Audrey Hepburn

• Born: May 4, 1929
• Birthplace: Brussels, Belgium
• Died: January 20, 1993
• Place of death: Tolochenaz, Switzerland

Belgian-born British actor

Hepburn was a beloved actor and humanitarian representative of the United Nations International Children’s Fund, or UNICEF. She heralded a new look for leading women in film, redefined the feminine ideal of the 1950’s and early 1960’s, and became one of the fashion icons of the twentieth century. She lived through the turmoil of World War II in Europe, helping resistance workers with money, notes, and other essentials, all at great risk.

Areas of achievement Film, social reform, philanthropy

Early Life

Audrey Hepburn was born Audrey Kathleen Ruston to Dutch baroness Ella van Heemstra and Englishman Joseph Victor Anthony Ruston. Ruston moved the family to Brussels, Belgium, in early 1929 to work with a British insurance company. At the end of World War II and upon the death of the last Hepburn relative from Ruston’s mother’s family, Hepburn’s father legally changed his name to Hepburn-Ruston.

Hepburn-Ruston showed little interest in his daughter or stepsons, Ian and Alexander, and he left the family at the end of May, 1935. Hepburn and her mother stayed with her maternal grandparents in Arnhem and Velp, Holland. Hepburn was sent to an English boarding school in Kent, England, from 1936 to 1939, and returned to Arnhem when Germany invaded Poland in September, 1939. On May 10, 1940, Germany invaded the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg, and roused anti-English sentiment, which was a major concern because Hepburn was considered a British citizen by this time. To protect her daughter, Hepburn’s mother enrolled her in the local school as Edda van Heemstra.

Hepburn and her family lived with German threats, bombings, rationing, poverty, and disease. Her oldest brother, Alexander, disappeared in 1941 while fighting for the Dutch army. Her other brother, Ian, was a member of the Dutch resistance and was eventually deported to Germany to work as forced labor in a munitions factory in 1942. Several relatives were shot for helping the Dutch underground. Hepburn and other children passed money and notes to resistance workers, knowing that they would be killed if caught. The family evacuated Arnhem in September, 1944, and fled to Velp, where they had no heat or light, no news, and often no food. Hepburn was severely malnourished and jaundiced by late 1944. By June, 1945, however, the war was over and international aid had arrived. Her two brothers had survived and returned to Holland.

Life’s Work

In late 1946, Hepburn and her mother moved to London. By late January, 1947, Hepburn met Marie Rambert, one of the most influential members of British classical dance. She also dropped Ruston from her name and became Audrey Hepburn. After beginning ballet classes with Rambert, she worked in the evenings as a secretary and photographer’s model.

Hepburn’s dreams of being a prima ballerina were crushed when she was told that she was too tall and had begun training too late in life. At age twenty-one, Hepburn signed a three-picture studio contract with Associated British Pictures Corporation (ABPC). She appeared in brief roles in six pictures in 1950 and 1951.

While shooting the film Monte Carlo Baby in Monaco, Hepburn was spotted by the French novelist Colette, who insisted that Hepburn be considered for the stage version of her novella Gigi (1945). As she was preparing to leave for the United States to perform in Gigi, Hepburn was signed to shoot the film Roman Holiday. On October 15 she signed with Paramount for seven pictures in seven years. After Gigi closed in May, 1952, Hepburn went to Rome in June to shoot Roman Holiday and returned for the national tour of Gigi from October, 1952, to June, 1953.

On July 23, 1953, Hepburn met director and actor Mel Ferrer. Ferrer was in his third marriage and almost twelve years older than Hepburn. Hepburn also began work on her next film, Sabrina. Always knowledgeable about fashion, Hepburn met new designer Hubert de Givenchy while shopping in Paris for her Sabrina wardrobe. This meeting began a lifelong friendship and brought Givenchy’s fashions to worldwide attention. Givenchy later designed Hepburn’s wardrobe for six of her other films, as well as most of her personal clothing.

Hepburn won the Oscar for Best Actress at the Academy Awards in March, 1953, for Roman Holiday, as well as the equivalent award from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. She later won a Tony Award for best performance by an actress in a Broadway play for Ondine (wr. 1939), which she did with Ferrer.

When Ondine ended on July 3, 1954, Hepburn, frail and sick, left for Switzerland with her mother and Ferrer, who had divorced a year earlier. Hepburn suffered from clinical depression from late June throughout the summer. After months of recovery, she married Ferrer in a civil service on September 24 in Burgenstock, Switzerland. After the wedding, she went to Rome, where Ferrer was working. In late 1954, Hepburn and Ferrer began work on War and Peace, produced by Carlo Ponti and Dino De Laurentiis. Hepburn’s salary for War and Peace was the highest fee paid to any actress in the world in 1955. Although the film did not receive good reviews, the New York Film Critics Circle nominated Hepburn as best actress of the year.

