Audrey

Guess what day it is?!?!?

Well, the fifth of May.

But guess what yesterday was?!?!?!?

It was Star Wars day!!

This just bothers me...

If you don't know why, I may or may not hit you.

Just saying.

Anyway.... May the fourth be with you all! Happy belated Star Wars day!! Isn't this holiday just so fascinating? The play on words is just so witty...

But, wait! It wasn't just Star Wars day. It was also the birthday of one of the greatest women, like, ever! You may have heard her name or seen her face on the screen of your television, computer, or mobile device. If you haven't, well you are now!

It's Audrey Hepburn!

Since yesterday was her birthday, and since she is one of my absolute favourite actresses, I decided to celebrate with an Audrey appreciation post! I want to tell you readers all about this splendid woman who I wish I could've met!

Audrey Kathleen Ruston was born on 4 May, 1929 in Brussels, Belgium to a once-honorary British consul in the Dutch West Indies and a Dutch aristocrat.

I know what you're thinking, and yes. Her surname isn't 'Hepburn'. Her father, however, later changed his last name to Hepburn-Ruston, mistakenly believing that he was descended from James Hepburn-- the third husband of Mary, Queen of Scots. Audrey later took the name as her own in adulthood, thus explaining why we call her Audrey Hepburn and not Audrey Ruston.

Audrey spent her childhood living in Belgium, England, and the Netherlands. Her parents were members of the British Union of Fascists in the mid-1930s and her father became a Nazi sympathiser. Her parents divorced when she was young, because her father had an affair with the nanny (the scumbag!) and when Britain declared war on Germany in 1939, Audrey and her mother moved to Arnheim, Netherlands, assuming that the country would remain neutral and that that the Germans would not invade.

However, assumptions aren't always true, and in 1940, Germany invaded the Netherlands. Audrey used the pseudonym "Edda van Heemstra", because an English-sounding name was considered to be dangerous. She suffered from malnutrition, anemia, and breathing problems during her time in hiding during World War II. She secretly danced for money to aid the Dutch resistance and worked as a courier for the resistance-- delivering messages and packages.

In 1948, Audrey moved to London and she started to continue her study in ballet. Her instructor told her that she would never be a prima ballerina, because she was small and weak. She became a theatre actress and model, beginning to land small roles in films.

Audrey in the film Roman Holiday

In 1953, Audrey starred alongside Gregory Peck-- Atticus Finch in the film adaptation of the novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee-- in "Roman Holiday". With that film, she became the first actress to win an Academy Award, a Golden Globe, and a BAFTA all for a single performance!

"Breakfast At Tiffany's", "How To Steal A Million", "My Fair Lady", and "Charade"-- co-starring Cary Grant (otherwise known as my Old Hollywood boo-thing)-- are a few of her most popular films.

Audrey and Cary Grant

Audrey became a style icon and fashion phenomenon, wearing designer clothes, large hats, heavy eye makeup, and bright red lipstick. Audrey was known for her confidence, sometimes sporting extremely short hair and menswear at a time when most women opted for long hair and dresses. And man, could that girl pull off a pixie cut! She was quoted saying: "I believe in manicures. I believe in overdressing. I believe in primping at leisure and wearing lipstick. I believe in pink. I believe happy girls are the prettiest girls. I believe that tomorrow is another day, and I believe in miracles." In 1961, Audrey was named to the International Best-Dressed List Hall of Fame.

In 1954, she married film actor, director, and producer Mel Ferrer. After two miscarriages, they had one son-- Sean Hepburn-Ferrer-- but by this time, their marriage was falling apart and they divorced in 1968. She remarried in 1969 to Andrea Dotti, an Italian psychiatrist, and later had another son-- Luca Dotti. Audrey switched her focus from films to family life after the birth of her sons, saying: "I had to make a choice at one point in my life; of missing films or missing my children. It was a very easy decision to make because I missed my children so very much."

Audrey and Sean

Audrey and Luca

But hey! She wasn't just a pretty face!

Audrey never forgot the suffering she had endured in her youth, or the people who brought aid to her community at the end of World War II. She dedicated the latter portion of her life to helping impoverished people in Africa, South America, and Asia. In 1988, she was appointed a UNICEF Special Ambassador. Her first field mission involved a visit to an orphanage in Ethiopia and in 1989, Audrey was appointed Goodwill Ambassador. She continued with her efforts to help the disadvantaged until 1992-- helping to provide food, water, and medical aid. In Ankara, Turkey, she personally administered oral polio vaccine to infants.

After returning from Somalia in 1992-- which had affected her deeply, for drought and civil war had left the population starving to death and the hillsides covered with graves-- Audrey was diagnosed with cancer of the appendix, which soon spread to her colon and stomach. She died on 20 January, 1993, in Tolochenaz, Vaud, Switzerland.

Audrey Hepburn received many awards during her lifetime, both for her performances and for her humanitarian efforts. In 1992, she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, in recognition of her work as the Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF.

She is also ranked by the American Film Institute as the third greatest female screen legend in the history of American cinema, following Katharine Hepburn-- no relation-- and Bette Davis.

She was once quoted: "If my world were to cave in tomorrow, I would look back on all the pleasures, excitements and worthwhilenesses I have been lucky enough to have had. Not the sadness, not my miscarriages, or my father leaving home, but the joy of everything else. It will have been enough."

A few of my favourite Audrey quotes are:

"Nothing is impossible, the word itself says: 'I'm possible'!"

"The beauty of a woman is not in a facial mode, but the true beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul. It is the caring that she lovingly gives, the passion that she shows. The beauty of a woman grows with the passing years."

"I believe that laughing is the best calorie burner."

"I love people who make me laugh. I honestly think it's the thing I like most; to laugh. It cures a multitude of ills. It's probably the most important thing in a person."