Home> Facts and Trivia > Stars > Audrey Hepburn
Audrey Hepburn Facts
| Sign | Taurus |
| Born |
May 4, 1929 Ixelles, Belgium |
| Died |
Jan 20, 1993 Tolochenaz, Switzerland |
| Age | Died at 63 |
| Total Facts | 83 |
Ranked #82 in Men's Health 100 Hottest Women of All Time (2011).
Returned to work nine months after giving birth to her son Sean H. Ferrer in order to begin filming Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961).
Saved the life of her friend Capucine (who attempted suicide on several occasions).
She auditioned for, and did a costume test for, the role of Lygia in Quo Vadis (1951), but Warner Bros. turned her down because she was too unknown at the time and went with Deborah Kerr.
She confessed to eating tulip bulbs and tried to bake grass into bread during the hard days of World War II.
She donated all the salaries she earned for her final projects to UNICEF (Love Among Thieves (1987) (TV), Always (1989), and "Gardens of the World with Audrey Hepburn" (1993)).
She owned a Yorkshire Terrier called "Mr. Famous".
She was of Dutch, English and Austrian descent.
She was presented with her 1953 Best Actress Oscar for "Roman Holiday" by actor and humanitarian Jean Hersholt. Forty years later she would posthumously receive the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for her work with UNICEF.
She was voted the 18th Greatest Movie Star of all time by Premiere Magazine.
She was voted the 21st Greatest Movie Star of all time by Entertainment Weekly.
She won the 1953 Best Actress Academy Award for Roman Holiday (1953). On March 25th, 1954, she accepted the award from the much revered Academy president Jean Hersholt. After accepting the award, Audrey kissed him smack on the mouth, instead of the cheek, in her excitement. Minutes after accepting her 1953 Oscar, Audrey realized that she'd misplaced it. Turning quickly on the steps of the Center Theater in New York, she raced back to the ladies' room, retrieved the award, and was ready to pose for photographs.
Son, Luca Dotti (b. 8 February 1970), with second husband, Dr. Andrea Dotti.
Suffered from hydrophobia, a condition that severely hampered some of her scenes in Two for the Road (1967). When a shot called for co-star Albert Finney to throw Hepburn into a swimming pool, divers were placed on standby (off-camera) just to placate the actress after it was learned that she had a morbid fear of water.
The US Postal Service issued a 37 cent commemorative stamp honoring her as a Hollywood legend and humanitarian (2003).
Told People Magazine that she was very self-conscious about her size-10 feet.
Turned down a role in the film The Diary of Anne Frank (1959) because, as a young girl in Holland during the war, she had witnessed Nazi soldiers publicly executing people in the streets and herding Jews onto railroad cars to be sent to the death camps. She said that participating in the film would bring back too many painful memories for her.
Turned down the film Gigi (1958) after creating the character in the Broadway non musical play.
Turned down the title role in Gigi (1958) to make Funny Face (1957). Ironically, her agent initially rejected the film, but Hepburn overrode the decision after reading the script. Her mother, Baroness Ella Van Heemstra, makes a cameo appearance as a sidewalk café patron, and her Yorkshire terrier "Mr. Famous" appears as the dog in the basket during the "Anna Karenina" train shot. Hepburn did not want to be separated from husband Mel Ferrer, so filming of the Paris scenes was timed to coincide with Ferrer's filming of Elena and Her Men (1956). Paris' unseasonably rainy weather had to be worked into the script, particularly during the balloons photo shoot scene. During filming of the Paris scenes, much of the crew and cast were on edge because of riots and political violence that were gripping the city. The soggy weather played havoc with the shooting of the wedding dress dance scene. Both Fred Astaire and Hepburn were continually slipping in the muddy and slippery grass. In "Funny Face" she was lucky enough to sing several songs
Voted #1 in TheAge.com's Top 100: Natural Beauties of all time.
Was a close friend of French actress Capucine.
Was a three pack a day smoker.
Was briefly considered for the main role in Cleopatra (1963) but the part went to Elizabeth Taylor
Was considered for the part of Tony Gromeko in Doctor Zhivago (1965), but Geraldine Chaplin was cast instead.
Was fashion designer Hubert de Givenchy's muse, who dressed her for the films Sabrina (1954), Funny Face (1957), Love in the Afternoon (1957), Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961), Paris When It Sizzles (1964), How to Steal a Million (1966), Charade (1963) and Love Among Thieves (1987) (TV).
Was first choice for the lead in A Taste of Honey (1961).
Was fluent in English, Dutch, Spanish, French and Italian.
Was friends with Eva Gabor.
Was named #3 on The American Film Institute's 50 Greatest Screen Legends
Was trained as a dental assistant before making it big.
Was voted "most beautiful woman of all time" by the readers of "New Woman" magazine (2006).
When she failed to receive an Academy Award nomination for her role as Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady (1964), Katharine Hepburn wired her with a message of encouragement: "Don't worry about it. You'll get it one day for a part that doesn't rate it." Ironically, when Audrey's next (and last) nomination came for Wait Until Dark (1967) in 1967, Hepburn beat her in Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967) - in a part that arguably didn't rate it.
Won a 1968 Special Tony Award (New York City).