Questions about Audrey Hepburn
Short answers, pulled from the story.
What awards did Audrey Hepburn win during her career?
Audrey Hepburn is one of the few entertainers to have won competitive Academy, Emmy, Grammy, and Tony Awards. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress for Roman Holiday (1953), three BAFTA Awards for Best British Actress in a Leading Role, the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for Ondine (1954), a posthumous Grammy for Best Spoken Word Album for Children, and a posthumous Emmy for the Gardens of the World documentary series. She also received the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award.
What was Audrey Hepburn's experience during World War II?
Audrey Hepburn lived under German occupation in Arnhem, Netherlands, from 1940 to 1945, using the alias Edda van Heemstra to avoid detection as an English speaker. She gave underground concerts to raise money for the Dutch resistance, delivered the underground newspaper, and carried messages to downed Allied flyers. The 1944-1945 Dutch famine left her suffering from jaundice, anaemia, and oedema; penicillin purchased with money from selling cigarettes sent by a family friend saved her life.
Why did Audrey Hepburn not become a professional ballet dancer?
Marie Rambert, who ran Ballet Rambert in London, told Hepburn that despite her talent, her height and physical constitution weakened by wartime malnutrition would prevent her from reaching the status of prima ballerina. Hepburn then redirected her focus toward acting.
What was Audrey Hepburn's relationship with fashion designer Hubert de Givenchy?
Givenchy was first hired to design Hepburn's on-screen wardrobe for Sabrina (1954), when he had mistakenly expected to meet Katharine Hepburn. The two formed a lifelong friendship; Givenchy designed her costumes for many subsequent films including Breakfast at Tiffany's, Charade, and How to Steal a Million, as well as her private wardrobe. When Hepburn needed transport from Los Angeles to Switzerland in her final weeks, Givenchy arranged for a private Gulfstream jet to take her home.
What humanitarian work did Audrey Hepburn do for UNICEF?
Hepburn was appointed a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador in 1989 and made field visits between 1988 and 1992 to some of the poorest communities in Africa, South America, and Asia. Her missions included visiting a 500-child orphanage in Mek'ele, Ethiopia; reporting to the US Congress on water and school programmes in Venezuela and Ecuador; joining Operation Lifeline to deliver food to southern Sudan; and travelling to Somalia in September 1992, four months before her death. She received the US Presidential Medal of Freedom in December 1992 for this work.
How did Audrey Hepburn get the role in Roman Holiday?
Director Thorold Dickinson filmed a screen test of Hepburn after she completed Secret People (1952) and sent it to director William Wyler in Rome. Wyler was so impressed that he cast her over the initially preferred Elizabeth Taylor. Gregory Peck also advocated for Hepburn to receive equal billing above the title of the film, predicting she would become a major star.