Audrey Hepburn Movies
Magical screen presence, fashion arbiter, shrine to good taste, and tireless crusader for children's rights, Audrey Hepburn has become one of the most enduring screen icons of the twentieth century. Best-known for her film roles in Breakfast at Tiffany's, My Fair Lady, Roman Holiday and Charade, Hepburn epitomized a waif-like glamour, combining charm, effervescence, and grace. When she died of colon cancer in 1993, the actress was the subject of endless tributes which mourned the passing of one who left an indelible imprint on the world, both on and off screen.Born into relative prosperity and influence on May 4, 1929, Hepburn was the daughter of a Dutch baroness and a wealthy British banker. Although she was born in Brussels, Belgium, her early years were spent traveling between England, Belgium, and the Netherlands because of her father's job. At the age of five, Hepburn was sent to England for boarding school; a year later, her father abandoned the family, something that would have a profound effect on the actress for the rest of her life. More upheaval followed in 1939, when her mother moved her and two sons from a previous marriage to the neutral Netherlands: the following year the country was invaded by the Nazis and Hepburn and her family were forced to endure the resulting hardships. During the German occupation, Hepburn suffered from malnutrition (which would permanently affect her weight), witnessed various acts of Nazi brutality, and at one point was forced into hiding with her family. One thing that helped her through the war years was her love of dance: trained in ballet since the age of five, Hepburn continued to study, often giving classes out of her mother's home.
It was her love of dance that ultimately led Hepburn to her film career. After the war, her family relocated to Amsterdam, where the actress continued to train as a ballerina and modeled for extra money. Hepburn's work led to a 1948 screen test and a subsequent small role in the 1948 Dutch film Nederlands in Zeven Lessen (Dutch in Seven Lessons). The same year, she and her mother moved to London, where Hepburn had been given a dance school scholarship. Continuing to model on the side, she decided that because of her height and lack of training, her future was not in dance. She tried out for and won a part in the chorus line of the stage show High Button Shoes and was soon working regularly on the stage. An offer from the British Pictures Corporation led to a few small roles, including one in 1951's The Lavender Hill Mob. A major supporting role in the 1952 film The Secret People led to Monte Carlo, Baby (1953), and it was during the filming of that movie that fate struck for the young actress in the form of a chance encounter with Colette. The famed novelist and screenwriter decided that Hepburn would be perfect for the title role in Gigi, and Hepburn was soon off to New York to star in the Broadway show.
It was at this time that the actress won her first major screen role in William Wyler's 1953 Roman Holiday. After much rehearsal and patience from Wyler (from whom, Hepburn remarked, she "learned everything"), Hepburn garnered acclaim for her portrayal of an incognito European princess, winning an Academy Award as Best Actress and spawning what became known as the Audrey Hepburn "look." More success came the following year with Billy Wilder's Sabrina. Hepburn won a Best Actress Oscar nomination for her performance in the title role, and continued to be a fashion inspiration, thanks to the first of many collaborations with the designer Givenchy, who designed the actress' gowns for the film.
Hepburn also began another collaboration that year, this time with actor/writer/producer Mel Ferrer. After starring with him in the Broadway production of Ondine (and winning a Tony in the process), Hepburn married Ferrer, and their sometimes tumultuous partnership would last for the better part of the next fifteen years. She went on to star in a series of successful films during the remainder of the decade, including War and Peace (1956), 1957's Funny Face, and The Nun's Story (1959), for which she won another Oscar nomination.
Following lukewarm reception for Green Mansions (1959) and The Unforgiven (1960), Hepburn won another Oscar nomination and a certain dose of icon status for her role as enigmatic party girl Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961). The role, and its accompanying air of cosmopolitan chic, would be associated with Hepburn for the rest of her life, and indeed beyond. However, the actress next took on an entirely different role with William Wyler's The Children's Hour (1961), a melodrama in which she played a girls' school manager suspected of having an "unnatural relationship" with her best friend (Shirley MacLaine).
