Audrey Hepburn was
born in Brussels, Belgium on May 4, 1929. Her father was a British banker and
her mother was a Dutch baroness. Audrey went to private schools. In 1935 her
parents fought with each other and they got divorced. That left her with only
her mother. She was very sad about that. She went to private schools in England
and the Netherlands. In the late 1930's Audrey trained to be a ballet dancer.
She loved dancing. During World War II (1939-1945) she didn't have enough of the
foods she needed while living in the Netherlands. Because Audrey didn't get
enough to eat, she developed problems that she would have for the rest of her
life. When the Nazi army came to the Netherlands she changed her name to hide.
Her living conditions grew worse. Dance class gave her a way to forget about
what was happening around her.
A French novelist named Colette insisted she star in Gigi on Broadway
in New York City in 1951.That year she also made her motion picture debut in One
Wild Oat. Two years later she starred in Roman Holiday. She earned an
Academy Award as best actress. In 1954 she married actor Mel Ferrer and on July
17, 1960 had a child, Sean. Audrey earned 4 more Academy Awards for her parts in
Sabrina, The Nun's Story, Breakfast at Tiffany's and Wait
Until Dark. In 1968 she divorced Mel Ferrrer. Then in 1969 she married
psychiatrist Dr. Andrea Dotti and they had a second son Luca. In 1979 she
divorced Dotti. Dutch actor Robert Wolders became her companion. She came out of
retirement in 1976 to star in Robin and Marion with Sean Connery.
She is known as a great actress but she is also known for her work with
UNICEF (The United Nations Children's Fund.) Audrey served as Goodwill Ambassador for
UNICEF from 1988 until her death in January 1993.
She then died on January 20, 1993 from colon cancer in Tolochenaz, Switzerland.
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