Audrey Hepburn–From Classic Film Ingénue to Humanitarian
When you think about movie starlets, few capture the attention and the hearts of fans as Audrey Hepburn. This radiant and stylish motion picture actress, born on May 4th, 1929, was originally Edda Kathleen van Heemstra. This dynamic, sophisticated film star was born in Brussels, Belgium, yet carried a British citizenship and attended school in England as a child. It has been felt by many critics that Hepburn could overwhelm fans by sheer charming innocence. During the onset of World War II, Audrey’s parents moved her from England to the Netherlands, in hopes to elude the troubles that could arise. Unfortunately, the Nazi’s did indeed occupy and control Holland and the trip was in vain. Throughout the war however, Hepburn still managed to make the best of a horrific situation. She attended ballet lessons, and by her early 20s managed to land a few roles in some short films.
It was in the year 1951, where Audrey’s career started to really blossom. After capturing the eye of the French novelist Colette, in Monte Carlo while making a film, it was felt that she would be perfect for the role of Gigi in the stage adaptation. The play opened on Broadway, with Audrey earning rave reviews. Once the year 1953 rolled around, many bigwigs in the movie industry noticed Hepburn. She landed her first major film role in the movie Roman Holiday. This film was about a princess who exchanged the comforts of royalty for a day in order to enjoy a day of romance and adventure. Hepburn won the hearts of film fans everywhere, and won an Academy Award for best actress. In the year 1954, Hepburn returned to the stage in the production of Ondine. Audrey stared in the role as a water nymph, and co-starred along side Mel Ferrer. Not only did she co-star along side this fine actor, she married him later that year. The production of Ondine was her last stage visit, and it yielded a Tony Award for her role.
The light romantic comedy Sabrina was Audrey’s next role in the year 1954 not only did Audrey completely stunned audiences and was given the opportunity to wear wonderful designs by the likes of Givenchy. It was these outfits that set the tone for what people would envision Audrey in the future. By the year 1957, she appeared in the film Funny Face, once again Audrey stunned the masses. Two of her more dramatic and well-known productions were A Nun’s Story, and War And Peace. Each of these films earned her accolades for her roles. By the early 60s, Audrey landed a major role in Breakfast At Tiffany’s, where Audrey starred as Holly Golightly. This was the role that actually took Audrey out of the ingénue image, as she starred as a mysterious and effervescent young widow, who was caught up in an insanely suspenseful charade. Her next big role was in the year 1967 and was called Two For The Road. In this film she portrayed a young woman with free spirit, who was caught up in a troubling and difficult marriage.
There was a point however, that Audrey did not win the critics over. This was the role of Eliza Dolittle, in the major film My Fair Lady. It was believed that Audrey was not the right fit in the film, as it was Julie Andrews who set the tone for this film with her wonderful stage role bearing the same title. This was not to say that Audrey did not put on a grand performance, it was just hard for the critics to recognize her in this leading role, which they felt belonged to Andrews.
After her divorce to the actor Ferrer in 1968, Hepburn did in fact remarry. She fell in love with a prominent Italian psychiatrist, and her career started to slow down, as she wanted to concentrate on her family. This semiretirement was short lived however, as she did appear in a few more roles in the early 70s and even did some acting in 1976, when she took on a co-starring role in the film Robin and Marian. This time period would prove to be Hepburn’s final film run, as in 1988 Audrey decided she needed a change of occupation. This one time film star took on the lead role in a very noble cause. Hepburn became the ambassador for the United Nations Children’s Fund. Otherwise known as UNICEF, this role took her to Asia, Africa, and Latin America where she visited famine stricken villages. This wonderful work continued until her death from cancer in the year 1993, in Tolochenaz Switz.
