Audrey Hepburn was considered one of the most charming actresses of all time. With her special, delicate looks and dainty appearance, she was also seen as a big fashion icon. Learn more about her in 13 uncommon facts about Audrey Hepburn.
1.Audrey Hepburn’s real name was Audrey Kathleen Ruston. Hepburn was actually the name of her great grandmother.
2.She was born in Brussels, Belgium on May 4, 1929 and lived in German-occupied Arnhem during the Second World War. She lived through the occupation suffering from malnutrition, was forced to go into hiding and witnessed members of her family shot for being part of the Dutch Resistance.
3.In 1938 Audrey’s father walked out on the family leaving no forwarding address. He settled in England. Audrey would recall her father’s disappearance as “the most traumatic event in my life.”
4.After the Second World War, Hepburn moved to Amsterdam where she enrolled in ballet lessons. After some years, she travelled to London to further pursue her ballet education.
5.Audrey Hepburn won an Oscar, a Tony, an Emmy, and a Grammy. She is one of few actors who won all the 4 major entertainment awards.
6.She turned down the role of playing Anne Frank in both the Broadway and film adaptations of Frank’s life. She turned down the role saying she was “emotionally incapable” of the task.
7.She was not what Truman Capote had pictured for Holly Golightly’s character in Breakfast at Tiffany’s. His choice would have been Marylin Monroe. Moreover Elizabeth Taylor should have played in Roman Holiday instead of Hepburn, according to the initial director of the film, Frank Capra.
8.Most of Hepburn’s singing was dubbed in the final movie of My Fair Lady. ?The only songs which have Hepburn’s original voice are one line in “I Could Have Danced All Night”, in the first verse of “Just You Wait”, and in the entirety of its reprise in addition to sing-talking in parts of “The Rain in Spain” in the finished film.
9.According to her biography, she told herself that she would never go over 103 lbs. unless the weight gain was due to pregnancy. She succeeded in maintaining this goal.
10.Her feet were size 10.
11.Just after winning her Oscar for Roman Holiday, Hepburn accidentally lost her statue, forgetting it in the toilet. It was quickly recovered.
12.One of her favorite actresses was Meryl Streep.
13.In 1988 Audrey Hepburn was named UNICEF’s Goodwill Ambassador. She served in this role until her death in 1993, traveling all over the world promoting the plight of needy children and soliciting help wherever she went. It was for this work that she was awarded the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Academy Award in 1993.
Famous people on Audrey Hepburn
“Everybody was in love with this girl, I included. My problem was that I am a guy who speaks in his sleep. I toss around and talk and talk … But fortunately, my wife’s first name is Audrey as well.”— Billy Wilder on Audrey Hepburn
“There is no doubt that the princess did become a queen — not only on the screen. One of the most loved, one of the most skilful, one of the most intelligent, one of the most sensitive, charming actresses — and friends, in my life — but also in the later stages of her life, the UNICEF ambassador to the children of the world. The generosity, sensitivity, the nobility of her service to the children of the world and the mothers of the world will never be forgotten.” – Gregory Peck on Audrey Hepburn
“She did the best that we could be; she was perfectly charming and perfectly loving. She was a dream. And she was the kind of dream that you remember when you wake up smiling.” –Richard Dreyfuss on Audrey Hepburn.
