Audrey Hepburn

Audrey Hepburn, born Audrey Kathleen Ruston (Brussels 1929 – Tolochenaz 1993) was a British actress. A fashion icon, ‘par excellence’ thanks to her grace, elegance and style, she was probably the most quoted and courted actress of designers and fashion labels ever. Audrey, daughter of an Englishman and a Dutch aristocrat, grew up in The Netherlands under a Nazi regime and, studied dance during The Second World War, before entering the theatre and eventually the cinema. She was awarded an Oscar for “Roman Holiday” by William Wyler in 1954 and appeared at the presentation ceremony in a white floral dress destined to go down in costume history as one of the most beautiful of all times. Ms. Hepburn, who also won three Golden Globes, an Emmy, a Grammy Award, four BAFTAs, two Tonys and three David di Donatellos, was a leading figure on the American movie scene in the 50’s and 60’s. During her successful career she worked with directors of the calibre of Billy Wilder, George Cukor and Blake Edwards, and acted alongside such greats as Gregory Peck, Humphrey Bogart, Cary Grant, Rex Harrison and William Holden, gaining international fame for her roles as Princess Anna in “Roman Holiday” (1953), Holly Golightly in the cult movie “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” (1961) and Eliza Doolittle in the musical “My Fair Lady” (1964), to name just a few. Other famous parts include Sabrina” (1954), “Charade” (1963) and “How to Steal a Million and Live Happily Ever After”. She only made rare appearances on the silver screen in the 70’s and 80’s, preferring to dedicate herself to her family. In 1988 she was nominated official ambassadress of UNICEF, and from then onwards devoted her life to humanitarian work for which she received many awards. In 1999 Audrey Hepburn was ranked the third greatest female screen legend by the American Film Institute. From a very young age, Audrey possessed an inborn elegance: in fact her dance companions in 1948 said that although the future actress only possessed two skirts and two shirts, she had dozens of scarves to go with them, and was always perfect. As for the legendary little black dress worn by Hepburn in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”, it is currently conserved in the Madrid costume museum.