Hollywood Actress Audrey Hepburn Amazing Facts โ€“ Movies, Fashion & Life Story

Hollywood Actress Audrey Hepburn Amazing Facts โ€“ Movies, Fashion & Life Story

Last updated on March 31st, 2022 at 10:23 am

Hollywood Actress Audrey Hepburn Facts

Glamorous, British and naturally beautiful, Audrey Hepburn was a Hollywood legend. Starring in romantic comedies such as Sabrina in the 50s and of course, Breakfast At Tiffanyโ€™s in 1961, Audrey Hepburn movies reflect the style and fashion of this remarkable era. Passing away at the age of 63 in her home in Switzerland, there are many things that we still donโ€™t know about her life story. (1) Was she as confident as she appeared on the big screen? Was Audrey Hepburnโ€™s style inspired by Givenchy? How did she maintain her slim figure? If youโ€™re interested in finding out more about Audrey Hepburn, we are about to reveal some incredible Audrey Hepburn facts that will hopefully give you a glimpse into her life. Covering the Hollywood actressesโ€™ sense of style, hit movies and love life, get ready to discover more about this babydoll-faced beauty.

Hollywood actress Audrey Hepburn facts

10 Incredible Audrey Hepburn Facts

Mesmerising to watch, Audrey invested time into perfecting her acting skills so she could pursue her dream of becoming a famous Hollywood actress. Itโ€™s common knowledge that her real name was, in fact, Audrey Kathleen Ruston and was born in Belgium to English and Austrian parents, but to call yourself a true Audrey Hepburn fan youโ€™ll need to know a little more about her life story. (2) So, here are 10 incredible Audrey Hepburn facts that may shock you and make you think differently about this Hollywood icon.

1: Givenchy Claims Audrey Hepburnโ€™s Style Was Her Own

Despite wearing stunning designer clothing in the romantic comedy movie Sabrina, Hubert de Givenchy insists the actress knew exactly how to dress and style herself. Thanks to her almond-shaped eyes and slim silhouette, she was able to fit into runway-ready outfits without the need for additional alternations or tailoring. In an interview with The New York Times, Givenchy believed Audrey didnโ€™t wear clothes, the clothes would simply surround her. Forming a long and true friendship with designer Givenchy, Audrey Hepburn later became the face of Givenchyโ€™s perfume Interdit. (3)

Hollywood actress Audrey Hepburn facts

2: She Was Quite The Linguist

Partially due to her childhood, and also to enhance her career, Audrey Hepburn spoke 6 languages; English, Dutch, French, Spanish, Portuguese and Italian. From childhood, she spoke English, but during World War II, her mother feared speaking English would attract the wrong attention, so Audrey needed to quickly learn Dutch while living in Arnhem. This meant she was bilingual by an early age. Since her acting career meant travelling on an international level, she learned Italian while living and filming in Rome, and she later learned to speak Spanish after becoming a United Nations ambassador. (4)

3: Audreyโ€™s Father Walked Out On Them

While Audrey Hepburn was very young, her father, said to be a Nazi sympathizer, abandoned Audrey and her mother and moved to London. This traumatic event left Audrey fearful, withdrawn and nervous as a child, and this affected her later on in life. As World War II broke out, Audrey suffered immensely with one parent supporting Germany and the other trying to keep them alive and out of harmโ€™s way. Audrey Hepburn later claimed that her parentโ€™s divorce was the most traumatic incident of her life. (5)

Hollywood actress Audrey Hepburn facts

4: Her Script Sold For Over Half A Million Pounds

Audrey Hepburnโ€™s personal Breakfast at Tiffanyโ€™s script sold for an incredible ยฃ630,000, at an auction in London. The script included annotations by the Hollywood actress and was part of a number of personal items that were sold by her sons. The Audrey Hepburn collection generated ยฃ4.6 million in total and included her wardrobe, dressing table, photographs, a bangle given by director Steven Spielberg and the black satin Givenchy cocktail gown worn in the 1963 film Charade, among others possessions. (6)

5: She Struggled To Have Children

Similar to Marilyn Monroe, a rare Audrey Hepburn fact is that she sadly struggled to have children and suffered miscarriages and a still-birth. This may have been due to a horse-riding accident while shooting Unforgiven which broke her back and left her unable to ride again. However, in June 1960, the Hollywood actress welcomed her first son Sean Ferrer with actor and husband Mel Ferrer. Audrey later went on to become pregnant again in her second marriage to Italian psychiatrist-neurologist Andrea Dotti, who she met while on a cruise. Settling in Rome, Audrey and Andrea welcomed their son Luca into the world in 1970. (7)ย 