In 1963, Hepburn returned to the realm of enthusiastic celluloid heterosexuality with Charade. The film was a huge success, thanks in part to a flawlessly photogenic pairing with Cary Grant (who had previously turned down the opportunity to work with Hepburn because of their age difference). The actress then went on to make My Fair Lady in 1964, starring opposite Rex Harrison as a cockney flower girl. The film provided another success for Hepburn, winning a score of Oscars and a place in motion picture history. After another Wyler collaboration, 1965's How to Steal a Million, as well as Two for the Road (1967) and the highly acclaimed Wait Until Dark (1967)--for which she won her fifth Oscar nomination playing a blind woman--Hepburn went into semi-retirement to raise her two young sons. Her marriage to Ferrer had ended, and she had married again, this time to Italian doctor Andrea Dotti. She came out of retirement briefly in 1975 to star opposite Sean Connery in Robin and Marian, but her subsequent roles were intermittent and in films of varying quality. Aside from appearances in 1979's Bloodline and Peter Bogdanovich's 1980 They All Laughed, Hepburn stayed away from film, choosing instead to concentrate on her work with starving children. After divorcing Dotti in the early 1980s, she took up with Robert Wolders; the two spent much of their time travelling the world as part of Hepburn's goodwill work. In 1987, the actress was officially appointed UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador; the same year she made her final television appearance in Love Among Thieves, which netted poor reviews. Two years later, she had her final film appearance as an angel in Steven Spielberg's Always.
Hepburn devoted the last years of her life to her UNICEF work, travelling to war-torn places like Somalia to visit starving children. In 1992, already suffering from colon cancer, she was awarded the Screen Actors' Guild Achievement Award. She died the next year, succumbing to her illness on January 20 at her home in Switzerland. The same year, she was posthumously awarded the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide

- 1994
- Add The Hollywood Collection: Audrey Hepburn Remembered to QueueAdd The Hollywood Collection: Audrey Hepburn Remembered to top of Queue
The 28-volume Hollywood Collection offers a comprehensive library chronicling the lives of Tinsel Town's famed studio performers. This video chronicles the life of Hollywood's last screen goddess. The intimate portrait of the ethereal beauty, narrated by Roger Moore, features interviews with family members and directors Billy Wilder, Stanley Donen, and Blake Edwards, as well as Henry Mancini and Gregory Peck. Video highlights include clips from Audrey Hepburn's most memorable films: Roman Holiday, Sabrina, Breakfast at Tiffany's, My Fair Lady, and more. Other tapes in the biography series include The Hollywood Collection: Anthony Quinn -- An Original, The Hollywood Collection: Gregory Peck -- His Own Man, and The Hollywood Collection: Cary Grant -- The Leading Man. ~ Sally Barber, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Audrey Hepburn
In this episode of the award-winning PBS series, visits are paid to colorful, sumptuous, and wistful flower gardens around the world -- including Monet's Giverny, exotic desert gardens, and many others. Hosted by elegant actress Audrey Hepburn, who wanders along the garden paths, makes observations about the plants and flowers, and reads excerpts from poetry and literature. Narration by actor Michael York provides historical background and other intriguing information. The series visits more than 50 lovely gardens around the globe, each volume having a specific theme. ~ Alice Duncan, All Movie Guide
Sumptuous gardens on tropical islands in the Caribbean and Pacific, where native plants include orchids and ginger, are visited in this program in the award-winning PBS series. Elegant actress Audrey Hepburn visits famous botanical gardens in the area, walks along the garden paths, makes observations about the plants, and reads excerpts from poetry and literature. Narration by actor Michael York provides historical background and other intriguing information. The series visits more than 50 lovely gardens around the world, each volume having a specific theme. ~ Alice Duncan, All Movie Guide
Inspiring, lovely, informal country gardens -- including romantic Italian gardens and cozy English cottage gardens -- are featured in this volume of the award-winning series, hosted by actress Audrey Hepburn. Hepburn, wearing graceful dresses, wanders along the garden paths, makes observations about the plants and flowers, and reads excerpts from poetry and literature. Narration by actor Michael York provides historical background and other intriguing information. The PBS series visits more than fifty beautiful gardens around the world, each volume having a specific theme. ~ Alice Duncan, All Movie Guide
