CINEFILER

Audrey Hepburn

Born
May 4, 1929
Died
January 20, 1993
Audrey Hepburn (born Audrey Kathleen Ruston; 4 May 1929 – 20 January 1993) was a British actress and humanitarian. Recognised as both a film and fashion icon, she was ranked by the American Film Institute as the third-greatest female screen legend from the Classical Hollywood cinema and was inducted into the International Best Dressed List Hall of Fame. Born in Ixelles, Brussels, to an aristocratic family, Hepburn spent parts of her childhood in Belgium, England, and the Netherlands. She studied ballet with Sonia Gaskell in Amsterdam beginning in 1945, and with Marie Rambert in London from 1948. She began performing as a chorus girl in West End musical theatre productions and then had minor appearances in several films. She rose to stardom in the romantic comedy Roman Holiday (1953) alongside Gregory Peck, for which she was the first actress to win an Oscar, a Golden Globe Award, and a BAFTA Award for a single performance. That year, she also won a Tony Award for Best Lead Actress in a Play for her performance in Ondine. She went on to star in a number of successful films such as Sabrina (1954), in which Humphrey Bogart and William Holden compete for her affection; Funny Face (1957), a musical where she sang her own parts; the drama The Nun's Story (1959); the romantic comedy Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961); the thriller-romance Charade (1963), opposite Cary Grant; and the musical My Fair Lady (1964). In 1967 she starred in the thriller Wait Until Dark, receiving Academy Award, Golden Globe, and BAFTA nominations. After that, she only occasionally appeared in films, one being Robin and Marian (1976) with Sean Connery. Her last recorded performances were in the 1990 documentary television series Gardens of the World with Audrey Hepburn for which she won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement – Informational Programming. Hepburn won three BAFTA Awards for Best British Actress in a Leading Role. In recognition of her film career, she received BAFTA's Lifetime Achievement Award, the Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award, the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award, and the Special Tony Award. She remains one of only seventeen people who have won Academy, Emmy, Grammy, and Tony Awards. Later in life, Hepburn devoted much of her time to UNICEF, to which she had contributed since 1954. 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 in recognition of her work as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador. A month later, she died of appendiceal cancer at her home in Tolochenaz, Vaud, Switzerland, at the age of 63.
Golden Globe Awards
Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama
Known For
Breakfast at Tiffany's
(1961)
Holly Golightly
Roman Holiday
(1953)
Princess Ann
My Fair Lady
(1964)
Eliza Doolittle
The Unforgiven
(1960)
Rachel Zachary
Funny Face
(1957)
Jo Stockton
Sabrina
(1954)
Sabrina Fairchild
How to Steal a Million
(1966)
Nicole Bonnet
War and Peace
(1956)
Natasha Rostova
Charade
(1963)
Regina Lampert
Wait Until Dark
(1967)
Susy Hendrix
The Children's Hour
(1961)
Karen Wright
Robin and Marian
(1976)
Lady Marian
The Nun's Story
(1959)
Sister Luke
The Lavender Hill Mob
(1951)
Chiquita
Paris When It Sizzles
(1964)
Gabrielle Simpson / Baby
Two for the Road
(1967)
Joanna Wallace
Full Filmography
Acting
Dutch in Seven Lessons
(1948)
Stewardess / Girl with lute
The Lavender Hill Mob
(1951)
Chiquita
Monte Carlo Baby
(1951)
Melissa Walter
One Wild Oat
(1951)
Hotel Receptionist
Young Wives' Tale
(1951)
Eve Lester
Laughter in Paradise
(1951)
Cigarette Girl
Secret People
(1952)
Nora Brentano
Roman Holiday
(1953)
Princess Ann
Sabrina
(1954)
Sabrina Fairchild
War and Peace
(1956)
Natasha Rostova
Funny Face
(1957)
Jo Stockton
Love in the Afternoon
(1957)
Ariane Chavasse / Thin Girl
Mayerling
(1957)
Countess Marie Vetsera
The Nun's Story
(1959)
Sister Luke
Green Mansions
(1959)
Rima
The Unforgiven
(1960)
Rachel Zachary
Breakfast at Tiffany's
(1961)
Holly Golightly
The Children's Hour
(1961)
Karen Wright
Charade
(1963)
Regina Lampert
My Fair Lady
(1964)
Eliza Doolittle
Paris When It Sizzles
(1964)
Gabrielle Simpson / Baby
The Love Goddesses
(1965)
(archive footage)
How to Steal a Million
(1966)
Nicole Bonnet
Wait Until Dark
(1967)
Susy Hendrix
Two for the Road
(1967)
Joanna Wallace
Robin and Marian
(1976)
Lady Marian
Fear and Loathing on the Road to Hollywood
(1978)
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Bloodline
(1979)
Elizabeth Roffe
They All Laughed
(1981)
Angela Niotes
Directed by William Wyler
(1986)
Self
Love Among Thieves
(1987)
Baroness Caroline DuLac
Gregory Peck: His Own Man
(1988)
Self
Cary Grant: A Celebration of a Leading Man
(1988)
Self (archive footage)
Always
(1989)
Hap
The Fred Astaire Songbook
(1991)
Self - Host
Audrey Hepburn: In Her Own Words
(1993)
Narrator / Host
Audrey Hepburn: Remembered
(1993)
Self (archive footage)
More Loverly Than Ever: The Making of 'My Fair Lady'
(1995)
Self / Eliza Doolittle (archive footage)
Roger Moore: A Matter Of Class
(1995)
Self (archive footage)
The Good, The Bad, and the Beautiful
(1996)
Self (archive footage)
Audrey Hepburn: The Fairest Lady
(1997)
Self (archive footage)
Edith Head: The Paramount Years
(2002)
Self (screen tests) (archive footage)
Restoring Roman Holiday
(2002)
Princess Ann (archive footage)
Audrey Hepburn - Ein Star auf der Suche nach sich selbst
(2004)
Self (archive footage)
Legenden: Audrey Hepburn
(2005)
Self (archive footage)
Breakfast at Tiffany's: The Making of a Classic
(2006)
Self (archive footage)
It's So Audrey! A Style Icon
(2006)
Self (archive footage)
Audrey Hepburn: The Paramount Years
(2008)
Self (archive footage)
Audrey Hepburn: The Magic Of Audrey
(2008)
Self / Various characters (archive footage)
Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff
(2010)
Natasha Rostova (archive footage)
Bert Stern: Original Madman
(2011)
Self (archive footage)
Dove Chocolate: Audrey Hepburn
(2013)
Darcey Bussell's Looking for Audrey
(2014)
Self / Various (archive footage)
And the Oscar Goes To...
(2014)
Self (archive footage)
Becoming Cary Grant
(2017)
Self (archive footage)
Audrey Hepburn, the choice of elegance
(2018)
Self (archive footage)
Very Ralph
(2019)
Self (archive footage)
Audrey
(2020)
Self - Actress (archive footage)
Nicotine - A Drug with a Future
(2020)
Self (archive footage)
Cher: In Her Own Words
(2021)
Self (archive footage)
Polycephaly in D
(2021)
(archive footage)
Data provided by TMDB