Audrey Hepburn

Audrey Kathleen Hepburn, born Audrey Kathleen Ruston on 4 May 1929 in Ixelles, Brussels, was a British actress and humanitarian whose life crossed countries, art forms, and public service. Recognised as a film and fashion icon, she was ranked by the American Film Institute as the third-greatest female screen legend from Classical Hollywood cinema. She was also inducted into the International Best Dressed Hall of Fame, and became one of the few entertainers to win competitive Academy, Emmy, Grammy, and Tony Awards.

Hepburn was born into an aristocratic family and spent parts of her childhood in Belgium, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands. Her mother, Baroness Ella van Heemstra, was a Dutch noblewoman, and her father, Joseph Victor Anthony Ruston, was a British subject. The family moved among Brussels, Arnhem, The Hague, and London, giving Hepburn a multinational background from an early age. Her father left the family in 1935, an event she later described as “the most traumatic event of my life,” saying that children need two parents. She attended boarding school in Kent from 1936 to 1939, then returned to the Netherlands at the outbreak of the Second World War.

During the war, Hepburn studied ballet at the Arnhem Conservatory. By 1944, she was performing ballet to raise money to support the resistance. After the war, she continued her training with Sonia Gaskell in Amsterdam from 1945 to 1948, and then with Marie Rambert in London. Her first public work came through performance: she began as a chorus girl in West End musical theatre productions and appeared in minor film roles before Hollywood made her famous.

Hepburn rose to stardom in Roman Holiday in 1953, acting alongside Gregory Peck. For that performance, she became the first actress to win an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a BAFTA Award for the same role. That same year, she won a Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Play for Ondine. She went on to star in Sabrina in 1954, Funny Face in 1957, The Nun’s Story in 1959, Breakfast at Tiffany’s in 1961, Charade in 1963, and My Fair Lady in 1964. In 1967, she starred in Wait Until Dark, receiving Academy Award, Golden Globe, and BAFTA nominations.

After Wait Until Dark, Hepburn appeared in films only occasionally, including Robin and Marian in 1976 with Sean Connery. Her last recorded performances were in Steven Spielberg’s Always in 1989 and the 1990 documentary television series Gardens of the World with Audrey Hepburn, for which she won a Primetime Emmy Award. Her honours also included three BAFTA Awards for Best British Actress in a Leading Role, BAFTA’s Lifetime Achievement Award, two Golden Globes, the Cecil B. DeMille Award, a Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award, the Special Tony Award, and a posthumous Grammy Award for Audrey Hepburn’s Enchanted Tales.

Later in life, Hepburn devoted much of her time to charity. She contributed to UNICEF from 1954 onward, and between 1988 and 1992 she worked in some of the poorest communities of Africa, South America, and Asia. In December 1992, she received the US Presidential Medal of Freedom for her work as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador. Her words still carry weight because they match the shape of her life: discipline, grace, and service. “As you grow older,” she said, “you will discover that you have two hands: one for helping yourself, the other for helping others.” One month after receiving the medal, Hepburn died of appendix cancer at her home in Tolochenaz, Switzerland, on 20 January 1993.