Gardens all over the world that are home to lovely varieties of the fragrant, romantic rose are the focus of this program in the award-winning PBS series. Elegant actress Audrey Hepburn, wearing graceful dresses, wanders along the garden paths, makes observations about the flowers, and reads excerpts from poetry and literature. Narration by actor Michael York provides historical background and other intriguing information. The series visits more than 50 beautiful gardens around the globe, each volume having a specific theme. ~ Alice Duncan, All Movie Guide
Remarkable historic parks and gardens -- including gardens that have been restored at the American historical landmark, Mt. Vernon, and the varied public gardens of Paris -- are featured in this volume of the award-winning PBS series hosted by elegant actress Audrey Hepburn. Hepburn, wearing graceful dresses, wanders along the garden paths, makes observations about the flowers, and reads excerpts from poetry and literature. Narration by actor Michael York provides historical background and other intriguing information. The series visits more than 50 lovely gardens around the world, each volume having a specific theme. ~ Alice Duncan, All Movie Guide
Europe's formal gardens -- some of them several centuries old -- are featured in this volume of the award-winning PBS series, hosted by elegant actress Audrey Hepburn. Hepburn, wearing graceful dresses, wanders along the garden paths, makes observations about the flowers, and reads excerpts from poetry and literature. Narration by actor Michael York provides historical background and other worthwhile information. The series visits more than 50 lovely gardens around the world, each volume having a specific theme. ~ Alice Duncan, All Movie Guide
As spring is welcomed by glorious fields and gardens full of brilliant flowers, this award-winning documentary takes viewers to tulip-filled Holland, one of the most famous and abundant bulb-producing regions in the world. Elegant actress Audrey Hepburn walks along garden paths, makes observations about the flowers, and reads excerpts from poetry and literature. Narration by actor Michael York provides historical background and other intriguing information. The series visits more than 50 lovely gardens around the globe, each volume having a specific theme. ~ Alice Duncan, All Movie Guide
Japanese gardens -- delicate and serene yet controlled and orderly -- are featured in this episode of the award-winning PBS series, hosted by actress Audrey Hepburn. The grounds of ancient temples and palaces, the quiet paths of Shinshin-an, the moss garden at Saijo-ji, Katsura's Detached Palace, and the teahouses at Hakusanso are featured. Narration by actor Michael York provides historical background and intriguing information. The series visits more than 50 lovely gardens around the globe, each volume having a specific theme. ~ Alice Duncan, All Movie Guide
For all its state-of-the-art special effects, Always is essentially a remake of the 1943 Spencer Tracy-Irene Dunne fantasy vehicle A Guy Named Joe--minus the wartime context. Richard Dreyfuss stars as a reckless fire-fighting pilot who is killed in what was to have been his final mission. Ascending to Heaven, Dreyfuss is introduced to businesslike angel Audrey Hepburn (playing the equivalent of the Lionel Barrymore role in A Guy Named Joe). Hepburn instructs the spectral Dreyfuss to pass on his aviation knowhow to his young successor, Brad Johnson. Our ghostly hero also smoothes the course of romance for his earthly girl friend Holly Hunter, who after several months' worth of grieving has fallen in love with Johnson. John Goodman injects a dose of comedy relief as Dreyfuss' faithful buddy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Dreyfuss, Holly Hunter, (more)

- 1988
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Gregory Peck narrates his film biography complete with movie clips and interviews with friends. ~ All Movie Guide
Made for TV on a feature-film budget, Love Among Thieves stars Audrey Hepburn and Robert Wagner--but fails to be worthy of the talents of either star. Ms. Hepburn plays a widowed baroness and classical pianist, who steals three Faberge eggs from a museum in order to ransom her kidnapped fiance. En route to the "drop", Audrey is rescued from a mysterious assailant (Jerry Orbach) by suave stranger Robert Wagner. Wagner proceeds to demonstrate that he's not all he seems by swiping the valuable jeweled eggs. The rest of the film is a maelstrom of double-crosses, clinches and hairbreadth escapes, all evidently intended to emulate Hepburn's 1963 theatrical feature Charade and Wagner's popular 1960s TV series It Takes a Thief. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
