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Audrey Hepburn 1929 - 1993

Audrey Hepburn was born on May 4, 1929 in Ixelles, Brussels Belgium. She married Mel Ferrer on September 25, 1954 and they later divorced on December 5, 1968. They had a child Sean Ferrer. She also married Andrea Dotti on January 18, 1969 and they later divorced on September 21, 1982. They had a child Luca Dotti. Audrey Hepburn died at age 63 years old on January 20, 1993 in Switzerland.

Audrey Hepburn

Edda van Heemstra Hepburn-Ruston - at birth

May 4, 1929

Ixelles, Brussels, Belgium

January 20, 1993

Switzerland

Female

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Audrey Hepburn Audrey Hepburn (1929 - 1993)

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Audrey Hepburn's History: 1929 - 1993

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Introduction

AUDREY HEPBURN Born May 4, 1929 in Ixelles, Brussels, Belgium Died January 20, 1993 in Tolochenaz, Vaud, Switzerland [Age 64] Birth Name Audrey Kathleen Ruston Height 5' 7" Audrey Hepburn was born on May 4, 1929 in Ixelles, Brussels, Belgium. She was a blue-blood and a cosmopolitan from birth. Her mother, Baroness Ella Van Heemstra, was of a Dutch descent, and her father, Joseph Victor Anthony Hepburn-Ruston, was born in Úzice, Bohemia, and of an English and Austrian ancestry. After her parents divorced, Audrey went to London with her mother where she went to a private girls school. Later, when her mother moved back to the Netherlands, she attended private schools as well. While she vacationed with her mother in Arnhem, Netherlands, Hitler's army took over the town. It was here that she fell on hard times during the Nazi occupation. Audrey suffered from depression and malnutrition. After the liberation, she went to a ballet school in London on a scholarship and later began a modeling career. As a model, she was graceful and, it seemed, she had found her niche in life--until the film producers came calling. In 1948, after being spotted modeling by a producer, she was signed to a bit part in the European film Dutch in Seven Lessons (1948). Later, she had a speaking role in the 1951 film, Young Wives' Tale (1951) as Eve Lester. The part still wasn't much, so she headed to America to try her luck there. Audrey gained immediate prominence in the US with her role in Roman Holiday (1953). This film turned out to be a smashing success, and she won an Oscar as Best Actress. On September 25, 1954, she married actor Mel Ferrer. She also starred in Sabrina (1954), for which she received another Academy Award nomination. She starred in the films Funny Face (1957) and Love in the Afternoon (1957). She received yet another Academy Award nomination for her role in The Nun's Story (1959). On July 17, 1960, she gave birth to her first son, Sean Hepburn Ferrer. Audrey reached the pinnacle of her career when she played Holly Golightly in the legendary film Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961), for which she received another Oscar nomination. She scored commercial success again playing Regina Lampert in the espionage caper Charade (1963). One of Audrey's most radiant roles was in the fine production of My Fair Lady (1964). After a couple of other movies, most notably Two for the Road (1967), she hit pay dirt and another nomination in Wait Until Dark (1967). In 1967, Audrey decided to retire from acting while she was on top. She divorced from Mel Ferrer in 1968. On January 19, 1969, she married Dr. Andrea Dotti. On February 8, 1970, she gave birth to her second son, Luca Dotti in Lausanne, Vaud, Switzerland. From time to time, she would appear on the silver screen. In 1988, Audrey became a special ambassador to the United Nations UNICEF fund helping children in Latin America and Africa, a position she retained until 1993. She was named to People's magazine as one of the 50 most beautiful people in the world. Her last film was Always (1989) in 1989. Audrey Hepburn died on January 20, 1993 in Tolochnaz, Vaud, Switzerland, from appendicular cancer. She had made a total of 31 high quality movies. Her elegance and style will always be remembered in film history as evidenced by her being named in Empire magazine's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time." - IMDb Mini Biography By: Denny Jackson and Volker Boehm Spouse (2) Andrea Dotti (18 January 1969 - 21 September 1982) ( divorced) ( 1 child) Mel Ferrer (25 September 1954 - 5 December 1968) ( divorced) ( 1 child) Often cast opposite leading men who were considerably older than she was. Often played classy High Society women. Charming characters who try to wear their troubles lightly. Delicate thin frame. Was first choice for the lead in A Taste of Honey (1961). Ranked #50 in Empire (UK) magazine's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list. [October 1997] Mother of Sean Hepburn Ferrer, with first husband, Mel Ferrer. Son, Luca Dotti (b. 8 February 1970), with second husband, Dr. Andrea Dotti. Chosen by People magazine as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the world. [1990] After Wait Until Dark (1967) was offered the leads in Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1969), 40 Carats (1973), Nicholas and Alexandra (1971), The Exorcist (1973), One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), A Bridge Too Far (1977) and The Turning Point (1977) but decided to stay in retirement and raise her sons. Interred in Tolochenaz, Vaud, Switzerland.
05/4

