Audrey’s mother concerned with her being withdrawn, decided to send young Audrey to a boarding school which Audrey described as “shock therapy:” “From a very early age, she was always rather shy, and withdrawn, and introspective and it had gotten to the point where her mother was worried about her. So her mother sent her to a boarding school in England as ‘shock therapy’ and it evidently worked.”

Audrey excelled at school and even took interest in dance. But tensions continued to worsen and Audrey’s father soon divorced the baroness and completely abandoned the family, an abandonment that would forever leave Audrey feeling scarred and insecure:

As World War II broke-out in Europe in 1939, Audrey’s mother decided to relocate them to her native country, the Netherlands as the baroness believed the country would be safe because of its neutral status. But on May 10, 1940, the Netherlands was invaded by Nazi Germany. While under Nazi occupation, Audrey and her family had to endure nightmarish hardships, suffering terrible famine and starvation which historians refer to as “The Dutch Hunger Winter.” It was so severe that Audrey had to eat chewed up bulbs and cooked grass:

“There are so many images that will never go away. I saw these German tanks coming for hours, marching, driving. Holland fell after five days. There was a knock on the door and they took my uncle away who six months later was shot and another uncle, too, and my brothers went underground. But, a child is a child, is a child! You live by the day.”

On May 5, 1945, Just a day after her 16th birthday, the Nazi occupation had ended and the Netherlands were liberated. Within days UNRRA (United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration) had brought emergency supplies and food to the Dutch. The humanitarianism by UNRRA would forever give Audrey a new lease on life and inspired her to provide the same to others so desperately in need.

“The day we were liberated was so exciting and that’s when life started again. As soon as I could, I wanted desperately to become a dancer and I got a scholarship in the Rambert Ballet School in London.”

After the war, Audrey and her mother relocated to London, England where Audrey continued to pursue her dream of becoming a ballerina. But at 19 years old, Audrey’s dreams could never be materialized as she was told she was too tall and too old to ever become a ballerina: “I was never going to be a great dancer. I was too tall. I didn’t have the training that I should’ve had when I was young because of the war and so forth.”

Dismayed but not deterred, Audrey Hepburn still committed herself to the stage, receiving a few modeling assignments from fashion photographers, taking acting classes, and in 1948, made her first stage debut as a chorus girl in the musical High Button Shoes in London, where a few more small parts followed. Two years later Audrey made her feature film debut in 1951’s One Wild Oat, the, Young Wives’ Tales and Lavender Hill Mob, starring Alec Guiness.

Audrey would return to the screen in one of her most defining roles ever as an flamboyant and fashionably chic call girl in Blake Edward’s breakout romantic comedy Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961). Audrey now at the height of her career went on to star in cinematic hits like The Children’s Hour (1961), Charade (1963), Paris When It Sizzles (1964), My Fair Lady (1964), and How To Steal a Million (1966).

After nearly 16 years as a lead Hollywood actress, in 1967 Audrey Hepburn separated from her husband and semi-retired from acting, where she wouldn’t do another film until 1976. Although Audrey mostly starred in romantic comedies, from Roman Holiday (1953) to How to Steal a Million (1966), each successive Hepburn performance was nothing short of sensational and completely outdid the last.

Despite not having any formal training as an actress, Audrey was a natural and possessed great depth such as her work in Fred Zinnermann’s The Nun’s Story (1959), William Wyler’s The Children’s Hour (1961), Stanley Donen’s Two for the Road (1967), and Terence Young’s psychological thriller Wait Until Dark (1967). Almost every poll or list of note of greatest Hollywood actresses of all time like AFI’s (American Film Institute) 100 Years… 100 Stars, Audrey is always ranked in the top 5 or 10, and several of her films are deemed culturally significant, given universal high marks by critics and fans alike.

Whether on or off the camera, from the big screen to fashion shoots, Audrey without a doubt was the fashion icon of the 20th Century and even today, you can see her look and style emulated throughout the cultural landscape. Owing to her learned poise, steaming from years performing ballet, Audrey maximized her innate elegance and simplicity to achieve a look that was so unlike anyone else’s of the time. To Simple tops, beat-necks, ballet flats, headscarfs, to her iconic little black dress, Audrey’s looks were so timeless and exquisite.

“She’d tell me something. I always remember and very touching. She said, ‘You know, when I’d wear a white blouse or a little suit you create for me, I have the feeling to be protect [sic] by your suit or by your blouse, and this protection is very important to me.’” Hubert de Givenchy

Left: Dresses designed by Cecil Beaton

Although Audrey Hepburn was so revered by the public and thought to be one of the most beautiful women in the world at the time, she couldn’t understand their adulation and never saw herself as beautiful:

“She didn’t think she was particularly beautiful or striking. She did feel she was awkward and too thin and maybe not as appealing as other movie stars. And so she always looked at the fact that she was so famous as kind of a freak accident of nature.”

According to Luca Dotti, Audrey Hepburn’s son, in the recent book Warrior: Audrey Hepburn authored by Robert Matzen, at the age of 60 years old, Audrey braved bombs and bullets in the most dangerous war zones like Somalia in the world to give aid and shine a light on nightmarish conditions children had to survive in underdeveloped countries. “‘I love this woman,’” says Matzen. “Warrior is the story of a genuine hero who signed on to UNICEF and then drove herself mercilessly for the cause.”

After nearly four years of tireless humanitarian work for UNICEF, Audrey Hepburn was diagnosed with colon cancer. Given just months to live, she returned to her home in Switzerland to be with her sons Sean and Luca, and long time partner, Robert Wolders. On January 20, 1993, Hepburn passed away in her sleep.

Audrey Hepburn was just as insecure, as unsure of herself as the rest of us. But she beautifully braved the human condition. She showed us an inner beauty that is unselfishly in the service of others, a goodwill that can transform the world for the better, an outward manifestation of love that can mend our inner sadness and pain if we let it. She was the embodiment of love and on the stage of life, she shined like nobody else.