The actress was born on the 4th May 1929 and grew up to be one of the most beloved film stars to grace Hollywood.
Sitting down to watch the film adaptation of the musical of My Fair Lady for the first time, I had no idea that it would lead to me becoming a life long fan of Audrey Hepburn – or collect so many books about her. But watching her walk down the stairs as the newly transformed Eliza Doolittle, I saw something that went beyond her beauty (and let’s all agree she was beautiful) but there was also something vulnerable and relatable about her that just made me click in recognition of a kindred spirit.
Audrey Hepburn was a kind and compassionate person, who used her voice in the best possible way to highlight the trauma and suffering of children worldwide and did everything she possibly could to try and change the world for the better by using her celebrity profile. Having never met her, but from everything I have read – her love of children and being a mother really reinforced her involvement and passion in UNICEF.
As an actress, she was able to find the most relatable aspect of a character and really bring it to the forefront – whether it is Eliza Doolittle’s determination to better herself or Holly Golightly’s vulnerability underneath her independence for example. There was a deeply rooted compassion and understanding that Audrey applied to all of her roles which helped to make her endearing to so many.
But her sense of comic skills as an actress shouldn’t be underestimated either – just look at numerous scenes in Sabrina, Roman Holiday, How to Steal A Million and Breakfast at Tiffany’s. There was just a natural charm to her performances that still hold up to audiences to this day (no matter what she herself thought of her performances).
In terms of her performances, she was able to bring to life a huge range of different characters, while she might not have been comfortable to all the changes in Hollywood that began to happen particularly in the 1970’s and 1980’s, she was able to showcase a deeper range to the roles she was selecting – just look at roles she played in Two for the Road , Robin and Marian or Wait Until Dark for example. Some were more successful than others – but highlighted that she was capable of more than she even thought of.
No matter what film you watch her in or interview you replay on YouTube, there is a sadness to her that you long to make disappear and she always knew how to deliver a heart shattering performance (her big monologue in Breakfast at Tiffany’s really stands out as an example). But what is also impressive is the more you read about her, there is a real sense of strength and grace to no matter what life threw at her (yes no biography will completely capture her personality) and there is something that we can still all learn from her in the way in which she handled everything that went on in her life – the good and the painful.
She is deservedly an icon.
By Emma Clarendon