Hollywood actress Audrey Hepburn facts

6: Naturally Beautiful From The Inside Out

A natural make-up master, Audrey Hepburn used Revlon and Estee Lauder to achieve a subtle and natural look. Rather than over-line her lips and wear heavy make-up like other Hollywood stars, Audrey preferred a minimal look. Her son Luca Dotti revealed in his book, Audrey at Home: Memories of My Motherโ€™s Kitchen, that she would focus on eating fresh fruit and vegetables to achieve glowing and flawless skin. He recalled that his mother would eat seasonally and shop at the local fruit and vegetable markets for foods rich in antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. (8)

7: Slim Figure, Metabolism or World War II

In an interview, Audrey Hepburnโ€™s sons put rumours that the actress had an eating disorder to bed, and discussed her active and healthy lifestyle. They explained that their mother loved to walk and be at one with nature, and they would always be exploring the outdoors as a family. Her sons revealed that Audreyโ€™s slim figure was never down to dieting and had been consistent throughout her life. They also spoke of how Audrey Hepburn enjoyed chocolate and drinking Scotch before bed. However, some could argue that living through World War II could have accounted for her slim physique, and having survived starvation her body and metabolism may have been impacted. (9)

Hollywood actress Audrey Hepburn facts

8: Despite Seeming Confident She Was An Introvert

According to Audrey Hepburn herself, in an interview with Life Magazine in 1953, she enjoyed being alone in her apartment. Rather than socialise with friends, family or colleges, Audrey claimed she preferred to refuel and spend her weekends at home. A bit of an introvert, it is certainly a different side of Audrey that many people never knew about. In fact, she claimed that playing an extroverted girl was the hardest thing she ever did. Perhaps being in the limelight most of the time took a toll on the Hollywood actress, and escaping to her apartment at the weekend was the only time that she could just relax and be herself. (10)

9: Audrey Had A Fear Of Water

Perhaps she experienced some incident involving water as a child, as Audrey Hepburn was terrified of water. While filming Two For The Road in 1967, the Hollywood actress was so scared to be thrown into a pool that she requested that crew members be in the water, ready to help her if anything went wrong. Overcoming her initial reservations, she managed to complete the scene and finish the movie, although the fear of water never left her. (11)

10: She Campaigned For Unicef

Before passing away in 1993, Audrey Hepburn travelled the world raising money and awareness for Unicef. The Hollywood actress visited Ethiopia and talked about projects in the media, giving over 15 interviews a day. Hepburn also took a trip to Turkey to visit the polio vaccine project, spent time in Venezuela where training programmes for women were taking place, and supported projects in Ecuador helping children living and working on the street. Audrey even testified before the US Congress and took part in the World Summit for Children. As an ambassador for the organisation since 1988, her death was announced by Unicef, the United Nations Childrenโ€™s Fund. A hybrid tulip was named after Hepburn according to the Netherlands Flower Information Society, as a tribute to the actressโ€™s career and her charitable work.ย  (12) (13)

Donโ€™t forget to also check out our Audrey Hepburn Quotes whilst you are here ๐Ÿ™‚

References:

1: https://www.nytimes.com/1993/01/21/movies/audrey-hepburn-actress-is-dead-at-63.html

2:https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000030/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm

3:https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/13/fashion/hubert-de-givenchy-audrey-hepburn.html

4: https://globalgraduates.com/articles/audrey-hepburn-speaking-french-spanish-and-italian

5: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/video/detail/B07JHMQGQJ/ref=atv_dl_rdr?autoplay=1

6: https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2017/sep/28/audrey-hepburn-breakfast-at-tiffanys-script-sells-auction-630000

7: https://www.harpersbazaar.com/celebrity/latest/a10002427/audrey-hepburn-love-life-timeline/

8: https://www.vogue.fr/beauty-tips/article/audrey-hepburns-7-beauty-secrets

9:https://www.etonline.com/news/223903_how_audrey_hepburn_maintained_her_famously_slim_figure#:~:text=In%20an%20interview%20withPeople,maintained%20her%20famously%20slim%20figure.&text=%22People%20think%20because%20she%20was,son%2C%20Luca%20Dotti%2C%20says.

10. https://exclusivelifemagazine.com/audrey-hepburn/

11:https://historybyday.com/human-stories/the-woman-from-breakfast-at-tiffanys-audrey-hepburn-in-all-her-grace-and-glory/15.html?br_t=ch&_pg=p1

12: https://www.unicef.org/people/people_audrey_hepburn.htm

13: https://historybyday.com/human-stories/the-woman-from-breakfast-at-tiffanys-audrey-hepburn-in-all-her-grace-and-glory/12.html?br_t=ch

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