Casting New York

Audrey Hepburn

By Lee Conell

An enduring icon of elegance and fashion, actress Audrey Hepburn did not always live a life of glamour. Born in Belgium on May 4, 1929, to a Dutch baroness and an Englishman, Hepburn was raised under Nazi rule during World War II, and at one point changed her name to Edda Van Heemstra, so as to avoid Nazi attention for being too English. Hepburn, who as a child trained not as an actress but as a ballerina, secretly danced to raise money for the underground resistance movement, one of her first but not her last humanitarian acts.

When the war ended Hepburn worked as a nurse for wounded veterans, and continued to dance. Told that she would never be a ballerina because of her height and the poor nutrition she received during the war, Hepburn, in need of money, decided to pursue acting instead. Hepburn once said, "As a child I was taught that it was bad manners to bring attention to yourself, and to never ever make a spectacle of yourself. All of which I've earned a living doing."

Hepburn's early work included starring in the stage production of Gigi. Colette, the well-known author of Gigi, stated herself that Hepburn was perfect for the part. Hepburn went on to film, where her star quality translated onto the silver screen in movies such as The Secret People (1952) and Roman Holiday (1953), Hepburn's first American film, where she starred opposite male lead Gregory Peck. Roman Holiday gained Hepburn an Oscar for Best Actress and catapulted her into stardom. She went on to lead in classic films including Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961) and My Fair Lady (1964). Hepburn received mixed reactions for her role in the latter film; many felt the part of Eliza Doolittle had been unjustly stolen from actress Julie Andrews, who played Eliza in the Broadway version of My Fair Lady.

"There are certain shades of limelight that can wreck a girl's complexion," Hepburn famously said, suggesting that Hollywood was not always her first priority. Hepburn was deeply concerned with family and wanted desperately to be a mother. "The one thing I dreamed of in my life was to have children of my own," Hepburn said. "It always boils down to the same thing - of not only receiving love but wanting desperately to give it." During her first marriage to American actor Mel Ferrer, Hepburn suffered two miscarriages which devastated the actress. Finally she gave birth to a son in 1960.

She divorced Ferrer after fourteen years of marriage amidst rumors that Ferrer was seeing another woman, and later married an Italian psychologist, Andrea Dotti, who she also had a son with. Hepburn eventually divorced Dotti because he, like Ferrer, had begun having affairs with other woman. It wasn't until late in her life that Hepburn met Dutch actor Robert Wolders and became his companion for the rest of her days, days Hepburn called the happiest of her life.

Wolders understood the passion for helping others that had overtaken Hepburn after her career as an actress was drawing to a close. Driven by memories of her times as a hungry child during war, Hepburn was appointed Special Ambassador for the United Nations Children Fund in 1989. She used her fame to attract attention to suffering countries, making two congressional appearances to speak out on issues of hunger and to demand a boost in aid for Africa. Hepburn made over 50 trips to third-world countries in the last few years of her life.

Hepburn died of colorectal cancer on January 22nd, 1993, in Switzerland. She remains enormously popular and continues to be imitated in the world of fashion and culture.


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	Audrey Hepburn By Lee Conell An enduring icon of elegance and fashion, actress Audrey Hepburn did not always live a life of glamour. Born in Belgium on May 4, 1929, to a Dutch baroness and an Englishman, Hepburn was raised under Nazi rule during World War II, and at one point changed her name to Edda Van Heemstra, so as to avoid Nazi attention for being too English. Hepburn, who as a child trained not as an actress but as a ballerina, secretly danced to raise money for the underground resistance movement, one of her first but not her last humanitarian acts. When the war ended Hepburn worked as a nurse for wounded veterans, and continued to dance. Told that she would never be a ballerina because of her height and the poor nutrition she received during the war, Hepburn, in need of money, decided to pursue acting instead. Hepburn once said, "As a child I was taught that it was bad manners to bring attention to yourself, and to never ever make a spectacle of yourself. All of which I've earned a living doing." Hepburn's early work included starring in the stage production of Gigi. Colette, the well-known author of Gigi, stated herself that Hepburn was perfect for the part. Hepburn went on to film, where her star quality translated onto the silver screen in movies such as The Secret People (1952) and Roman Holiday (1953), Hepburn's first American film, where she starred opposite male lead Gregory Peck. Roman Holiday gained Hepburn an Oscar for Best Actress and catapulted her into stardom. She went on to lead in classic films including Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961) and My Fair Lady (1964). Hepburn received mixed reactions for her role in the latter film; many felt the part of Eliza Doolittle had been unjustly stolen from actress Julie Andrews, who played Eliza in the Broadway version of My Fair Lady. "There are certain shades of limelight that can wreck a girl's complexion," Hepburn famously said, suggesting that Hollywood was not always her first priority. Hepburn was deeply concerned with family and wanted desperately to be a mother. "The one thing I dreamed of in my life was to have children of my own," Hepburn said. "It always boils down to the same thing - of not only receiving love but wanting desperately to give it." During her first marriage to American actor Mel Ferrer, Hepburn suffered two miscarriages which devastated the actress. Finally she gave birth to a son in 1960. She divorced Ferrer after fourteen years of marriage amidst rumors that Ferrer was seeing another woman, and later married an Italian psychologist, Andrea Dotti, who she also had a son with. Hepburn eventually divorced Dotti because he, like Ferrer, had begun having affairs with other woman. It wasn't until late in her life that Hepburn met Dutch actor Robert Wolders and became his companion for the rest of her days, days Hepburn called the happiest of her life. Wolders understood the passion for helping others that had overtaken Hepburn after her career as an actress was drawing to a close. Driven by memories of her times as a hungry child during war, Hepburn was appointed Special Ambassador for the United Nations Children Fund in 1989. She used her fame to attract attention to suffering countries, making two congressional appearances to speak out on issues of hunger and to demand a boost in aid for Africa. Hepburn made over 50 trips to third-world countries in the last few years of her life. Hepburn died of colorectal cancer on January 22nd, 1993, in Switzerland. She remains enormously popular and continues to be imitated in the world of fashion and culture.