1929

Birthday

May 4, 1929

Birthdate

Ixelles, Brussels Belgium

Birthplace

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Ethnicity & Family History

Dutch and Austrian.
Nationality & Locations

Austrian, English, and Dutch.
01/20

1993

Death

January 20, 1993

Death date

Unknown
Cause of death

Switzerland
Death location

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Obituary

Audrey Hepburn, Actress, Is Dead at 63 By Caryn James Jan. 21, 1993 Audrey Hepburn, the actress who epitomized Hollywood chic in the 1950s and '60s, died yesterday at her home in Tolochenaz, near Lausanne, Switzerland. She was 63 years old and had undergone surgery for colon cancer in November. Her death from cancer was announced by Unicef, the United Nations Children's Fund, for which she had been a special ambassador since 1988. In recent years, she made few movies but traveled the world raising money and awareness for the U.N. organization. Her last screen role, in 1989, was a cameo as an angel easing the hero toward death in Steven Spielberg's "Always," a role in which the character's grace and serenity echoed the image Miss Hepburn had maintained throughout a 40-year career. An Oscar for a Princess Her first major film role made her a star. In the 1953 romance "Roman Holiday," she played a princess who runs from her duties and falls in love with a journalist played by Gregory Peck. Audiences were enchanted by her combination of grace, elegance, and high spirits, and she won an Academy Award as best actress. The same year she won her Oscar, she won a Tony for her performance in the play "Ondine." Bosley Crowther, The New York Times critic, described her in words that characterized her youthful appeal. He called her "a slender, elfin and wistful beauty, alternately regal and childlike." In a string of films that followed, she continued to play the lithe young thing with stars in her eyes and the ability to make Cinderella transformations. In "Sabrina" (1954), she was a chauffeur's daughter forced to choose between wealthy brothers, played by William Holden and Humphrey Bogart. In "Funny Face" (1957), opposite Fred Astaire, she played a bookstore clerk turned high-fashion model. Descriptions of her beauty and appeal inevitably included the word "gamine." She was boyishly slender, with an aristocratic bearing, the trace of a European accent, and a hint of mischief. 'A Wild-Eyed Doe' Sign up for the Movies Update Newsletter A weekly roundup of movie reviews, news, stars, and awards-season analysis. Get it sent to your inbox. Billy Wilder once recalled directing her in the 1957 film "Love in the Afternoon": "You looked around and suddenly there was this dazzling creature looking like a wild-eyed doe prancing in the forest. Everybody on the set was in love within five minutes." Among her most popular and acclaimed roles was that of Holly Golightly, the backwoods beauty turned New York sophisticate in "Breakfast at Tiffany's" (1961). At the height of her career, she worked with such directors as William Wyler and George Cukor and acted with the great male movie stars of her day, playing the younger woman opposite Gary Cooper ("Love in the Afternoon"), Cary Grant ("Charade," 1963) and Rex Harrison, in the 1964 movie version of "My Fair Lady." There was some grumbling from the theater world when she was cast as Eliza Doolittle in "My Fair Lady," winning the role over Julie Andrews, who had originated it on Broadway. Ms. Hepburn's singing was dubbed in the film by Marni Nixon. The film won several Oscar nominations, but Miss Hepburn was not nominated. A Blind Woman Terrorized Throughout her career, she also took on dramatic roles. She won an Oscar nomination for the title role of a woman questioning her vocation in "A Nun's Story' (1959). She played a woman enduring 20 years