Audrey Hepburn

(1929 Brussels - 1993 Switzerland) Born Audrey Kathleen Ruston into wealth and family, Hepburn's father was an English banker and her mother a Dutch baroness. Her father changed the family name to Hepburn-Ruston. Her parents divorced when she was six and she moved to London with her mother. She later called her father's abandonment the most traumatic moment of her life. Her mother enrolled her in elite private schools in both London and Holland. Audrey and her mother were caught in Arnhem, Holland when the German army invaded. They remained trapped in the country for the duration of the war. Living through the brutal and horrifying occupation and the allied counter attack, had a devastating effect on Audrey, as she witnessed starvation and death.After the war, Hepburn and her mother returned to London, where she had a scholarship to study ballet. While she studied ballet, Audrey danced at nightclubs, stage revenues and occassional modeling jobs. In 1951 she began taking small film acting roles to make money to keep her mother from working menial jobs. Her first major role came within the same year in the film The Secret People, in which she played a ballet dancer. Her ballet career was stalled by her height, 5'7", but her acting career took off. That same year she was chosen to play the lead character in the Broadway play Gigi for which she won a Theatre World Award. After her acclaim for Gigi, she was offered a starring role opposite Gregory Peck in Roman Holiday. Peck's name was to appear above the title for all billing, with Audrey's beneath as "introducing Audrey Hepburn." Peck demaned she have equal billing, predicting she would win an Oscar. He was right. There were rumors the two stars were romantically involved, but both vehemently denied it. Hepburn, however, added, "actually, you have to be a little bit in love with your leading man and vice versa. If you're going to portray love, you have to feel it. You can't do it any other way. But you don't carry it beyond the set."After Roman Holiday she filmed Sabrina with Humphrey Bogart and William Holden. She and Holden were truly involved, and Audrey hoped to marry him and have children. The relationship ended when he revealed to her he had had a vasectomy.In 1954, Audrey returned to the stage in "Ondine" opposite Mel Ferrer, whom she would wed later that year. For her performance she received a Tony for Best Actress. Coming only six weeks after her academy award for Roman Holiday, Audrey's reputation as a major film and stage star was secured. Audrey co-starred with such major stars as Fred Astair in "Funny Face", Bogart and Gary Cooper in "Love in the Afternoon", George Peppard in "Breakfast at Tiffany's", Cary Grant in "Charade", Rex Harrison in "My Fair Lady", Peter O'Toole in "How to Steal a Million"and Sean Connery in "Robin and Marian". Cary Grant loved to humor her and once said, "all I want for Christmas is to make another movie with Audrey Hepburn;" and Gregory Peck became a lifelong friend. After her death, Peck went on camera and tearfully recited her favorite poem, "Unending Love."Hepburn's performance as "Holly Golightly" in 1961's Breakfast at Tiffany's is considered one of "the most iconic characters in 20th Century American cinema." Hepburn called the role, "the jazziest of my career."http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqotKcQrtTs&mode=related&search=Humphrey%20Bogart