Read facts you never knew about Audrey Hepburn:
Audrey was fluent in English, Dutch, Spanish, French and Italian. Which gave her a great advantage both as an actress and a humanitarian. She was raised bilingually; speaking English and Dutch, which resulted in her unique accent.
Her mother changed Audrey’s first name to Edda during the war, so she wouldn’t sound too British. Being English was not an asset in her native Holland at that time and she did not want to run the risk of Audrey being deported.
When actress Paulette Goddard saw Audrey’s portfolio of pictures on a table for her consideration for the role of Gigi, she reportedly said: ‘She is too perfect. There has got to be something wrong, perhaps she lisps’.
Audrey dated John F. Kennedy when he was still a senator, though it was never serious. She also sang Happy Birthday to him the year after Marilyn Monroe’s famous performance.
When Audrey won the Oscar for Roman Holiday, she kissed the Academy president right on the mouth instead of the cheek out of excitement. When she was supposed to pose with the award later on, she realized she had left it in the ladies’ room and had to run out and get it.
She owned a Yorkshire Terrier called Mr. Famous
She was close friends with actress Capucine, who starred in The Pink Panther, and saved her on several occasions when she attempted suicide. Sadly, Capucine commited suicide in 1990.
Audrey admitted that she would not have accepted the role of Eliza in My Fair Lady, if she had known that all of her singing was going to be dubbed.
She smoked three packs of cigarettes a day
She felt that she might have been miscast as Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany’s, even though it was one of her most popular roles. Being an introvert, she found it difficult to play an extrovert.
The song Moon River was written for Audrey. Writer Henry Mancini said: ‘No one else had ever understood it so completely. There have been more than a thousand versions of ‘Moon River’, but hers is unquestionably the greatest’.
Art was a great hobby of Audrey. As a child she drew pictures of stories and as an adult she took up painting during her second pregnancy. Some of her work can be seen in the book ‘Audrey Hepburn: An Elegant Spirit’.
Audrey suffered from hydrophobia, a terrible fear of water. So when she had to be thrown into a pool for Two for the Road, divers were placed on standby.
She is one of the only twelve people who are an EGOT, meaning that she won at least one of all of the four major American entertainment awards: Oscar, Emmy, Grammy and a Tony.
Audrey never singled out any of her films as a favorite, but she always spoke very fondly of Funny Face, Roman Holiday, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, The Nun’s Story and Charade. She reportedly did not enjoy working on The Unforgiven, due to injuries sustained during shooting, and Wait Until Dark, due to the stress of her failing marriage. She was said to be dissapointed with the results of Paris When It Sizzles and Bloodline.
Read more about Audrey Hepburn’s life.