of an embattled marriage, opposite Albert Finney, in "Two for the Road" (1967). And she won her fifth Oscar nomination for her role as a blind woman terrorized in her own home in "Wait Until Dark" (1967). Other nominations were for "Sabrina" and "Breakfast at Tiffany's." After "Wait Until Dark," she left full-time acting and lived mostly in Switzerland. Miss Hepburn returned to the screen occasionally. In "Robin and Marian" (1976) she played the middle-aged Maid Marian to Sean Connery's Robin Hood. The role was considered the triumph of her later career and a reflection of the graceful way the actress herself had moved into middle age. She also made some poorly received films, including "Bloodline" (1979) and "They All Laughed" (1981). Miss Hepburn, whose name originally was Edda van Heemstra Hepburn-Ruston, was born on May 4, 1929, near Brussels, to a Dutch mother and an English father, and was educated largely in London. During World War II, she and her mother were caught vacationing in Holland when the Nazis invaded and her family endured much hardship during the occupation. During the war, one of her brothers was taken to a labor camp, and an uncle and cousin were executed. She once said the family was reduced to eating tulip bulbs. Spotted by Colette But when she returned to London after the war, her life took the glamorous turn she would maintain for the rest of her life. She was a ballet student and model. On the Riviera, she was spotted by the author Colette, who insisted that Miss Hepburn star in the Broadway version of "Gigi," which led to "Roman Holiday." She attributed her work with Unicef to her childhood experience of hunger and fear during the war. As a Goodwill Ambassador for Unicef, she traveled extensively in Africa and Latin America. She visited Ethiopia during the drought to call attention to the plight of starving children. In 1991 she described her Unicef role as "talking my head off," and said, "I just decided to do as much as possible in the time that I'm still up to it." Last year she visited Somalia. It was shortly after returning from that trip that her cancer was diagnosed. With Frequent Appearances Even in her last years, she remained a visible presence in the film world. She received a tribute from the Film Society of Lincoln Center in 1991. She was a frequent presenter at the Academy Awards, and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences recently announced that she and Elizabeth Taylor would receive the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award this year. In 1954, she married the actor Mel Ferrer (with whom she later co-starred in "War and Peace.") They were divorced in 1968. In 1969 she married Andrea Dotti, an Italian psychiatrist, from whom she was later divorced. Her companion since 1980 was Robert Wolders, a Dutch actor. She is also survived by two sons, Sean, from her marriage to Mr. Ferrer, and Luca, from her marriage to Dr. Dotti. The Sprite in Designer Clothing Audrey Hepburn made her American stage and screen debuts in 1951, and two years later her gamin haircut, sylphlike shape, and tomboyish but elegant demeanor in "Roman Holiday" made her a star and won her an Oscar. These are the plays and films in which she appeared. PLAYS Gigi 1951 Ondine 1954 FILMS One Wild Oat 1951 Young Wives' Tale 1951 Laughter in Paradise 1951 The Lavender Hill Mob 1951 Monte Carlo Baby 1951 The Secret People 1952 Roman Holiday 1953 Sabrina 1954 War and Peace 1956 Funny Face 1957 Love in the Afternoon 1957 Green Mansions 1959 The Nun's Story 1959 The Unforgiven 1960 Breakfast at Tiffany's 1961 The Children's Hour 1962 Charade 1963 Paris When It Sizzles 1964 My Fair Lady 1964 How to Steal a Million 1966 Two for the Road 1967 Wait Until Dark 1967 Robin and Marian 1976 Bloodline 1979 They All Laughed 1981 Always 1989

