Audrey Hepburn - Inspiring Person

AUDREY HEPBURN

Source : http://images2.fanpop.com/image/photos/9800000/Breakfast-at-tiffany-s-breakfast-at-tiffanys-9813384-1992-2525.jpg

General Description
Audrey Hepburn was born Audrey Kathleen Ruston or Edda Kathleen Hepburn-Ruston on 4 May 1929. She was born in Ixelles, Brussels, Belgium. She was a blue-blood and cosmopolitan from birth. She was a British actress, dancer, model, and humanitarian.  Her mother, Baroness Ella Van Heemstra, was of a Dutch descent, and her father, Joseph Victor Anthony Hepburn-Ruston, was born in Uzice, Bohemia, and of English and Austrian ancestry. Hepburn appeared in fewer films as her life went on, devoting much of her later life to UNICEF. She had contributed to the organisation since 1954, then worked in some of the poorest communities of Africa, South America, and Asia between 1988 and 1992. She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in recognition of her work as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador in December 1992.

Life and Career
In her childhood, she used to travel with her family due to her father's job. Joseph or Ruston worked for a trading company. Soon after the marriage, her parents relocated to Europe, where her father began working for a loan company. After travelling between Brussels, Arnhem, The Hague and London, the family settled in the suburban Brussels municipality of Linkebeek in 1932. Hepburn's early childhood was sheltered and privileged. As the result of her multinational background and travelling the world because of her father's job, she learned to speak five languages. Dutch and English are from her parents, and later varying degrees of French, Spain, and Italian.

In the mid of 1930, her parents divorced. Her father left the family abruptly in 1935 and move to London. Hepburn professed the departure of her father "the most traumatic event of my life". Then Hepburn and Family moved to Arnhem. After that, Ella and Hepburn moved to Kent, England, where Hepburn was educated at a small independent school in Elham.

During the World War II (1939-1945), Hepburn's mother relocated her to Arnhem, as during the First World War, the Netherlands would remain neutral and be spared from German occupation. There, Hepburn had begun ballet lesson during her last years at boarding school, and continued training in Arnhem. After the Germans invaded the Netherlands in 1940, she used the name "Edda van Heemstra" because an "English-sounding" name was considered being dangerous at the time. Her family was profoundly affected by the German occupation and she felt sad. Ian, her half-brother, was deported to Berlin, German to do a labour camp. And Alex, her other half-brother, try to hide to avoid the same fate.

After her uncle's death, Hepburn, Ella, and Miesje left Arnhem to live with her grandfather in Velp. Around that time, Hepburn performed a silent dance performance in order to raise money for the Dutch resistance. After Allied landing on the D-day, Hepburn and her family resorted to making flour out of the tulips bulbs to bake cakes and biscuits. She developed acute anemia, respiratory problems, and edema, as a result of malnutrition.

After the liberation, she went to a ballet school in London on a scholarship and later began a modelling 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 modelling 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 Wive's 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 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.

In 1988, Audrey became a special ambassador to the United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF) helping children in Latin America and Africa, a position she retained until 1993. She was named to People's magazine as one of the 5 most beautiful people in the world. Her last film was Always (1989).

Died
Audrey Hepburn died on January 20, 1993 in Tolochnaz, Vaud, Switzerland, from appendiceal cancer.  She hade 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".

Quotes 
"For beautiful eyes, look for the good in others; for beautiful lips, speak only words of kindness; and for poise, walk with the knowledge that you are never alone"
"The beauty of a woman is not in a facial mode. But the true beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul. It is the caring that she lovingly gives the passion that she shows. The beauty of a woman grows with the passing years."

Source:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audrey_Hepburn
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000030/bio
https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/audrey_hepburn_394440