Audrey Hepburn (real name Audrey Kathleen Ruston; 1929-1993) is a British actress, fashion model, dancer, philanthropist and humanitarian activist. An established icon of the film industry and style, whose career peaked during the Golden Age of Hollywood.
The American Film Institute ranked Hepburn as the 3rd greatest actress in American cinema.
There are many interesting facts in the biography of Audrey Hepburn, which we will talk about in this article.
So, here is a short biography of Audrey Kathleen Ruston.
Audrey Hepburn biography
Audrey Hepburn was born on May 4, 1929 in the Brussels commune of Ixelles. She grew up in the family of British banker John Victor Ruston-Hepburn and Dutch Baroness Ella Van Heemstra. She was the only child of her parents.
Childhood and youth
In early childhood, Audrey was attached to her father, who, unlike her strict and domineering mother, stood out for her kindness and understanding. The first tragedy in Hepburn's biography occurred at the age of 6, when his father decided to leave the family.
After that, Hepburn moved with her mother to the Dutch city of Arnhem. As a child, she studied in private schools and also went to ballet. When the Second World War broke out (1939-1945), the girl adopted a pseudonym - Edda van Heemstra, as the "English" name at that time caused danger.
After the landing of the Allies, the life of the Dutch who lived in the territories occupied by the Nazis became very difficult. In the winter of 1944, people experienced hunger and also had no opportunity to heat their homes. There are many known cases when some froze right on the streets.
At the same time, the city was regularly bombed. Due to malnutrition, Hepburn was on the verge of life and death. In order to somehow forget about hunger, she lay in bed and read books. An interesting fact is that the girl performed with ballet numbers in order to transfer the proceeds to the partisans.
In an interview, Audrey Hepburn admitted that despite all the horrors of wartime, she and her mother tried to think positively, often indulging in fun. And yet, from hunger, the child developed anemia and respiratory disease.
According to biographers, the depressive state that Audrey experienced in subsequent years could be caused by malnutrition. After the end of the war, she entered the local conservatory. After graduating, Hepburn and her mother moved to Amsterdam, where they got a job as nurses in a veterans' house.
Before long, Audrey began taking ballet lessons. At the age of 19, the girl left for London. Here she began to study dancing with Marie Rampert and Vaclav Nijinsky. Curiously, Nijinsky is considered one of the greatest dancers in history.
Teachers warned Hepburn that she could indeed achieve great heights in ballet, but her relatively short height (170 cm), combined with the consequences of chronic malnutrition, would not allow her to become a prima ballerina.
Listening to the advice of mentors, Audrey decided to connect her life with the art of drama. During that period of her biography, she had to take on any job. The situation changed only after the first successes in cinema.
Films
Hepburn appeared on the big screen in 1948, starring in the educational film Dutch in Seven Lessons. After that, she played several cameo roles in artistic films. Her first major role was entrusted to her in 1952 in the film "Secret People", where she was transformed into Nora.
World fame fell on Audrey the following year after the premiere of the cult comedy "Roman Holiday". This work brought the young actress "Oscar" and public recognition.
In 1954, viewers saw Hepburn in the romantic film Sabrina. She again received a key role, for which she was awarded the BAFTA in the category of Best British Actress. Having become one of the most sought-after artists, she began collaborating with the most famous directors.
In 1956, Audrey transformed into Natasha Rostova in the film War and Peace, based on the novel of the same name by Leo Tolstoy. Then she took part in the filming of the musical comedy "Funny Face" and the drama "The Story of a Nun."
The last picture was nominated for an Oscar in 8 nominations, and Hepburn was again recognized as the best British actress. In the 60s, she starred in 9 films, most of which won the most prestigious film awards. In turn, Audrey's game constantly received many positive reviews from critics and ordinary people.
The most popular paintings of that period were Breakfast at Tiffany's and My Fair Lady. After 1967, there was a lull in Hepburn's creative biography - she did not act for about 9 years.
Audrey's return to the big screen took place in 1976, after the premiere of the adventure drama Robin and Marian. Curiously, this work was nominated for the 2002 AFI's 100 Most Passionate American Films in 100 Years award.
Three years later, Hepburn took part in the filming of the age-restricted thriller "Blood Link". In the 80s she appeared in 3 films, the last of which was Always (1989). With a budget of $ 29.5 million, the film grossed over $ 74 million at the box office!
An interesting fact is that Audrey Hepburn's position today is one of 15 people who have won Oscar, Emmy, Grammy and Tony awards.
Public life
After leaving the big cinema, the actress received the post of special ambassador of UNICEF - an international organization operating under the auspices of the UN. It should be noted that she began to cooperate with the organization back in the mid-50s.
At that moment in her biography, Hepburn participated in radio programs. Deeply grateful for her salvation after the Nazi occupation, she devoted herself to improving the lives of children living in Third World countries.
Audrey's knowledge of several languages helped her to carry out the work entrusted to her: French, English, Spanish, Italian and Dutch. In total, she has traveled to more than 20 of the poorest countries, helping the poor and disadvantaged.
Hepburn has spearheaded a number of charitable and humanitarian programs related to food supplies and large-scale vaccinations.
Audrey's last trip took place in Somalia - 4 months before her death. She called this visit "apocalyptic". In an interview, the woman said: “I went into a nightmare. I have seen famines in Ethiopia and Bangladesh, but I have not seen anything like it - much worse than I could imagine. I was not ready for this. "
Personal life
During the filming of "Sabrina" between Hepburn and William Holden began an affair. Although the actor was a married man, cheating in his family was considered quite normal.
At the same time, in order to protect himself from the unwanted birth of children, William decided on a vasectomy - surgical sterilization, as a result of which a man retains sexual behavior, but cannot have children. When Audrey, who dreamed of children, found out about this, she immediately broke off relations with him.
She met her future husband, director Mel Ferrera at the theater. An interesting fact is that for Mel this was already the 4th marriage. The couple lived together for about 14 years, having parted in 1968. In this union, the couple had a boy, Sean.
Hepburn suffered a difficult divorce from her husband, for which reason she was forced to seek medical help from a psychiatrist Andrea Dotti. Getting to know each other better, the doctor and the patient began to meet. As a result, this romance ended in a wedding.
Soon, Audrey and Andrea had a son, Luke. Initially, everything went well, but later their relationship cracked. Dotty repeatedly cheated on his wife, which further alienated the spouses from each other and, as a result, led to a divorce.
The woman experienced love again at the age of 50. Her lover turned out to be actor Robert Walders, who was 7 years younger than Audrey. They lived in a civil marriage, until Hepburn's death.
Death
Working at UNICEF was very exhausting for Audrey. Endless travel seriously damaged her health. During her last visit to Somalia, she developed severe abdominal pain. Doctors advised her to leave the mission and urgently turn to European luminaries, but she refused.
Hepburn passed a qualitative examination upon arrival home. The doctors discovered she had a tumor in her colon, and as a result she underwent a successful operation. However, after 3 weeks, the artist again began to experience unbearable pain.
It turned out that the tumor led to the formation of metastases. Audrey was warned that she did not have long to live. As a result, she went to Switzerland, to the city of Toloshenaz, since the doctors could no longer help her.
She spent the last days surrounded by children and her beloved husband. Audrey Hepburn died on January 20, 1993 at the age of 63.
Photo by Audrey Hepburn
