress | Princess Ann (archive footage) (uncredited) |
| 2010 | Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff | Actress | Natasha Rostova (archive footage) |
| 2000 | The Audrey Hepburn Story | Actress | |
| 2000 | If These Walls Could Talk 2 | Actress | Self (archive footage) |
| 1989 | Always | Actress | Hap |
| 1987 | Love Among Thieves | Actress | Baroness Caroline DuLac |
| 1981 | They All Laughed | Actress | Angela Niotes |
| 1979 | Bloodline | Actress | Elizabeth Roffe |
| 1976 | Robin and Marian | Actress | Lady Marian |
| 1967 | Wait Until Dark | Actress | Susy Hendrix |
| 1967 | Two for the Road | Actress | Joanna Wallace |
| 1966 | How to Steal a Million | Actress | Nicole Bonnet |
| 1964 | Paris When It Sizzles | Actress | Gabrielle Simpson / Baby |
| 1964 | My Fair Lady | Actress | Eliza Doolittle |
| 1963 | Charade | Actress | Regina Lampert |
| 1961 | Breakfast at Tiffany's | Actress | Holly Golightly |
| 1961 | The Children's Hour | Actress | Karen Wright |
| 1960 | The Unforgiven | Actress | Rachel Zachary |
| 1959 | Green Mansions | Actress | Rima |
| 1959 | The Nun's Story | Actress | Sister Luke |
| 1957 | Love in the Afternoon | Actress | Ariane Chavasse / Thin Girl |
| 1957 | Funny Face | Actress | Jo Stockton |
| 1957 | Mayerling | Actress | Countess Marie Vetsera |
| 1956 | War and Peace | Actress | Natasha Rostova |
| 1954 | Sabrina | Actress | Sabrina Fairchild |
| 1953 | Roman Holiday | Actress | Princess Ann |
| 1952 | Secret People | Actress | Nora Brentano |
| 1951 | The Lavender Hill Mob | Actress | Chiquita |
| 1951 | Young Wives' Tale | Actress | Eve Lester |
| 1951 | Laughter in Paradise | Actress | Cigarette Girl |
| 1951 | One Wild Oat | Actress | Hotel Receptionist |
| 1951 | Monte Carlo Baby | Actress | Melissa Walter |
| 1948 | Dutch in Seven Lessons | Actress | Stewardess / Girl with lute |