RSS FEEDS
Send to friend
IBiography - Bookmark this page
Bio Email Updates

Audrey Hepburn

May 4, 1929 - January 20, 1993

Share

Audrey Hepburn Biography

Audrey Hepburn was a film and fashion icon of the twentieth century and one of the most beloved actresses of all time. She enchanted the world with elegance and innocent charm, and portrayed some of the most memorable characters in film. Although she was one of the few actresses to win an Emmy, Tony, Grammy, and Academy Award, Audrey was modest about her talents, often claiming she had no acting technique. She redefined glamour with elfin features and a waif-like figure that inspired timeless designs by Hubert de Givenchy.

Raised in the Netherlands during World War II, Audrey never forgot her own struggles during the German occupation and dedicated her later years to helping needy children around the world, becoming an International Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF and traveling around the world to provide aid.

Audrey Hepburn is remembered as a natural talent, a timeless beauty and a great humanitarian.

» Read Full Biography of Audrey Hepburn
A Potrait of Audrey

Audrey Hepburn Quotes

  • “People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed; never throw out anyone.”
  • “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.”
  • “I depend upon Givenchy as American women depend upon their psychiatrist.”
Photo Gallery Quiz

1929 1935 1939 1945 1948 1951 1953 1954 1955 1957 1959 1960 1961 1967 1969 1976 1980 1988 1989 1992 1993
  • Jan
  • Feb
  • Mar
  • Apr
  • May
  • Jun
  • Jul
  • Aug
  • Sep
  • Oct
  • Nov
  • Dec
Audrey Kathleen Ruston is born in Brussels, Belgium on May 4th to an English banker and a Dutch baroness. During World War II Audrey takes on the name Edda Van Heemstra. After the war, her father appends the family name to Hepburn-Ruston to include his grandmother's surname.
Attends boarding school in Kent, England.
Moves to Arnhem, Netherlands with her mother and two step-brothers after her parents separate and finally divorce in 1938. During the German occupation, Audrey attends Arnhem Conservatory and studies ballet. She recounts experiencing similar harrowing experiences as that of Anne Frank.
Studies ballet under Sonia Gaskell in Amsterdam.
Studies at famed Marie Rambert's ballet school in London on a scholarship. Plays a small part in the film "Dutch in Seven Lessons".

Debuts on the London stage in the chorus of the musical "High Button Shoes"; then "Sauce Tartare" in 1949; and "Sauce Piquante" in 1950.

Debuts on the British screen as an extra in "One Wild Oat" and small roles in "Young Wives' Tales", "Laughter in Paradise", "The Lavender Hill Mob", and "Monte Carlo Baby".

Stars in the Broadway production of Gigi in New York.

Announces her engagement to businessman James Hanson in the December 4, edition of the London Times.

Stars in her first Hollywood film, "Roman Holiday", with Gregory Peck.

An illustration of Audrey appears on the September 7th cover of Time magazine.

Meets Hubert de Givenchy, a 26 year-old fashion designer, for wardrobe fittings for her upcoming film "Sabrina". They become lifelong friends as she inspires his designs and he catapults her to a fashion icon.
The film "Sabrina" debuts showcasing the signature look that makes Audrey Hepburn a fashion icon.

Awarded an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and a Golden Globe for her performance in "Roman Holiday".

Stars in the play "Ondine" earning a Tony award for her performance.

Marries American actor and director Mel Ferrer in September 25th in Switzerland.
Suffers a miscarriage in March before shooting the film "War and Peace" alongside her new husband in spring.
Stars in the films "Funny Face", where she shows off her dancing skills alongside Fred Astaire, and "Love in the Afternoon".
Stars in "The Nun's Story" and "Green Mansions".

While filming the western "The Unforgiven", Audrey is thrown from a horse breaking her back. She suffers a second miscarriage soon after.
She gives birth to a son, Sean H. Ferrer, on January 17th.
Stars as the stylish and whimsical Holly Golightly in "Breakfast at Tiffany's" and in "The Children's Hour", then "Charade" with Cary Grant the following year, and the musical "My Fair Lady" in 1964.
Stars in "Wait Until Dark", and "Two For the Road".

