The actress was born on May 4, 1929. Her star rose in 1953: With her role in William Wyler’s “A Heart and a Crown”, the then 24-year-old Audrey Hepburn became famous overnight. Previously she had appeared mainly as a musical singer and had taken on a few minor roles in films. But now she played the young Crown Princess Ann alongside Gregory Peck – and half the world fell in love with this doe-eyed, inexperienced, always a little shy girl. The actress was awarded an Oscar for her first leading role in 1954 and was a star from then on.
But Hepburn didn’t just become a well-known actress – she was almost an even bigger influence as a style icon of the 50s and 60s. While many female screen stars of the time presented themselves as voluptuous sex goddesses and emphasized their curves – such as Marilyn Monroe, Jane Russell, Kim Novak or Liz Taylor – Audrey Hepburn chose a different path: she used her girlish, delicate figure to wear the most elegant dresses to wear those years. While the principle “less is more” applied to Monroe and Co. when it came to their clothes, Hepburn developed into a fashion role model. Her association with fashion designer Hubert de Givenchy has given film history numerous unforgettable moments. Givenchy first dressed the actress in 1954 for the romantic comedy “Sabrina”, her wardrobe, which she wore in “Charade” and especially “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”, is also legendary.
Photographers contributed to Audrey Hepburn’s success
A number of famous photographers, who repeatedly photographed Hepburn over the years and thus transported her classic style to the media, also contributed to her image as a style icon. These include Richard Avedon, Bob Willoughby and Cecil Beaton. The effort was worth it: in 1961, Audrey Hepburn was in the List of the best dressed people included (International Best Dressed List).
The Schirmer/Mosel Verlag has an illustrated book published, which traces her path to becoming a modern icon. “Audrey Hepburn: Portraits of an Icon” contains 192 pages and costs 29.80 euros.