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People (February 2005)

Born into relative prosperity and influence on May 4, 1929, Audrey Hepburn was the daughter of a Dutch baroness and a wealthy British banker. Although she was born in Brussels, Belgium, her early years were spent traveling between England, Belgium, and the Netherlands because of her father's job. Hepburn attended private schools in England and the Netherlands, but after the 1935 divorce of her parents she was living with her mother in the Netherlands when the German invasion and occupation of World War II occurred. During the Dutch famine over the winter of 1944, brutality increased and the Nazis confiscated the Dutch people's limited food and fuel supply for themselves. Suffering from malnutrition, Hepburn developed several health problems, and the impact of those times would shape her life and values.

Following the war, Hepburn moved with her mother to London and began studying dance there. When she was twenty-one, she was working as a model. She got her break into show business when she was noticed by the French novelist, Collette, who cast her in her new play, GIGI. Hepburn's career as an actress had a tremendous start when she won an Academy Award for her film debut in the movie ROMAN HOLIDAY. Throughout her career she received four more Academy Award nominations for her roles in SABRINA, THE NUN'S STORY, BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S and WAIT UNTIL DARK. Hepburn had an illustrious film career and became known for her grace and beauty.

From 1967 onward, after fifteen highly successful years in film, Hepburn only acted occasionally, her last role filmed in 1988 just before she was appointed as a special ambassador to the United Nations Children's Fund ("UNICEF"). Grateful of her own good fortune after being a victim of Nazi atrocities as a child, she dedicated herself for the remainder of her life to help impoverished children in the world's poorest nations. In 1992, President George Bush presented her with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in recognition of her work with "UNICEF". The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences awarded her The Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award for her contribution to humanity; her son accepted the award shortly after her death. She has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1652 Vine Street. Additionally, Audrey Hepburn received over fifty other awards and international distinctions for her work in film and later for her humanitarian efforts on behalf of children everywhere.

Hepburn was married twice: to actor Mel Ferrer, and to Italian doctor Andrea Dotti, and she had two sons. At the time of her death she was the companion of Robert Wolders, a Dutch actor who was the widower of film star Merle Oberon. Hepburn died of colon cancer on January 20, 1993, in Tolchenaz, Vaud, Switzerland and was interred there. Audrey Hepburn's farewell letter to her sons were from her favorite poem, she wrote "Remember, if ever you need a helping hand, it's at the end of your arm. As you get older, remember you have another hand: the first to help yourself, and second to help others."

Audrey Hepburn was a remarkable woman, an extraordinary human being, and a good and kind soul. In 1994, the Audrey Hepburn Children's Fund, a non-profit organization, was created to continue Audrey's international appeals on behalf of ill-treated and suffering children around the world. Please click for Audry Hepburn's long-lasting beauty tips.

CHRONOLOGY

1929 She was born in Brussels, Belgium. (May 4)
1935 Her parents divorced.
1942 She began studying dance at the Arnhem Conservatory of Dance and Music.
1945 She moved with her mother to London where she studied dance.
1951 MONTE CARLO BABY - film; GIGI - Broadway play
1953 ROMAN HOLIDAY - film; She received an Academy Award.
1954 SABRINA - film; She married Mel Ferrer; She received a Tony Award for ONDINE.
1956 WAR AND PEACE - film
1957 FUNNY FACE, LOVE IN THE AFTERNOON - films
1959 THE NUN'S STORY - film
1960 THE UNFORGIVEN -film; Her son, Sean, was born. (July 17)
1961 BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S - film
1962 THE CHILDREN'S HOUR- film
1963 CHARADE - film
1964 MY FAIR LADY - film
1966 HOW TO STEAL A MILLION - FILM
1967 WAIT UNTIL DARK, TWO FOR THE ROAD - films
1968 She and Mel Ferrer divorced.
1969 She married Dr. Andrea Mario Dotti
1970 She gave birth to her son, Luca. (February 8)
1972 ROBIN AND MARIAN - film
1982 She and Andrea Dotti divorced.
1988 She became a special ambassador to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).
1989 She made her final cameo appearance in the film ALWAYS.
1991 She was diagnosed with colon cancer.
1992 She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by George Bush.
1993 She died in Tolchenaz, Switzerland. (January 20)