Audrey Hepburn

(wikipedia)

Audrey Hepburn was born Audrey Kathleen Ruston in Ixelles, Belgium, on May 4, 1929. Her father was British and her mother was of noble Dutch descent. She attended boarding school in England. Her parents divorced after the beginning of World War II. Her family moved to her grandfather's home in the Netherlands to stay away from German attack. While there, she attended a conservatory and was trained in classical ballet. When the Germans invaded the Netherlands in 1940, Hepburn began dancing for groups to raise money for the Dutch resistance. The German occupation deeply affected her life, and as a result she worked tirelessly for UNICEF later in life.

After the war, Hepburn and her mother moved to Amsterdam, then London. After ascertaining that her height and malnutrition during the War would prevent a career in ballet, she switched to acting. Hepburn took whatever jobs she could while her mother worked menial jobs to support the two. Hepburn registered with an acting company in hopes of getting cast as an extra. She received several supporting roles through the acting agency. While filming Monte Carlo Baby, Hepburn was cast to play the lead role in the Broadway play Gigi. She then received a role in Secret People, which is where she was discovered for her first hit movie, starring opposite Gregory Peck in Roman Holiday. Hepburn received the Academy Award for Best Actress and the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture Actress.

Roman Holiday kicked off Hepburn's long and successful career. Following Roman Holiday, she was cast as the title role in Sabrina, where she began her lifelong collaboration with Hubert de Givenchy. Hepburn then starred in the play Ondine opposite Mel Ferrer, who she later married. She was awarded the Tony Award for Best Actress while starring in this play.

Hepburn's prolific career is not the only source of her goodwill. After overcoming lurid childhood circumstances, Hepburn became quite successful, and, unlike many celbrities of today, gave back to many of the associations that assisted her during the war. Towards the end of her life, Hepburn became the UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and traveled extensively to assist in providing clean water, food, and medical assistence to thousands of children all over the world.

Hepburn died on January 20, 1993, from a burst appendix at her home in Switzerland just after returning from a goodwill trip to Somalia.