Legenden: Audrey Hepburn

Audrey Hepburn was born Audrey Kathleen Ruston in Brussels on May 4, 1929. The daughter of a Dutch baroness and an Irishman, a follower of the British fascist Oswald Mosley, she received a strict Victorian education. “You're not very interesting,” her mother would often say. When Audrey was ten years old, her father left the family. She would not see him again until 24 years later. It was a loss for Audrey that she never fully recovered from. In 1951, the as-yet-unknown European with the aristocratic aura suddenly became a Broadway star as “Gigi” in the musical of the same name. “Audrey is a hit,” read the headline in Life magazine. She experienced standing ovations for the first time, and after two weeks, her name could be seen on the illuminated billboard above the title. Her success continues in Hollywood. Gregory Peck, her co-star in Roman Holiday, recognizes her screen presence and also has his name placed above the title. However, she is never said to have any particular acting talent. “She's best when she's not acting – being spontaneous,” says the much older director William Wyler, who falls in love with his star in Sabrina. She becomes the favorite model of leading haute couturier Hubert de Givenchy; he is her stylistic conscience and lifelong friend. He creates her inimitable style. Over the years, she only partially emancipated herself from the “sweet tot” image. In “The Nun's Story” and “My Fair Lady” she is more mature, but is still portrayed as childishly delicate. Marilyn Monroe was originally supposed to play the role of the call girl Holly Golightly in “Breakfast at Tiffany's”, but Paramount decided on Audrey Hepburn – it would probably be her most famous film. Her favorite film partners are older men: Peck, Astaire, Bogart, Holden, Cooper, Chevalier – in films she always finds a father substitute, but not in real life. In her later years, she became one of the most prominent and dedicated supporters of UNICEF in the fight against infant mortality and hunger in Africa. Her last partner, Robert Wolders, was always at her side. Her last journey took her to Somalia in 1992, seriously ill and marked by cancer. She died in Switzerland in January 1993, at the age of just 63.