This excellent biographical documentary looks at the life and work of director William Wyler. The film is dominated by clips from many of Wyler's better-known works, such as Roman Holiday, Ben-Hur, and Funny Girl. A long interview with the director himself (conducted a few days before he died) provides his personal perspective on his work and interviews with his actors and colleagues offer some surprising comments about the man. Terence Stamp feels Wyler may not have had a good command of English, while Laurence Olivier notes that Wyler taught him how to drop theatrical exaggerations and act for the camera. Bette Davis gives the most extensive commentary. Excerpts from home movies show Wyler and his family on vacation and also record a bit of the making of Wuthering Heights. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Wyler, Bette Davis, (more)
Hosted by the American Film Institute, this video is a tribute to career of Billy Wilder. Included are excerpts from the following: The Apartment, Some Like it Hot and Sunset Boulevard. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide
Wait Until Dark is an innovative, highly entertaining and suspenseful thriller about a blind housewife, Susy Hendrix (Audrey Hepburn). Independent and resourceful, Susy is learning to cope with her blindness, which resulted from a recent accident. She is aided by her difficult, slightly unreliable young neighbor Gloria (Julie Herrod) with whom she has an exasperated but lovingly maternal relationship. Susy's life is changed as she is terrorized by a group of criminals who believe she has hidden a baby doll used by them to smuggle heroin into the country. Unknown to Susy, her photographer husband Sam (Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) took the doll as a favor for a woman he met on an international plane flight and unwittingly brought the doll to the couple's New York apartment when the woman became afraid of the customs officials. Alone in her apartment and cut-off from the outside world, Susy must fight for her life against a gang of ruthless criminals, led by the violent, psychotic Roat (Alan Arkin). The tension builds as Roat, aided by his gang, impersonates police officers and friends of her husband in order to win Susy's confidence, gaining access to her apartment to look for the doll. The climax of the film, a violent physical confrontation between Susie and Roat in her dark kitchen, is one of the most memorable and frightening scenes in screen history. All performances are outstanding, particularly those of Audrey Hepburn who plays a vulnerable, but self-reliant woman, and Alan Arkin, in perhaps his best role, as the ruthless, manipulative Roat. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Audrey Hepburn, Alan Arkin, (more)
In preparing his romantic comedy Two For the Road, director Stanley Donen decided to utilize many of the cinematic techniques popularized by the French "nouvelle vague" filmmakers. Jump cutting back and forth in time with seeming abandon, Donen and scriptwriter Frederic Raphael chronicle the 12-year relationship between architect Wallace (Albert Finney) and his wife (Audrey Hepburn). While backpacking through Europe, student Finney falls for lovely music student Jacqueline Bisset, but later settles for Hepburn, another aspiring musician (this vignette served as the launching pad for the film-within-a-film in Francois Truffaut's 1973 classic Day for Night). Once married, Finney and Hepburn go on a desultory honeymoon, travelling in the company of insufferable American tourists William Daniels and Eleanor Bron and their equally odious daughter Gabrielle Middleton. Later on, during yet another road trip, Finney is offered an irresistible job opportunity by Claude Dauphin, which ultimately distances Finney from his now-pregnant wife. Still remaining on the road, the film then details Finney and Hepburn's separate infidelities. The film ends where it begins, with Finney and Hepburn taking still another road vacation, hoping to sew up their unraveling marriage. While critics did nip-ups over Stanley Donen's "revolutionary" nonlinear story-telling techniques, audiences responded to the chemistry between Audrey Hepburn and Albert Finney, not to mention the unforgettable musical score by Henry Mancini. Note: many TV prints of Two for the Road are edited for content, robbing the viewer of Finney and Hepburn's delightful "Bitch/Bastard" closing endearments. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Audrey Hepburn, Albert Finney, (more)