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Audrey Hepburn lived 9 years shorter than the average family member when died at the age of 63.

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37 Memories, Stories & Photos about Audrey

Kathy Pinna

32.9k+ favorites

04/08/2016

Audrey Hepburn

A photo of Audrey Hepburn in the 1950's with her iconic pixie cut, which she popularized.

Date & Place: Not specified or unknown.

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Amanda S. Stevenson

17.8k+ favorites

01/14/2024

Rex Harrison with Audrey Hepburn.

My Fair Lady. I met both of them at different times. They were both very nice to meet.

Date & Place: Not specified or unknown.

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Amanda S. Stevenson

17.8k+ favorites

05/04/2023

Audrey Hepburn

Robert Dockery's Montage.

Date & Place: Not specified or unknown.

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Amanda S. Stevenson

17.8k+ favorites

11/16/2018

John I McGiver and Audrey Hepburn.

A photo of John I McGiver from LOVE IN THE AFTERNOON.
I met him in New York and her in Barcelona.

Date & Place: Not specified or unknown.

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Amanda S. Stevenson

17.8k+ favorites

05/04/2018

Audrey Hepburn

A photo of Audrey Hepburn

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Amanda S. Stevenson

17.8k+ favorites

05/04/2018

Audrey Hepburn

A photo of Audrey Hepburn

Date & Place: Not specified or unknown.

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Amanda S. Stevenson

17.8k+ favorites

05/04/2018

Audrey Hepburn

A photo of Audrey Hepburn

Date & Place: Not specified or unknown.

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Amanda S. Stevenson

17.8k+ favorites

07/05/2021

Jean Bayless and Audrey Hepburn.

In "Sauce Tartare" in London in 1949.

Date & Place: Not specified or unknown.

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Audrey Hepburn and John Williams in Sabrina.

Amanda S. Stevenson

17.8k+ favorites

04/28/2021

Audrey Hepburn and John Williams in Sabrina.

He was the chauffeur and sent Sabrina to Paris to study fashion.

Date & Place: Not specified or unknown.

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Jack Hawkins with Audrey Hepburn and Mel Ferrer.

Amanda S. Stevenson

17.8k+ favorites

04/15/2021

Jack Hawkins with Audrey Hepburn and Mel Ferrer.

They enjoyed each other's company.

Date & Place: Not specified or unknown.

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Audrey Hepburn's Family Tree & Friends

Audrey Hepburn's Family Tree

Parent

Audrey Hepburn May 4, 1929 - Jan 20, 1993

Partner

Child

Sibling

Marriage

Mel Ferrer

Audrey Hepburn

September 25, 1954

Marriage date

Divorce

Cause of Separation

December 5, 1968

Divorce date

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Audrey Hepburn May 4, 1929 - Jan 20, 1993

Mel Ferrer Aug 15, 1917 - Jun 2, 2008

Child

Sean Ferrer born Jul 17, 1960

Marriage

Andrea Dotti

Audrey Hepburn

January 18, 1969

Marriage date

Divorce

Cause of Separation

September 21, 1982

Divorce date

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Audrey Hepburn May 4, 1929 - Jan 20, 1993

Andrea Dotti Mar 18, 1938 - Sep 30, 2007

Child

Luca Dotti born Feb 8, 1970

Friendships

Audrey's Friends

8 Followers & Sources

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Other Biographies

Other Hepburn Family Biographies

Hepburn, James (Born c. Mar 5, 1847) Hepburn, Charlotte (Nov 24, 1896 - Feb 11, 1988) Hepburn, Williamina (Apr 1, 1899 - Oct 26, 1999) Hepburn, Euphemia (May 11, 1890 - Nov 1988) Hepburn, William (Dec 17, 1925 - Oct 18, 2007) Hepburn, Muriel (Dec 24, 1912 - Dec 2, 1991) Hepburn, Frances (May 20, 1895 - Jun 1987) Hepburn, Ellen (Feb 9, 1894 - Oct 1973) Hepburn, Alexander (Feb 23, 1900 - Jan 1971) Hepburn, Alice (Jan 6, 1903 - Mar 26, 1990)

Hepburn, Edward (Jan 7, 1935 - Nov 18, 1993) Hepburn, Douglass (Mar 17, 1913 - Jul 1982) Hepburn, Julia (Sep 3, 1901 - Sep 18, 1997) Hepburn, Margaret (Nov 13, 1923 - Nov 1985) Hepburn, Andrew (May 7, 1949 - Aug 1982) Hepburn, Elizabeth (Jun 4, 1934 - Jul 29, 2000) Hepburn, Zack (Oct 14, 1905 - Feb 1978) Hepburn, Philip (Mar 30, 1924 - Oct 1966) Hepburn, James (May 19, 1916 - May 1965) Hepburn, Charles (Apr 30, 1927 - Aug 13, 2011)

About the AncientFaces Community

Audrey Hepburn 1929 - 1993

Audrey Hepburn's History: 1929 - 1993

Introduction

Birthday

Ethnicity & Family History

Nationality & Locations

Death

Obituary

37 Memories, Stories & Photos about Audrey

Audrey Hepburn's Family Tree & Friends

Audrey Hepburn's Family Tree

Mel Ferrer

Audrey Hepburn

Andrea Dotti

Audrey Hepburn

Audrey's Friends

Other Hepburn Family Biographies