Audrey Hepburn Biography

Born Edda van Heemstra Hepburn-Ruston, Audrey Hepburn spent most of her youth in England. She moved to the Netherlands where she made her first film, 'Nederland in Lessen' ('Dutch at the Double').

She returned to England after the Second World War to study ballet at Arnhern Conservatory.

Audrey made her entrance on the London stage in ‘High Button Shoes’ as a member of the chorus.

Audrey rose through the ranks and was given the leading role in the 1951 Broadway production of ‘Gigi’.

Two years later Audrey was nominated for a Best Actress Oscar for her performance in ‘Roman Holiday’, which she starred in opposite Gregory Peck. This performance and nomination made her an international star.

The nominations and awards continued and, in 1954, she was nominated again as Best Actress for ‘Sabrina’, co-starring Humphrey Bogart and William Holden, as well as receiving a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Drama for her performance on Broadway in ‘Ondine’.

In 1959, for her role in ‘The Nun’s Story’, Audrey was nominated again for an Oscar, as well as being awarded the New York Film Critics Circle Award and the British Film Academy Award for Best Actress.

Perhaps Audrey’s most famous role, as Holly Golightly in ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’ in 1961, gained her yet another Oscar nomination. This film cemented her already considerable reputation as a style icon.

She followed this performance with another high, starring in ‘My Fair Lady’ in 1964 as Eliza Doolittle, earning her another Oscar and Golden Globe nomination, as well as being the most lucrative film of her career.

As a result of all these nominations, Audrey Hepburn is one of only a very few artists who have won an Oscar, Emmy, Grammy and Tony.

Audrey’s final role was in the film, ‘Always’, directed by Steven Spielberg, in 1989.

Audrey was always a committed devotee to charitable causes, and in 1988 the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) appointed her as their official spokeswoman.

In 1992, Hepburn was diagnosed with colon cancer and she died in January 1993. She was posthumously awarded the Jean Hershot Humanitarian Award for her work with UNICEF.