Audrey Hepburn's Son On Late Actress — Her World War II Experience, Stardom, And Relationships:

Jan 02, 2021 by apost team

It has been 27 years since the death of famous Belgian-born actress Audrey Hepburn. This past October, her son, Sean Hepburn Ferrer, decided to honor the memory of his late mother with a children’s book, which came out in the fall of 2020. He also sat for interviews in 2020 to talk about the late actress. In this article, we'll take a look back on Audrey Hepburn's life while exploring her son's new book.

Audrey Hepburn was born on May 4, 1929, in Brussels, Belgium, at a place known as number 48 Rue Keyenveld, Ixelles in Belgium. Her mother was a noblewoman from the Netherlands, and her grandfather was Governor of the Dutch colony and Guiana.

Hepburn's father, Joseph Victor Anthony Ruston, was a Briton born in what is today the Czech Republic. He left Hepburn and her mother when she was only 6 years old. Her mother had to move with Hepburn to Arnhem, and the child was sent to live in England in a place called Kent. In England, Hepburn was known as “Little Audrey” or Audrey Ruston. She went to school at a small independent school based in Elham. She later met her father through the Red Cross in Dublin. He was never emotionally attached to his daughter, according to a 1989 story in Parade Magazine. However, that did not stop the great actress from supporting her father late in his life.

During his recent interview with The Sun, Sean Hepburn Ferrer opened up about his mother, telling reporters that his mother’s first marriage was difficult. Her mother was first married to his father, Mel Ferrer. He also talked about his new children's book: Little Audrey's Daydream: The Life of Audrey Hepburn.

Audrey Hepburn's son said that he wrote the book to motivate children through the struggles that his mother endured.

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Sean Hepburn Ferrer's book contains details about Audrey Hepburn’s childhood moments while growing up in Holland, according to Today. It also explores her experience during World War II and her struggle to survive as she held on to her dream.

The late actress is said to have been a part of the Dutch resistance against the Nazis in the Second World War, Time reports. Audrey Hepburn's mother moved her back to Arnhem from England in 1939 when Britain declared war on Germany. She took the time to attend the Arnhem Conservatory until 1945 and was taking ballet lessons at that time. She would later change her name to Edda Van Heemstra during the German occupation.

Using her ballerina skills, Audrey Hepburn helped raise money in support of the resistance. She held performances in various underground events that were referred to as “black evenings” for the resistance. Audrey Hepburn managed to handle the choreography on her own as Ella, her mother, supported her by making her costumes. Audrey Hepburn also worked for the resistance leader as a messenger. While doing her work one day, she almost got caught by German soldiers.

“I did indeed give various underground concerts to raise money for the Dutch Resistance movement," Audrey Hepburn said in an interview, according to Time. "I danced at recitals, designing the dances myself. I had a friend who played the piano and my mother made the costumes. They were very amateurish attempts, but nevertheless at the time, when there was very little entertainment, it amused people and gave them an opportunity to get together and spend a pleasant afternoon listening to music and seeing my humble attempts. The recitals were given in houses with windows and doors closed, and no one knew they were going on. Afterwards, money was collected and given to the Dutch Underground.”

Upon her uncle’s death during the war, Audrey Hepburn and her mother Ella moved to Velp, Netherlands, to live with her grandfather.

And following the D-Day Allied landings in France, life in Arnhem got worse. This was mainly after Operation Market Garden. It even became worse during the winter of 1944 as the Netherlands was struck by famine. The Germans went ahead to block routes of resupply for the Dutch people, and this made life so tough for them. The blocking also affected the Netherlands' supply of fuel. This meant that their retaliation via railway strikes that were aimed at stopping German occupation was largely affected. The Dutch were nearly paralyzed.

During this hard time, Hepburn's family started to use tulip bulbs to make flour. They used the flour to bake cakes and biscuits for survival. Due to malnutrition, Audrey Hepburn developed edema, respiratory problems, and acute anemia. The Hepburns' financial situation was also greatly affected by the German occupation, and their properties were destroyed. When the war ended in 1945, Audrey Hepburn moved to Amsterdam together with her siblings and mother.