In this elegant "caper" film, Audrey Hepburn stars as the daughter of a wealthy Parisian (Hugh Griffith), whose hobby is copying famous works of art. His replica of a famed Cellini sculpture is inadvertently displayed in an art museum, and he begins to worry that he'll lose his reputation once the experts evaluate the statuette. Audrey decides to rob the museum, and hires a burglar (Peter O'Toole) for that purpose. But the burglar is really a detective, who has every intention of arresting Audrey and her father when the deed is done. All style and little substance, How to Steal a Million is consummately acted by the stars, but the film is stolen hands-down by a "double take" reaction from French comic actor Moustache. The film was originally titled How to Steal a Million Dollars and Live Happily Ever After, which gave the whole game away and thus was pared down before release. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Audrey Hepburn, Peter O'Toole, (more)
Richard Quine directs George Axelrod's acerbic script (adapted from Julien Duvivier's La Fête à Henriette) in this romantic comedy that reunites William Holden and Audrey Hepburn for the first time since 1954's Sabrina. Holden plays Richard Benson, a Hollywood screenwriter being pressured by movie producer Alexander Meyerheimer (Noël Coward) to finish his script entitled "The Girl Who Stole the Eiffel Tower." Meyerheimer gives Richard a two-day ultimatum to complete his work, unaware that Richard has yet to even start on the script. In an effort to get moving on his project, Richard hires a live-in secretary, Gabrielle Simpson (Audrey Hepburn), to help him. Soon enough, the two fall in love and spend the time enacting various scenes from the unwritten screenplay as the time slips away and Richard's deadline looms. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Holden, Audrey Hepburn, (more)
Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn star in this stylish comedy-thriller directed by Stanley Donen, very much in a Hitchcock vein. Grant plays Peter Joshua, who meets Reggie Lampert (Hepburn) in Paris and later offers to help her when she discovers that her husband has been murdered. After the funeral, Reggie is summoned to the embassy and warned by agent/friend Bartholemew (Walter Matthau) that her late husband helped steal 250,000 dollars during the war and that the rest of the gang is after the money as well. When three of the men who attended her husband's funeral begin to harass her, Reggie goes to Joshua for help, at which time Joshua confesses that his name is actually Alexander Dyle, the brother of a fourth accomplice in the gold theft. The three men from the funeral are revealed to be the three other accomplices in the crime, and though she knows next to nothing of the heist, Reggie is caught in a ring of suspense as she is followed by the shadowy trio, all after the money. Apparently, the only person she can trust is Joshua/Dyle -- until Bartholomew tells Reggie that the fourth accomplice had no brother, and Joshua/Dyle reveals that he is, in fact, a crook named Adam Canfield. Now Reggie doesn't know where to turn. The musical score by Johnny Mercer and Henry Mancini was nominated for an Academy Award. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cary Grant, Audrey Hepburn, (more)
Based on the 1934 play by Lillian Hellman, The Children's Hour is set at an exclusive girl's school managed by best friends Audrey Hepburn and Shirley MacLaine. When student Karen Balkin is punished for one of her many misdeeds, the mean-spirited youngster rushes to her wealthy aunt Fay Bainter, and, randomly choosing a phrase she has undoubtedly read in some magazine, accuses Hepburn and MacLaine of having an "unnatural relationship." As Balkin's lies grow in viciousness, the student's parents withdraw their children from the school. Hepburn and MacLaine sue Bainter for libel, only to lose their case when MacLaine's aunt Miriam Hopkins refuses to testify as a character witness. The trial takes its toll on the relationship between Hepburn and her boyfriend James Garner. When Bainter discovers that her niece has been lying, she tries to make amends, but it is too late. Director William Wyler had also helmed the first film version of Children's Hour, 1936's These Three, which due to censorship restrictions of the time did without the lesbian angle (the little girl's accusations involved a supposed romantic triangle between the two ladies and a male friend). Miriam Hopkins, who plays a supporting role in The Children's Hour, originally essayed the Shirley MacLaine role in These Three. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Audrey Hepburn, Shirley MacLaine, (more)
