Audrey Hepburn, star of the silver screen and fashion icon, would have celebrated her 95th birthday today

The later star of the silver screen was born ninety-five years ago as Audrey Kathleen Ruston. She had respected and influential aristocratic ancestors, her mother was Baroness Ella van Heemstra. Her father, Audrey’s grandfather, made a name for himself in politics and diplomacy, serving as the governor of the Dutch colony of Suriname. Audrey’s father, whose full name is Joseph Victor Anthony Ruston, came to Belgium from Bohemia, from the village of Úžice in Mělník, where his father owned and operated a sugar factory. The Ruston family had its origins in England and Austria. They were also related to the British Hepburn family, which they believed belonged to the aristocracy. That’s also why Joseph started using the surname Hepburn after his marriage to Ella, perhaps to match the Dutch nobility’s social status.

Due to her multinational family background and her father’s occupation, which involved frequent travel (he worked as an international businessman), Audrey learned several foreign languages ​​from an early age. She soon mastered not only Dutch, but also English, German, French, Spanish and Italian. However, the father soon left the family and Audrey went to a private school in Kent, England. Before long, however, she returned to her mother’s native country, the Netherlands, where she graduated from a conservatory and ballet school.

The family in the Netherlands was greatly affected by the Second World War. Close relatives became victims of the Nazi regime, Audrey herself was involved in resistance activities – she helped distribute illegal printed materials, food or cared for the wounded and sick. During the war, she often suffered from hunger, which affected her health. She was very thin and anemic for the rest of her life.

After the end of the war, Audrey could continue her studies, especially her beloved ballet. Because of this, she moved to London, where she received a scholarship as a talented student and also earned extra money as an occasional model. The family in the Netherlands lost all its influence and property during the war, so all its members had to turn around in order to stabilize themselves financially.

Audrey, now exclusively using the surname Hepburn, eventually had to give up her dream of becoming a ballerina, her body was simply too weak for it. So in 1948, she took a different path, focusing on acting. She started on stage, then in 1952 she got her first big role in a film, that of a ballerina. Thanks to her education, she managed to dance all the scenes easily by herself.

A year later, Audrey Hepburn shone in her first leading role in the film Roman Holiday, where she portrayed a princess running away from her duties. The film was a huge success with audiences and critics, and Hepburn won an Oscar and a Golden Globe. She became a star and started filming one movie after another, among which we can name, for example, the films Sabrina (1954), War and Peace (1956), The Nun’s Tale (1959) or Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961). Hepburn curtailed her successful acting career in the 1970s. From this time, it is worth mentioning, for example, the film Robin and Mariana from 1976, in which Sean Connery starred alongside her.

Audrey Hepburn was not only a star of the silver screen, but also a fashion icon. For her time, she attracted attention with her unconventional and gentle feminine appearance, short hair, youthful face and slim figure. Compared to her actress colleagues, such as Marilyn Monroe or Elizabeth Taylor, she did not become a typical sex symbol, but a completely new ideal of female beauty. She paid for one of the best dressed women. Her court fashion designer was Hubert de Rivenchy, who created her film costumes and dresses for special occasions.

Success did not spoil Audrey Hepburn, on the contrary, she was able to use her popularity for a good cause. Already in 1954, she supported the humanitarian organization UNICEF, later she became involved herself as an ambassador in poor areas of Africa, South America or Asia. She completed a mission for UNICEF until she became seriously ill. In the fall of 1992, after returning from Somalia, she visited a doctor because of abdominal pain. A month later, she received a cruel diagnosis – cancer of the appendix. Although she underwent a difficult operation and subsequently chemotherapy, the disease spread rapidly. Audrey Hepburn wished to live on in her home in Switzerland, where she died on January 20, 1993 at the age of 63.