Birth Name: Audrey Kathleen Hepburn-Ruston (from Audrey Hepburn: An Elegant Spirit by Sean Hepburn Ferrer)

Father: Joseph Hepburn-Ruston

Mother: Ella van Heemstra (a Dutch baroness)

Birth Place: Brussels, Belgium

Birth Date: May 4, 1929

Death Date: January 20, 1993

Place of Death: Tolochenaz, Switzerland

Nationality: British

Education: Arnhem Conservatory (ballet). Studied ballet with Sonia Gaskel and acting with Felix Aylmer

Husbands: Andrea Dotti (psychiatrist, married in 1969; divorced) and Mel Ferrer (actor; married in 1954, divorced in 1968)

Sons: Sean Ferrer (film producer and the work with the Audrey Hepburn Children's Fund; father: Mel Ferrer) and Luca Dotti (graphic artist; father: Andrea Dotti)

Audrey Hepburn ~ Quips and Quotes

"I never think of myself as an icon. What is in other people's minds is not in my mind. I just do my thing."

"I never thought I'd land in pictures with a face like mine."

"I probably hold the distinction of being one movie star who, by all laws of logic, should never have made it. At each stage of my career, I lacked the experience."

"People associate me with a time when movies were pleasant, when women wore pretty dresses in films and you heard beautiful music. I always love it when people write me and say 'I was having a rotten time, and I walked into a cinema and saw one of your movies, and it made such a difference."

"I decided, very early on, just to accept life unconditionally; I never expected it to do anything special for me, yet I seemed to accomplish far more than I had ever hoped. Most of the time it just happened to me without my ever seeking it."

"My own life has been much more than a fairy tale. I've had my share of difficult moments, but whatever difficulties I've gone through, I've always gotten a prize at the end. For me, the only things of interest are those linked to the heart."

"My look is attainable. Women can look like Audrey Hepburn by flipping out their hair, buying the large sunglasses, and the little sleeveless dresses."

"Success is like reaching an important birthday and finding you're exactly the same."

"I know I have more sex appeal on the tip of my nose than many women in their entire bodies. It doesn't stand out a mile, but it's there."

"I was born with an enormous need for affection, and a terrible need to give it."

"My life isn't theories and formulas. It's part instinct, part common sense. Logic is as good a word as any, and I've absorbed what logic I have from everything and everyone... from my mother, from training as a ballet dancer, from Vogue magazine, from the laws of life and health and nature."

"I tried always to do better: saw always a little further. I tried to stretch myself."

"On the one hand maybe I've remained infantile, while on the other I matured quickly, because at a young age I was very aware of suffering and fear."

"I went through a period of first success. Then there was the inevitable change: the bad newspaper articles. Some people don't care about that, but I do. I'm hurt. I feel it. I don't think I've done anything dreadful. Sometimes you do things for reasons the press doesn't know. But I'm happy to go on as I have."

"There must be something wrong with those people who think Audrey Hepburn doesn't perspire, hiccup or sneeze, because they know that's not true. I n fact, I hiccup more than most."

"I've been lucky. Opportunities don't often come along. So, when they do, you have to grab them."

"Making movies is very hard, unglamorous work."

"I never expected to be a star, never counted on it, never even wanted it. Not that I didn't enjoy it all when it happened."

"My first dream was to be a ballet dancer. I didn't know about success at all. You can only hope to get a combination of happy work and a happy life."

"If I'm honest I have to tell you I still read fairy-tales and I like them best of all."

"There's a very big division between what1s in the public eye and what you feel about yourself. I never saw in myself what other people saw in me."

"Truly, I've never been concerned with any public image. It would drive me around the bend if I worried about the pedestal others have put me on. And also I don't believe it."

"I heard a definition once: 'Happiness is health and a short memory!' I wish I'd invented it, because it's very true."

"Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, it's at the end of your arm, as you get older, remember you have another hand: The first is to help yourself, the second is to help others."