Audrey was such an amazing woman - beautiful inside and out. One of my favorites and so much on and off screen worthy of mentioning of the iconic Audrey Hepburn. She would've turned 91 this past month. I'm not sure much of her story is known to most, or maybe it is? Regardless, figured I would start an appreciation thread of her life and work. Feel free to share your favorite movies, memories, scenes, facts, etc. She was obviously pretty and beautiful, elegant and a fashion icon, but possessed a more of a down to earth wit and humor, and the humorous/playful innocence quality that was just so endearing. She was magical on screen. She was also one of the most photogenic entertainers around, instantly recognizable and a cultural icon. Classic films include Roman Holiday, Sabrina, My Fair Lady, Funny Face, How To Steal A Million, Breakfast at Tiffany's, Charade, and many others. She stopped making movies in the mid-to-late 60s to raise a family and her acting career never did really resume to its prior status. Born on 4th May 1929 in Brussels, Belgium, Audrey enjoyed a privileged childhood; travelling from Belgium, to the Netherlands, to England. After her father, Joseph Victor Hepburn-Ruston, abruptly left her mother, Ella van Heemstra, the mother and daughter settled in Kent, England in 1937. Audrey moved to Holland during the war because her Dutch mother believed they would be safe in a country that had pledged to stay neutral. The Nazis invaded anyway. Hepburn, like millions of others, nearly starved when the Nazis cut off food supplies. Her "envied" slender figure was the result of being malnourished during adolescence. Hepburn's malnutrition led to acute anaemia and respiratory problems... One of her brothers was a prisoner in a Nazi labour camp. As children, starving, they watched railway wagons go by, full of children, also starving. Audrey, still a teenager, danced to raise money for the Dutch resistance. These things created a strong character, something many actors never get around to acquiring. But it is interesting that Hepburn's parents where both fascist Nazi sympathizers, and Audrey did not adopt her parent's ideology or beliefs. According to legend, the teenaged Hepburn did what she could to support the Resistance. During her screen test for Roman Holiday, she recalled performing ballet for audiences that were afraid to applaud because they didn't want the Nazis to catch them. She donated the money she earned from her recitals to the Resistance. Like many other Dutch children, she occasionally acted as a courier, delivering papers and money from one group of resistance workers to another. Children were given this work because the Nazis were unlikely to search them. Hepburn's Hollywood handlers would publicize her bravery during the war, but they did their best to hide the fact that her parents were rooting for the Nazis. During the 1950s, it would have been disastrous for Hepburn's squeaky clean image if it were known that her parents were Nazi sympathizers. By today’s standards, her rejection of her parents’ racist ideology makes her even more admirable. In 1988, Audrey became a Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF and she dedicated the rest of her life to helping impoverished children in Africa, Asia and Latin America by working in the field, nursing sick children and spreading awareness of the conditions of these nations. Her own personal experiences as child gave her a compassion for serving and helping children in need. As a mother, Audrey Hepburn cared deeply about the world’s children. But the movie star had another personal reason for choosing to work with UNICEF - the children’s organisation helped her survive malnutrition as a child. UNICEF was created in the aftermath of World War II to help children in crisis. It was then, in the winter of 1944, when Audrey first met UNICEF. "I was in Holland during the war, during the German occupation,” she said. “The last winter was the worst of all. Food was scarce and whatever there was went to the troops.” "I can testify what UNICEF means to children,” said the late actress, "because I was among those who received food and medical relief right after World War II. There's a big difference between dying of starvation and malnutrition, of course, but I was very, very undernourished.” “All the local schools were turned into relief centres. I was one of the beneficiaries with the other children. I've known about UNICEF all my life." Her first mission was to Ethiopia; where she witnessed the effects of famine, visited UNICEF emergency operations and gave dozens of interviews around the world about UNICEF projects. She also visited Turkey, Venezuela, Ecuador, Guatemala, El Salvador, Bangladesh, Thailand, Vietnam and Sudan. She was involved in providing food and drinking water, training programmes for women, projects for children on the street and improving schools. Her heartfelt account of her experiences from Somalia in 1992 drew the world’s attention to the famine and warfare there. Audrey worked tirelessly for the organization, and President Bush awarded her with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in recognition of her work. She was also given the Screen Actors Guild award for lifetime achievement. In 1992 Audrey was diagnosed with a rare appendicular cancer and she passed away on 20th January 1993 in Tolochnaz, Switzerland. Audrey’s legacy has remained long after her death. She was a woman of breath-taking beauty, pure talent, and true compassion. Audrey Hepburn: From Beauty to Humanitarian https://www.biography.com/news/audrey-hepburn-facts-biography
My love of classic movies stems from me stumbling home drunk late one Sunday night in college early 90s, turning to ABC which had a late night movie, and it was Sabrina. I assumed Audrey was Katharine Hepburn. It completely sucked me in, I was blown away. Movies really can be magical. I probably love Roman Holiday a little more, but when she sings La Vie En Rose to Bogie in the car in Sabrina, yeah, that scene always gets me. And that last scene in Roman Holiday does too, when she walks down the line, recognizes them and all that is unsaid but understood. Chills
I love this scene in Roman Holiday... the first time I saw her grab the guitar and slam it over the guy's head, I couldn't stop laughing. Her facial expression is priceless.