After the war, Audrey Hepburn started to train under a top ballerina in Holland named Sonia Gaskell. Her mother, Ella, worked as a cook and housekeeper for one rich family to support her children. When her family moved to Amsterdam, they were financially strained as most of their wealth was destroyed during the war.

It was in 1948 when Audrey Hepburn starred in her first film Dutch in Seven Lessons. This was an educational travel film that was made by Henry Josephson and Charles Van der Linden. Later in 1948, Audrey Hepburn accepted a ballet scholarship working with Ballet Rambert, and she moved to London. To support herself financially, she would also do part-time work as a model. However, she stopped doing ballet after Rambert told her that her weak constitution and height would not work for ballet. It was at that point when she decided to focus on acting.

In 1948, Audrey Hepburn appeared in the High Button Shoes by West End musical theatre as a chorus girl. She also appeared in Sauce Tartare by Cecil Landeau in 1949 as well as Sauce Piquante at Cambridge Theatre in 1950. It was during her time working at the theater that she worked with actor Felix Aylmer doing elocution lessons to work on her voice. While acting in Sauce Piquante, a casting director spotted her, and she got registered with the Associated British Picture Corporation (ABPC) as a freelance actress. Audrey later appeared in The Silent Village, a BBC Television play. In 1951, she had minor roles in The Lavender Hill Mob, Laughter in Paradise, One Wild Oat, and the Young Wives’ Tale.

Audrey Hepburn got her first main supporting role in 1952, acting in The Secret People. This was a film by Thorold Dickinson, and the supporting role was that of a prodigious ballerina. Audrey was then offered a minor role in 1952 in the film Monte Carlo Baby, a film in both English and French. This film was done in Monte Carlo at the same time the French novelist Colette was visiting Hôtel de Paris in the area.

This chance meeting ultimately led to her Audrey being cast in the Broadway play version of Colette's Gigi. She underwent private coaching for this role, as she had no experience speaking on stage. Gigi premiered in 1951 at the Fulton Theatre, and Audrey’s performance was met with outstanding reviews.

In 1953, Audrey Hepburn starred in Roman Holiday as Princess Ann. This was after the play’s director, William Wyler, loved her screen test and decided to cast her. From the film, Audrey Hepburn gained great popularity and even won various awards that year. The awards included a BAFTA Award for Best British Actress, an Academy Award as Best Actress and Golden Globe Award for Best Actress. Audrey Hepburn also received recognition from various contemporary critics. 

Audrey Hepburn was even featured on the cover of Time magazine in September of 1953. Around that time, she also got signed with Paramount for a seven-picture contract. It seemed like she got famous overnight for her lovely personal style.

Audrey Hepburn’s career as an actress was quite successful, though her love-life had great difficulties. According to Sean Hepburn Ferrer, his father was temperamental and a “neurotic" perfectionist who made his marriage with his mother very problematic.

Audrey Hepburn eventually remarried Andrea Dotti, a psychiatrist from Italy, though her luck with men did not improve. Dotti had numerous affairs with different women, which took its toll on their love life. With Dotti, the actress had her youngest son Luca Andrea Dotti.

In his sit-down interview with Today, Sean Hepburn Ferrer recounted some of these experiences and his mother's legacy. His book also looks at the late Audrey’s humanitarian work, the many miscarriages she had, as well as her battle with cancer. He intends to have all proceedings from the book go into supporting EURORDIS, a non-governmental organization that supports rare disease research in Europe, according to Today.

Audrey Hepburn, who died at the age of 63 after a battle with cancer in 1993, will undoubtedly live on in her son's new book. And just as Sean Hepburn Ferrer learned from his mother's incredible life, he hopes telling her story will teach readers important lessons.

“It's OK to choose your path, have a dream, not a fake one, and never let it get to your head then,” he explained in an interview with Today. “And that the nice guy in this case, the humble person, the true one... can also succeed once in a lifetime."

“She always used to say, ‘If you ever have a doubt in life, do what's best for the other person. Take yourself out of the equation and you will see magically, everything will work out.’”

Audrey Hepburn lived a life of purpose and continues to receive admiration from many people to date. What are your thoughts on Audrey? Do you think her life is an inspiration that teaches the value of impacting lives and not only living for ourselves?