Line #57 Creator/AudreyHepburn


1	[[quoteright:314:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/vtl_15_1971.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:314:[[Film/MyFairLady How kind of you to write her an article.]]]]
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4	->''"I never think of myself as an icon. What is in other people's minds is not in my mind. I just do my thing."''
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6	Audrey Hepburn (born Audrey Kathleen Ruston; 4 May 1929 – 20 January 1993) was one of the most beautiful, elegant, and – yes – iconic actors in cinema history. She never seemed to ''try'' to be iconic; it just came naturally. Whether dressed in scarves, nun's habits, or the LittleBlackDress, hers was an unforgettable image. Look up the word "classy" in the dictionary, and a picture of her will be staring back at you.
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8	A British citizen, she was born in Brussels, Belgium to a Dutch Baroness and an Anglo-Irish ne'er-do-well. Her father walked out on the family when she was young, and her subsequent adolescence in [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII German-occupied]] [[UsefulNotes/TheNetherlands Netherlands]] was quite traumatising ([[LaResistance she helped the local resistance]], witnessed [[UsefulNotes/TheHolocaust deportations of Jews]] and almost died of malnutrition during the "Hunger Winter" caused by a German blockade). She then studied and practiced {{ballet}} in Amsterdam.
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10	She went from one small role after another in Dutch and British film and stage productions, until she ended up in the main role in the Broadway play ''Gigi'' in 1951, which earned her much acclaim. Prominent Hollywoodian director Creator/WilliamWyler decided to cast her for ''Film/RomanHoliday'' as neither of his first choices, Creator/ElizabethTaylor and Creator/JeanSimmons, were available. The rest, as they say, is history.
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12	She was married to American actor Creator/MelFerrer from 1954 to 1968 and to Italian psychiatrist Andrea Dotti from 1969 to 1982. Even in her later years, she was still a looker, appearing in [[PrettyInMink Blackglama's]] [[AdvertisingCampaigns "What Becomes A Legend Most?"]] ad [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/audrey_hepburn_blackglama.jpg campaign]], although she spent most of her later years doing philanthropic work with UNICEF. She passed away from appendiceal cancer (which was diagnosed too late) in Switzerland at the age of 63 on January 20, 1993.
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14	She is not related to Creator/KatharineHepburn, who was American. However, they ''were'' close friends; Katharine nicknamed Audrey "my little daughter".
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16	!!Filmography:
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18	* ''Film/TheLavenderHillMob'' (1951): Crime caper comedy in which she has a bit part.
19	* ''Film/LaughterInParadise'' (1951): Has a small role as cigarette girl.
20	* ''Film/RomanHoliday'' (1953) - A RebelliousPrincess meets an IntrepidReporter in the middle of the Eternal City. This role is her UsefulNotes/AcademyAward winning StarMakingRole, and her personal favourite. Creator/GregoryPeck insisted she be given equal billing with him, and correctly predicted she would win the Oscar.
21	* ''Film/{{Sabrina\|1954}}'' (1954) - Nominated for an Oscar.
22	* ''Film/{{War and Peace\|1956}}'' (1956)
23	* ''Film/FunnyFace'' (1957) - Her first musical, co-starring Creator/FredAstaire. The definitive "Audrey Hepburn looking awesome in all sorts of costumes" film.
24	* ''Film/LoveInTheAfternoon'' (1957)
25	* ''Mayerling'' (1957) - A MadeForTVMovie about the real-life murder-suicide of an Austrian prince and his mistress, co-starring her [[RealLifeRelative husband]] Mel Ferrer.
26	* ''Film/GreenMansions'' (1959) - She famously took a fawn as pet to acclimate it to the filming.
27	* ''Film/TheNunsStory'' (1959) - Some of Hepburn's best acting work. Nominated for an Oscar.
28	* ''Film/TheUnforgiven'' (1960) - Western in which she co-stars with Creator/BurtLancaster.
29	* ''Film/BreakfastAtTiffanys'' (1961) - Possibly her most iconic role. Nominated for an Oscar.
30	* ''Theatre/TheChildrensHour'' (1961)
31	* ''Film/{{Charade}}'' (1963)
32	* ''Film/MyFairLady'' (1964) - Starts out PlayingAgainstType, being an uncultured street woman who gradually is groomed to become the classy lady we all know and love. Infamously, her singing scenes were dubbed by Marni Nixon. Two songs with her original vocals are available on the DVD.
33	* ''Film/ParisWhenItSizzles'' (1964)
34	* ''Film/HowToStealAMillion'' (1966)
35	* ''Film/TwoForTheRoad'' (1967) - PlayingAgainstType as a bitchy housewife.
36	* ''Theatre/WaitUntilDark'' (1967) - One of the first modern thrillers, with Hepburn as a blind woman threatened by heroin smugglers. The studio had a lot of trouble casting the main villain, as few actors wanted to be seen tormenting a blind Audrey. Nominated for an Oscar.
37	* ''Film/RobinAndMarian'' (1976) - Playing an aging Maid Marian opposite Creator/SeanConnery.
38	* ''Literature/{{Bloodline\|SidneySheldon}}'' (1979)
39	* ''Film/{{Always}}'' (1989) - Her final role. [[note]]Playing an angel, appropriately enough.[[/note]]
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41	!!Tropes in her works:
42	* FiftiesHair: She wore a ponytail at the start of her career, then cropped it into a pixie cut, then grew it again into a BeehiveHairdo in TheSixties.
43	* HollywoodThin: Along with the LittleBlackDress example below, Hepburn's physique has long been considered an ideal standard of beauty and grace. Despite being tall at 5”7, she never weighed more than 115 lbs her entire life. Sadly, this stemmed from having gone through long stretches of starvation during the war which ruined her metabolism. She suffered lifetime health complications due to this such as anemia, having issues getting and staying pregnant [[note]]She is known to have had three miscarriages in her life but one of those was due to falling off of a horse. One of the others happened very late in her pregnancy. She ultimately took a year off after filming ''Film/TheUnforgiven'' in order to have a child; she succeeded, giving birth to Sean Hepburn Ferrer.[[/note]], and eventually stomach cancer from which she died at only the age of 63.
44	* LittleBlackDress: She didn't invent it, but let's face it: her face is the one that immediately comes to mind whenever one hears the phrase. She's not the page image for nothing, after all.
45	* ManicPixieDreamGirl: Played two of the early role models for this archetype, [[Film/RomanHoliday Princess Ann]] and [[Film/BreakfastAtTiffanys Holly Golightly]].
46	* WhatCouldHaveBeen: She wrote a letter to Creator/StanleyKubrick politely declining his offer to costar in an unmade biopic of UsefulNotes/NapoleonBonaparte and his wife Josephine.
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48	!!Portrayals in fiction:
49	* Played by Creator/SarahHyland (young child), Creator/EmmyRossum (teen) [[TimeShiftedActor and]] Creator/JenniferLoveHewitt (adult) in ''The Audrey Hepburn Story'' (2000). This TV {{biopic}} was not well received, and accusations of coming "too soon" (seven years after her passing) didn't help.
50	* In 2018, [[https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/young-pope-producers-developing-audrey-hepburn-drama-series-1168215 a biography series was being developed]] by the producers of ''Series/TheYoungPope''.
51	* As of 2022, [[https://deadline.com/2022/01/rooney-mara-audrey-hepburn-biopic-apple-luca-guadagnino-1234905916/ a more proper biopic is being developed]] for Creator/AppleTVPlus, with Creator/RooneyMara starring as Hepburn and producing, Creator/LucaGuadagnino directing, and Michael Mitnick writing the screenplay.

Context Creator / AudreyHepburn