Audrey Hepburn was a Belgian-born British actress and humanitarian. She is best known for her roles in films such as Roman Holiday (1953), Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961), and My Fair Lady (1964). Hepburn devoted the final years of her life to humanitarian work. In 1992 she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Marilyn was more successful in grabbing the imagination of the American people. While Audrey was and is revered both an an actress and as a person (even Marilyn said she wished she could be more like her), she isn't still talked about the way Marilyn is.
The qualities that made Audrey Hepburn a great actress were, above all, also those that made her a great person: her genuine compassion and strength of character. Ultimately, it's not the roles she played that made her an enduring cultural icon, but who she was.
Who Was Audrey Hepburn? Audrey Hepburn was an actress, fashion icon, and philanthropist who was born in Belgium. At age 22, she starred in the Broadway production of Gigi. Two years later, she starred in the film Roman Holiday (1953) with Gregory Peck.
From her childhood activism to her role as UNICEF Ambassador, Hepburn was a true hunger hero. She worked tirelessly on behalf of the millions around the world — especially children — who needed a helping hand and a voice.
Audrey Hepburn (born May 4, 1929, Brussels, Belgium—died January 20, 1993, Tolochenaz, Switzerland) was a Belgian-born British actress known for her radiant beauty and style, her ability to project an air of sophistication tempered by a charming innocence, and her tireless efforts to aid children in need.
"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."
On the stage, she also appeared in "Ondine" in 1954. Hepburn stopped making movies regularly in the late 1960s, but returned for several roles, including Marian with Sean Connery's Robin Hood in "Robin and Marian" in 1976. Her last film role was in Steven Spielberg's "Always" in 1989.
The new darling of Hollywood, it was clear Hepburn, then 24, had an incredible acting career ahead of her when she met her first great love. 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.
She ate a lot of grains, not a lot of meat, and a little bit of everything." At 5' 7", Hepburn weighed 110 pounds her entire adult life, but according to her family, she never dieted. Instead, Robert Wolders, her partner from 1980 until her 1993 death, says the actress enjoyed exercise, chocolate and even Scotch.
She suffered from anemia the rest of her life, possibly as a consequence." Some have wondered whether the effects of her harsh upbringing stayed as she rose to fame as an actress. “People think because she was skinny that she had an eating disorder, but it's not true,” Dotti added.
Not only was she an incredible actress but a world traveler and seemingly very smart lady. She spoke English as well as Spanish, French, Dutch, and Italian fluently.
If Marilyn was the archetypal beauty of the 1950s, Kim Kardashian surely resembles the modern-day equivalent. Kim and her sisters are often credited with creating an entirely new – although equally unattainable – beauty standard for women to strain towards.
“Elvis had never seen Marilyn,” said an insider, “then in the early summer of 1960 the two most explosive and legendary sex symbols of their era sized each other up in the street in front of a soundstage at Twentieth Century Fox, and came away unnerved.”
Hepburn suffered two miscarriages, one shortly after falling from a horse during filming, but it was the second that was the most deeply traumatic. Hepburn Ferrer says: "I know that the second loss was, which was at six months [in the pregnancy], was very hard.
Oddly enough, one of the traits Hepburn is most remembered for is her is prolific smoking. Sources peg her at two or three packs a day for the majority of her life (she lived until she was 64). She began smoking when she was 16 and was darn near a chimney.
How old was Audrey Hepburn when she did breakfast at Tiffany's?
Audrey Hepburn was 31 years old when playing Holly. Holly Golightly wears the same dresses all the way through the movie, simply changing the accessories to give each outfit a different look. Her black shift dress features through the movie at least four times.
For those that don't know, Hepburn welcomed two sons: one named Sean Hepburn Ferrer, born July 1960, with her ex-husband Mel Ferrer, and another son named Luca Dotti, born Feb 1970, with her second husband Andrea Dotti.
On May 4, 1929, Edda van Heemstra Hepburn-Ruston—who will one day be better known to legions of film fans as Audrey Hepburn—is born near Brussels, Belgium. The daughter of an English banker and a Dutch baroness, Hepburn was attending school in London when World War II erupted in Europe.
Her mother changed her name to Edda during the war because she felt the name Audrey, being English, could prove to be a problem with the occupiers during the war. After the war Audrey again assumed her birth name, and later she adopted the now famous stage and screen name of Audrey Hepburn for the rest of her life.
Based on her personality traits, Audrey Hepburn can be identified as an Enneagram Type Two, also known as "The Helper." Hepburn was known for her kindness, compassion, and generosity, which are common traits of Type Twos.