Great movie! That's my second favorite movie of hers, after Roman Holiday, which is one of my very favorite movies of all-time (and still isn't on Blu-ray!)
It's a perfect movie. Some talk about how the ending could have been different, and I've thought that too, but I think works fine. It's brilliant. I love it. And these days I seldom watch other than dramas, but this is one of the greatest movies ever
Perfect indeed! Though I go back and forth if I would've enjoyed it more if it were in color versus black & white. One of the main reasons is the beautiful Roman architecture and scenery of the film. I recently read that it was shot in black & white because Paramount was cheap, not because of the old-fashioned feel director William Wyler wanted. Paramount wanted to make Roman Holiday on its own Hollywood backlot, but Wyler wouldn’t budge on shooting on location in Rome. Paramount finally agreed, but only if Wyler could finance it with “blocked funds” (a percentage of money that Paramount’s films had made in Italy that could only be spent in that country). When that only amounted to about $1 million, Wyler cut costs by shooting in black-and-white. He would later say that he didn’t even think about color until he was in Rome and it was too late, but in fact he’d always wanted to shoot in color, and had said as much months before production began. 12 Royal Facts About <em>Roman Holiday</em>
I recently watched The Nun's Story, mostly because (while scrolling though the TCM portion of the on-screen guide) I noticed it was directed by Fred Zinnemann and decided to record it for that reason. I've never been a big Hepburn fan, but came away from the movie with much respect for her acting ability. Highly recommended. Peter Finch is very good, as well.
Right, I know about that. I'm not sure if I would like it as much if in color, honestly! I mean, we have no way of knowing. I'm sure glad he didn't budge though. And also that Cary Grant passed it up! and that Wyler couldn't get Elizabeth Taylor or Jean Simmons. The casting turned out so perfect (as we know) I got a copy of this for a friend very recently cheap as a gift and am trying to nudge her into watching it soon! I hope she does, she doesn't know what she's missing (I was shocked that she hadn't seen it, I took it for granted that she had!) Anyway yes we'll never know, about how color would have worked.....I think it would have taken away some of the magic (now I'm thinking "Imagine this being even better than it is!")
Her acting is so well understated - much more difficult and much more convincing than over-the-top acting like (say) Jack Nicholson - you can easily forget she’s Audrey Hepburn and therefore have a hard time recalling her roles. I totally forgot she was Liza Dolittle!
Recently watched Charade (1963). This was my dad's favorite, and holds a special place in my memory as a kid growing up. The dialogue/quick one liner's between Grant & Hepburn make it a classic for me. I think the script very well-done, and the soundtrack is a great as well. One of those movies (along with many other Audrey movies) that I can watch anytime. She really had a knack for comedy. Loved her humor.
Oh I LOVE Charade! Speaking of her knack for comedy, I like her in How To Steal A Million, that was no Charade but quite good nonetheless!
That was given to me on DVD as a present years ago, and I never watched it. I had seen it at least twice previously. Now where did I put that . . .
Posted this elsewhere but may as well post it here too Audrey in her Manhattan apartment playing records on June 30, 1954.
I’m sure most of you are familiar with this tune and the story behind it. Paul Desmond absolutely loved Audrey and he wrote this tune for her. He never got the nerve to meet her, although he had many opportunities. Desmond never knew if she had known about the song he wrote for her. Years later Dave Brubeck met Audrey’s husband right away she had passed (long after Paul had passed) and he told Dave that she would listen to that song every night calling it, “my song.”
I found the bio the OP provided very interesting. I have recently read Anne Frank's diary for the first time and was sometimes surprised at how untouched Amsterdam seemed to be by the war. The diet of the exiles in the back of the house was terrible, but I was just surprised their friends could manage to get so much through to them in spite of the war. I must have watched my DVD of Breakfast at Tiffany's a dozen times. At one time I had a DVD of her visiting Gardens
Love Audrey Hepburn; such a luminous screen presence. One thing I like to do when we travel is to seek out locations from some of my favourite films. In Rome, you’re going to come across most of the locations for Roman Holiday as a matter of course, as they tend to be in the city’s major tourist hotspots, but there are a couple that are easily missed. These photos were all taken in late September to early October 2019. This is Via Margutta 51, location of Gregory Peck’s apartment. The building isn’t advertised as a tourist location, but, if you stick your head inside the superintendent’s office, on the left as you enter, it’s full of photos and memorabilia from the film. Via Margutta itself is a thoroughly charming little street, with several points of interest, including the long-time home of famed Italian director Federico Fellini. The following spot wasn’t easy to find. It looks over the Forum from a public street, but you have to come at it from the rear. This, of course, is where Peck and Hepburn’s characters meet for the first time:
that's a good one, she practically carries the film. I like the one she did with Shirley MacLaine (the Childrens Hour, pretty ahead of its time) all time, probably How to Steal a Million, Peter O'toole, Caper film, im in
