After the conclusion of the war the Hepburn family struggled. The family fortunes had been lost during the war and Hepburn's mother, Ella, struggled to support her two girls.It did not take long for Audrey to be cast in some menial roles. In 1948 she made her film debut playing a stewardess in an educational travel film, entitled Dutch in Seven Lessons. Later that year she accepted a ballet scholarship and moved to London. Unfortunately for her dreams, she was soon told that her height and weak constitution (which was a consequence of wartime malnutrition) would prevent her from becoming a professional ballet dancer. Thusly, she decided to focus on acting.
Hepburn soon began to get jobs as a chorus girl. She appeared in West End productions of High Button Shoes in 1948, Cecil Landeau's Sauce Tartare in 1949, and Sauce Piquante in 1950 (yes, these plays were named after foods). It was her part in Sauce Piquante that caught the eye of a casting director working for the Associated British Picture Corporation. She was cast in her first major role (not leading role) in 1952 as a prodigious ballerina in the film The Secret People. 
As it turns out, it was not well played minor roles that caught the eyes of the world. Instead, it was her performance in the Broadway play Gigi. This play was based on a novella, of the same name, written by the Nobel Prize winning, French novelist Colette. Colette had noticed Hepburn while both were in Monte Carlo, Hepburn had a small role in the film Monte Carlo Baby. Colette hired Hepburn although she had never acted on stage before. It is say that this decision payed off in the long run. Gigi opened with a slam and over night the world knew the name Audrey Hepburn.
Within a year of the opening of Gigi, Hepburn was cast in her first starring role playing Princess Ann in Roman Holiday. The movie was supposed to star Elizabeth Taylor but the director loved Hepburn's screen play so much that he cast her instead. She would star along side Gregory Peck who supposedly knew just how much this young girl would shine. He suggested that the studio give her equal billing for the movie - which means to put her name as large as his - because "You've got to change that because she'll be a big star, and I'll look like a big jerk."
Hepburn's career was a long and wonderful one. She would star alongside the likes of Humphrey Bogart, William Holden, and Cary Grant. Today, she is probably most well known for her roles in Breakfast at Tiffany's and My Fair Lady. It is important to note that Hepburn initially asked for her role in My Fair Lady to go to its initial leading lady, Julie Andrews (the studio did not agree).
Audrey Hepburn entered a state of semi-retirement in 1967. It was her wish to spend more time with her family and so she did. Although some of her later films would be successful, none would reach the same heights as Breakfast at Tiffany's.
Hepburn became a Goodwill Ambassador of UNICEF in 1989 and thus began her humanitarian career. She would always say that she was grateful to be able to give back to the world after having recieved international aid as a child living through German occupation.
Hepburn was diagnosed with cancer in the early 1990's. She passed away in her sleep on January 20, 1993. The world shall forever remember the likes of Audrey Hepburn as a beacon of hope and a beautiful soul.
"How shall I sum up my life? I think I've been particularly lucky."
~ Audrey Hepburn
By The Northern Rose
Comments
Post a Comment