By, The Wasp
Audrey Hepburn is a name not many people our age will recognize but if you know who she is you could easily fall in love with her and her work. Audrey Hepburn was one of the most famous icons of the twentieth century. Audrey was born in Belgium on May 4th, 1929. Audrey’s birth name was Audrey Kathleen Hepburn but later during 1939 (specifically World War II). Her mother, Ella Van Heemstra, thought that Audrey sounded too English so she changed it to Edda. After the war Audrey changed back to her birth name.In 1945 Audrey moved to London, England where she studied dance on a ballet scholarship. When starting as an actress she starred in many British movies. Her first substantial role was Linda Farrell in “Monte Carlo Baby” in 1951. During that same year she performed in the Broadway show “Gigi”. Her next major film was “Roman Holiday” where she portrayed Princess Ann in 1953. Hepburn was nominated for many Academy Awards for many different performances such as, “My Fair Lady“, “War and Peace”, and “Wait Until Dark”. Hepburn won The Best Actress Academy Award. She also won a Tony award for her performance on Broadway. One of her most remembered performances is her performance as Holly Golightly in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s“. Sadly Audrey made her last performance was “Robin and Marion”. After she retired she devoted most of her time to the cause of children in Latin America and Africa.
But sadly, in 1991 Hepburn was diagnosed with colon cancer. President George Bush recognized her work as an actor and ambassador and presented her with the Medal of Freedom. In Tolcheney, Switzerland on January 20th Hepburn died at the age of 62.
Information gathered from: http://www.nnp.org/nni/Publications/Dutch-American/hepburn.html
