AudreyHepburn

BiographyAudrey Hepburn was born the daughter of a British father and a

Dutch mother in Brussels, Belgium, on May 4, 1929. 

In 1936 Hepburn left Holland and moved to England to attend a private boarding

school in Kent.

Joseph Victor Anthony Hepburn-Ruston deserted

the family. Hepburn's mother, Baroness Ella van Heemstra, moved her two

sons and Hepburn from Brussels to Arnhem,

Holland.

In 1939, Germany invaded Poland. When England declared war

on Germany, the Baroness moved Hepburn back to

Arnhem for safety.

Hepburn lived in Nazi occupation from

1940 to 1945, using the name Edda van

Heemstra.

When the Germans confiscated all the radios, Hepburn delivered secret

underground newspapers, which she

hid in her oversized boots.

The United Nations Relief and

Rehabilitation Administration

brought boxes of food, blankets, medicine,

and clothes.

Hepburn was suffering from colitis, jaundice,

severe edema, anemia,

endometriosis, asthma, and depression.

She appeared in several bit parts in

small movies before landing the role of a

ballerina in The Secret

People (1952).

The famed French writer Colette cast Hepburn as Gigi in

her musical comedy play Gigi.

William Wyler chose her to play the lead

role in his new movie Roman Holiday

Hepburn discovered she was pregnant in

late 1958, but months later she

fell off a horse and broke her back.

With fashions designed by Hubert de

Givenchy, the film catapulted

Hepburn as a fashion icon.

The Ferrers separated and in 1968 she married Dr. Andrea Dotti.

She married Mel Ferrer in

1954.

She was appointed a special

ambassador to the United Nations Children's Fund

(UNICEF).

Audrey Hepburn passed away on

January 20, 1993, at La Paisible (pancreatic

cancer).

She dedicated herself to spreading

awareness of the conditions of these nations and doing

what she could to help directly.

Why she is remarkableA picture of charm, beauty, elegance, and grace, Audrey Hepburn is a true

icon of the twentieth century.

If she was sometimes tentative and unsure when preparing for a

role on screen, Audrey was fiercely unreserved

in speaking for those who otherwise had no

voice.

Curiosities• Audrey was distantly related to Humphrey Bogart, the English King

George III, Prince Rainier of Monaco and Princess Diana.• She sang “Happy Birthday” to John F. Kennedy in 1963, the last

time before his death.• She donated all the salaries she earned for her final projects to

UNICEF.• She is one of only a few people to have won Academy, Emmy,

Grammy, and Tony awards.• She lives on through the Audrey Hepburn Children’s Fund,

established by her sons in 1994.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WyC-arfUHRE

Bibliography• http://history1900s.about.com/od/people/a/Au

drey-Hepburn.htm• http://www.audrey1.org/biography/7/short-bio

graphy-of-audrey-hepburn• http://www.audreyhepburn.com/• http://giblingirl.hubpages.com/hub/Audrey-He

pburn-Facts