b i o g r a p h y  :   m o m e n t s   f r o m   a   l i f e

Ria Bergman - Audrey esque Dressmaking in London!

Magical screen presence, fashion arbiter, shrine to good taste, and tireless crusader for children's rights, Audrey Hepburn has become one of the most enduring screen icons of the twentieth century.

Born May 4, 1929, near Brussels, Belgium into relative prosperity and influence. The daughter of an English banker and a Dutch baroness, her early years were spent travelling between England, Belgium, and the Netherlands because of her father's job. She was sent to a girl's school near London after her father abandoned the family, something that would have a profound effect on the actress for the rest of her life.

At the outbreak of the 2nd World War in 1939, her mother moved her and two sons from a previous marriage to the neutral Netherlands: the following year the country was invaded by the Nazis and Hepburn and her family were forced to endure the resulting hardships. During the German occupation, Hepburn suffered from malnutrition (which would permanently affect her weight), witnessed various acts of Nazi brutality, and at one point was forced into hiding with her family.

Christened simply Audrey Kathleen Ruston, her mother 'Ella Van Heemstra' temporarily changed the actress' name from Audrey to Edda during the war, feeling that "Audrey" might indicate her British roots too strongly. During the war, being English in occupied Holland was not an asset; it could have attracted the attention of the occupying German forces and resulted in confinement or even deportation. After the war, her father, Joseph Victor Anthony Ruston, found documents about his ancestors, some of whom bore the name Hepburn. This is when he added it to his name, which caused her daughter to have to legally add Hepburn to her name as well, thus Audrey Kathleen Hepburn-Ruston.

After the war she went to London on a ballet scholarship. Graceful, slender, and long-legged, she soon began winning modeling assignments from fashion photographers. One of these was the British photographer, Angus McBean and his photo of her (below) has now become iconic. It has since been claimed that this one photograph propelled Hepburn into the film world.

In the early 50s she joined Felix Aylmer's acting classes and began playing bit parts in British movies. One of her earlier movies was in the opening scene of the Ealing classic, Lavendar Hill Mob, playing Alec Guiness' love interest (look carefully or you're miss Audrey!!). While filming Monte Carlo Baby on the French Riviera, in 1951, she met Colette, the French novelist, who insisted that Audrey play the lead in the forthcoming Broadway adaptation of her Gigi.

Fragile and radiant, projecting both childlike and feminine qualities, Miss Hepburn was an ideal Colette heroine. Her success in the play led to a starring part opposite Gregory Peck in the film Roman Holiday, for which she won an Academy Award. 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. Six weeks after the Oscar ceremonies she won the Tony Award for her performance in the Broadway play Ondine. Filmwise, Roman Holiday was followed by another similarly wonderful performance in the 1957 classic Funny Face (1957). Sabrina (1954), for which she received another Academy nomination, and Love in the Afternoon (1957), also garnered rave reviews.

In 1954 she married Mel Ferrer, her co-star in the play. They also co-starred in King Vidor's War and Peace, she as Natasha and he as Andrei. Ferrer later directed her in Green Mansions. They divorced in 1968.

In 1959, she received yet another nomination for her role in 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). For this she received another nomination. 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, 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 in 1989. 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 to Empire magazine's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time".

Shortly after a highly publicized 1992 mission of mercy to famine and war-torn Somalia, she died of colon cancer and at the early age of 63. She was mourned internationally as the loss of one of the favorite film actresses of all time, an icon to style, elegance, dignity, and charity.

Audrey Hepburn's relationship with fans was also handled with kindness and firmness. She would always send autographed pictures out to those who requested them but kept a book of all the names who requested them as she wouldn't send a second one.

[  a u d r e y   h e p b u r n   f i l m o g r ap h y   ]