Separates from Mel Ferrer then divorces him the following year.

Weds Italian psychiatrist Andrea Dotti and on February 8th the following year their son Luca is born.
After an 11-year absence, Audrey returns to the cinema in "Robin and Marian" with Sean Connery.
Separates from Andrea Dotti, and divorces him in 1982.

Becomes romantically involved with actor Robert Wolders.

Visits her ailing father in Dublin, Ireland, whom she had regained contact with in the mid 1960s after he left the family when she was a child.
Appointed as UNICEF's International Goodwill Ambassador and makes her first "field mission", to Ethiopia. Over the years and until her death Audrey visits many needy countries around the world.
Plays an angel in Steven Spielberg's film "Always".
Narrates the nine episode PBS documentary "Gardens of the World", which debuts the following year on January 21st, and earns her a Grammy for Best Spoken Word Album for Children.

Awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by George Bush on December 11th.

Audrey is diagnosed with cancer.

Audrey Hepburn dies on January 20th at the age of 63 in Tolochenaz, Switzerland. Robert Wolders and Audrey's sons, Sean H. Ferrer and Luca Dotti, establish The Audrey Hepburn Memorial Fund at the U.S. Fund for UNICEF.

Hepburn was fluent in English, French, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, and Flemish.

Trivia

  • In the 1964 film My Fair Lady Marni Nixon was dubbed over Audrey Hepburn's singing voice.
  • In 1963 Audrey Hepburn sang "Happy Birthday" to then President, John F. Kennedy.
  • Fashion designer Hubert de Givenchy reflects on his first meeting with Audrey Hepburn and admits to anticipating film star Katharine Hepburn instead.
  • In 1990, a breed of tulip was named after Audrey Hepburn.
  • There are three versions of the black, sleeveless Givenchy dress made for Audrey Hepburn for the movie "Breakfast at Tiffany's". One was auctioned for 467,200 British Pounds in 2006, another is in the Givenchy archives in Paris, and the third is at the Museum of Costume in Madrid.
Read More Close

Honors & Awards

  • New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress in Roman Holiday (1953)
  • Academy Award for Best Actress in Roman Holiday (1954)
  • BAFTA Award for Best British Actress in Roman Holiday (1954)
  • Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture Actress in Roman Holiday (1954)
  • Tony Award for Best Actress in Ondine (1954)
  • Golden Globe's Henrietta Award for World Film Favorite (1955)
  • New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress in The Nun's Story (1959)
  • BAFTA Award for Best British Actress in The Nun's Story (1960)
  • BAFTA Award for Best British Actress in Charade (1965)
  • Cecil B. DeMille Award (1968)
  • Presidential Medal of Freedom (1992)
  • Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album for Children for Audrey Hepburn's Enchanted Tales (1993)
  • Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement (1993)
  • Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award (1993)
  • Women in Film Crystal Awards (1996)
  • U.S. Postal Service issues a stamp honoring Audrey Hepburn (2003)

Filmography

  • Dutch in Seven Lessons (1948)
  • One Wild Oat (1951)
  • Laughter in Paradise (1951)
  • Young Wives' Tale (1951)
  • The Lavender Hill Mob (1951)
  • The Secret People (1952)
  • Monte Carlo Baby (1952)
  • We Will Go to Monte Carlo n(1952)
  • Roman Holiday (1953)
  • Sabrina (1954)
  • War and Peace (1956)
  • Funny Face (1957)

Advertisement

Bio Shop

Breakfast at Tiffany's Framed Photograph

Breakfast at Tiffany's Framed Photograph

The Audrey Hepburn unsigned "Breakfast at Tiffanys" 8x10 photo comes double matted and framed in a wood frame and measures 12x14x1. It comes ready to hang in any home or office. Click to Buy

Email Sign Up

Get the latest news on BIO's greatest shows, new videos, interactive features and more.

Sign up for BIO.com News»



 

© 1996-2010 A&E Television Networks. All Rights Reserved