Audrey was born on 4 May 1929 in Belgium, and she died on 20 January 1993. When she was born, she was named Audrey Kathleen Ruston. Hepburn was a British actress and philanthropist famous for both her acting skills and fashion sense. She was also known for her grace, elegance and beauty. American Film Institute ranked her the 3rd greatest female screen legend.
Hepburn studied in England in a boarding school when she was young. During World War II, she studied in the Netherlands at the Arnhem Conservatory most of the time. When the war ended, she continued to learn dancing. She took ballet classes in Amsterdam and afterward in London.
In 1948, Hepburn acted for the first time on stage in London in a musical dubbed High Button Shoes, where she played the role of a chorus girl. Following that, she got more roles on stage in Britain. She got parts in plays such as Sauce Tartare (1949) and Sauce Piquante (1950).
Later, she appeared in her first film role in One Wild Oat, released in 1951. She acted in two more films that year. Then, when she was 22 years old, she traveled to New York, where she starred in Gigi, a Broadway production that adapted a book written by a French author Colette. Soon after the play premiered, there were rumors in the media that Hollywood was wooing her.
Two years later, in 1953, Hepburn acted in the film Roman Holiday where she played the role of Princess Ann, who escaped the restricted life of a royal for a while. This performance propelled her into stardom and saw her win the Best Actress Academy Award.
The following year, in 1954, she acted in Ondine alongside Mel Ferrer on the Broadway Stage. She won a Tony Award for Best Actress for her performance in the play. Later that year, she got married to her co-star in the play. She continued to act throughout the 50s and 60s.
In the 70s and 80s, she worked occasionally. She acted in her last film, Always, in 1989.
In her last years, she focused on helping children in need around the world. In the late 80s, she became the UNICEF goodwill ambassador. She died at her home in Switzerland due to colon cancer.
She was no Marilyn Monroe!