In an idealized New York City during the early '60s, Holly Golightly (Audrey Hepburn) is a charming socialite with a youthful zest for life who lives alone in a nearly bare apartment. She has such a flippant lifestyle that she won't even give her cat a name, because that would be too much of a commitment to a relationship. Maintaining a childlike innocence yet wearing the most perfect of designer clothes and accessories from Givenchy, she spends her time on expensive dates and at high-class parties. She escorts various wealthy men, yet fails to return their affections after they have given her gifts and money. Holly's carefree independence is changed when she meets her neighbor, aspiring writer Paul (George Peppard), who is suffering from writer's block while being kept by a wealthy woman (Patricia Neal). Just when Holly and Paul are developing their sweet romance, Doc (Buddy Ebsen) appears on the scene and complicates matters, revealing the truth about Holly's past. Breakfast at Tiffany's was nominated for several Academy awards, winning Best Score for Henry Mancini and Best Song for Johnny Mercer's classic tune "Moon River". ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Audrey Hepburn, George Peppard, (more)
One of Hollywood's most famous and acclaimed directors, John Huston guides this western with an unerring hand -- the cast of notable stars is no drawback either. Setting up the story with a series of suspenseful scenes, Huston has a mysterious stranger on horseback come into a small community in the Texas Panhandle and then proceed to cause a mini-war. The time is the mid-19th century and there is already antagonism between the white settlers in the community and the local Kiowa Indian nation. The Zachary family is at the crux of the trouble. Matilda (Lillian Gish) is the matriarch who holds a family secret -- her adopted daughter Rachel (Audrey Hepburn) is actually a Kiowa child. There are three brothers in the Zachary family, and one of them, Ben (Burt Lancaster) is obviously in love with Rachel. Another, Cash (Audie Murphy) hates Native Americans, while the youngest (Doug McClure) is there to defend the family when they need it. The stranger on horseback has done the unthinkable, he has made it widely known that Rachel is a Kiowa -- and then the battles begin. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Burt Lancaster, Audrey Hepburn, (more)
Audrey Hepburn stars in The Nun's Story as Sister Luke, postulant of a Belgian order of nuns. Though frequently disillusioned in her efforts to spread good will -- at one point she is nearly killed by a mental patient (Colleen Dewhurst) -- Sister Luke perseveres. Sent as a nurse to the Belgian Congo, an assignment she'd been hoping for, Sister Luke is disappointed to learn that she will not be ministering to the natives but to European patients. Through the example of no-nonsense chief surgeon Peter Finch, the nun sheds her idealism and becomes a diligent worker -- so much so that she contracts tuberculosis. Upon the outbreak of World War II, Sister Luke tries to honor the edicts of her order and not take sides, but this becomes impossible when her father (Dean Jagger) is killed by the Nazis. Realizing that she cannot remain true to her vows, Sister Luke leaves the order and returns to "civilian" life. The Nun's Story ends with a long, silent sequence in which Sister Luke divests herself of her religious robes, dons street garb, and walks out to an uncertain future. There is no background music: director Fred Zinnemann decided that "triumphant" music would indicate that Sister Luke's decision was the right one, while "tragic" music would suggest that she is doing wrong. Rather than make an editorial comment, the director decided against music, allowing the audience members to fill in the blanks themselves. The Nun's Story is based on the book by Kathryn Hulme, whose depiction of convent life was a lot harsher and more judgmental than anything seen in the film. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Audrey Hepburn, Peter Finch, (more)
This romantic drama set in a Venezuelan jungle is based on a novel by W.H. Hudson about Rima, a mythical "bird-woman" and her love for Abel, a man running from political assassination. In this adaptation, Rima (Audrey Hepburn) is a real woman living in the jungle with her adopted grandfather Nuflo (Lee J. Cobb). Abel (Anthony Perkins) escapes his pursuers and meets Rima after a local tribe has taken him under their wing. The unlikely couple fall in love but Abel is haunted by his desire to go back into his world to avenge his father's murder at the hand of his political rivals. While he is struggling with his own dilemma, the local tribe is beginning to believe that Rima is an evil spirit they must destroy. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Audrey Hepburn, Anthony Perkins, (more)





















