| Full Name | Audrey Kathleen Ruston (Hepburn) |
| Profession | Actress, Humanitarian |
| Date of Birth | May 4, 1929 |
| Birthplace | Ixelles, Brussels, Belgium |
| Nationality | British |
| Years Active | 1948–1989 |
| Known For | Roman Holiday, Breakfast at Tiffany's, My Fair Lady |
Audrey Hepburn built one of the most recognisable careers in film history in barely two decades on screen, then spent much of her later life working as a goodwill ambassador for UNICEF. Her combination of elegance, restraint and warmth shaped how Hollywood pictured a leading woman for a generation of directors who followed.
Early Life
Hepburn was born Audrey Kathleen Ruston on May 4, 1929, in Ixelles, near Brussels, to Joseph Ruston, a British subject, and Ella van Heemstra, a Dutch baroness. Her childhood was split between Belgium, England and the Netherlands. When the Second World War broke out, her mother moved the family to Arnhem, in the Netherlands, believing it would be safer; instead, Hepburn spent the occupation years enduring wartime shortages while continuing ballet lessons in secret.
Career Beginnings
After the war, Hepburn studied ballet in Amsterdam and London and worked as a chorus dancer and model to support her training. Small stage and film roles followed in the early 1950s, but her break came when the French author Colette selected her for the title role in the Broadway adaptation of Gigi in 1951.
Breakthrough and Major Works
Hepburn’s first major film role, opposite Gregory Peck in Roman Holiday (1953), won her the Academy Award for Best Actress. She followed it with a run of films that defined her screen persona: Sabrina (1954), Funny Face (1957), Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961) and My Fair Lady (1964). She received Academy Award nominations for several of these performances and won a BAFTA and a Golden Globe along the way, along with a Tony Award for her stage work in Ondine.
| Full Name | Audrey Kathleen Ruston |
| Born | May 4, 1929 – Ixelles, Brussels, Belgium |
| Died | January 20, 1993 – Tolochenaz, Switzerland |
| Profession | Actress, Humanitarian |
| Years Active | 1948–1989 |
| Known For | Roman Holiday, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, My Fair Lady |
| Notable Awards | Academy Award, BAFTA, Golden Globe, Tony Award |
Career Timeline
| 1951 | Broadway debut in Gigi |
| 1953 | Roman Holiday; wins Academy Award for Best Actress |
| 1954 | Sabrina; marries actor Mel Ferrer |
| 1961 | Breakfast at Tiffany’s |
| 1964 | My Fair Lady |
| 1967 | Wait Until Dark; steps back from full-time acting |
| 1988 | Becomes a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador |
Later Career and Humanitarian Work
Hepburn scaled back acting after 1967 to focus on her family, returning occasionally to the screen, including in Robin and Marian (1976) and, in her final film role, Steven Spielberg’s Always (1989). From 1988 until shortly before her death, she worked as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, travelling to countries including Ethiopia, Sudan and Somalia on relief missions. In 1992, she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom for this work, and in 1993 the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences posthumously awarded her the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award.
Hepburn is one of a small number of performers to have won a competitive Oscar, Emmy, Grammy and Tony across her career.
Personal Life
Hepburn was married twice, to actor Mel Ferrer (1954–1968) and psychiatrist Andrea Dotti (1969–1982), and had two sons, Sean and Luca. She later shared her life with Dutch actor Robert Wolders until her death.
Legacy
Hepburn died of appendiceal cancer on January 20, 1993, at her home in Switzerland, at age 63. Decades on, she remains a fixture of best-dressed and greatest-actress lists, and the American Film Institute ranked her among the greatest female screen legends of classic Hollywood.
Frequently Asked Questions
What was Audrey Hepburn’s first major film role?
Her breakout role was Princess Ann in Roman Holiday (1953), opposite Gregory Peck, which won her the Academy Award for Best Actress.
Did Audrey Hepburn win an Oscar?
Yes. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress for Roman Holiday and received several further nominations across her career.
What humanitarian work was Audrey Hepburn known for?
From 1988 to 1993 she served as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, visiting children in need across Latin America, Africa and Asia.