Hepburn spent most of her time at the couple’s rented home near Lucerne, Switzerland, where she gave birth to son Sean Ferrer on July 17, 1960. The marriage had been an unhappy one for some time. Ferrer was getting few parts and the couple was often separated by distance while working. Additionally, there were rumors of Ferrer’s involvement with other women. In 1965, Hepburn and Ferrer bought a home in the village of Tolochenaz, near Lausanne, just outside Geneva. They called the home La Paisable the place of peace. Hepburn, however, filed for divorce on September 1, 1967, with the official decree announced December 5, 1968. Although she had been unhappy in the marriage for a long time, Hepburn stayed because of their son.

Hepburn met Andrea Dotti, an Italian psychoanalyst, in 1968, and they married on January 18, 1969. Their son, Luca, was born February 8, 1970, in Lausanne. The family eventually moved to Rome, but with numerous kidnappings and other crimes, Hepburn feared for the safety of her sons and returned with them to Switzerland in 1975. Dotti remained in Rome and commuted to Switzerland, but he was often seen with other women. The couple divorced in 1982.

In 1980, Hepburn met Dutchman Robert Wolders, a former actor who had recently lost his wife, actress Merle Oberon. Over time, they fell in love and Wolders eventually moved to La Paisable. Hepburn and Wolders never married, but were very happy together. In October, 1987, Hepburn and Wolders attended a benefit concert for UNICEF. After Hepburn’s speech, she was offered an ambassadorship. They left for their first trip in April, 1988, to Ethiopia. By 1992, Hepburn’s work for UNICEF was strenuous and involved grueling schedules and long journeys.

In September, 1992, after returning from Somalia on a UNICEF trip, Hepburn became ill with stomach pains. While visiting Sean in Los Angeles, Hepburn had exploratory surgery at Cedars Sinai Hospital on November 1, which revealed that she had cancer. Doctors removed a foot of intestine and, after one chemotherapy treatment, she went back into surgery on December 1. The doctors could do no more as the cancer had spread rapidly.

Givenchy arranged for a private jet to fly the family back to Switzerland a few weeks later. The family left on December 19. Hepburn spent the last month of her life at La Paisable, where she died on January 20, 1993. She was buried in a plain oak coffin in the village cemetery, with a pinewood cross to mark her grave.

Significance

Hepburn initiated an entirely different look in 1953 with her slender figure, as there was no one like her in films. The biggest female stars at the time were voluptuous women like Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor. Additionally, Hepburn’s knowledge of fashion led her to dress to emphasize her slenderness. She never wore anything that she did not approve or had not altered, leading the way for a more individual look. Hepburn and Givenchy’s influence on fashion focused on the idea that a woman should find her own look and not become a slave to ever-changing fashions. Elegant yet simple clothing, coupled with wearing the right clothing for the person and occasion, was a novel idea in the fashion world of the 1950’s and early 1960’s.

Perhaps Hepburn’s most important contribution, however, is the work she did for UNICEF. After her children were grown, she wanted to help the less fortunate children of the world. She put her time and energy, as well as her substantial popularity, into bringing attention to the forgotten children. Her tireless work brought worldwide attention to the appalling conditions faced by refugees and vulnerable members of poor and war-torn countries. Hepburn gave speeches and interviews, made public appearances, and joined fund-raising efforts to support a cause close to her heart.

Bibliography

Ferrer, Sean Hepburn. Audrey Hepburn: An Elegant Spirit. New York: Atria Books, 2003. Personal account written by Hepburn’s oldest son. Includes almost three hundred photographs, many previously unavailable, as well as artwork by Hepburn. Discusses the importance of her work with UNICEF.

Flonder, Polly. “The Immortal Audrey Hepburn.” Biography, August, 1998, 46-54. Brief biography that includes highlights of Hepburn’s film career.

Paris, Barry. Audrey Hepburn. New York: Berkley Books, 1996. Well written and researched. Author had personal access to family and friends. Numerous photographs.

Spoto, Donald. Enchantment: The Life of Audrey Hepburn. New York: Harmony Books, 2006. Well researched as the author had almost unprecedented access to documents and people associated with Hepburn. Numerous photographs.

Walker, Alexander. Audrey: Her Real Story. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1994. Includes interviews with Hepburn over a thirty-five-year period. Analyzes her acting performances.

Related Articles in Great Events from History: The Twentieth Century

1941-1970: December 11, 1946: UNICEF Is Established; March 19, 1954: Laura Ashley Fashion Company Is Founded.