Her name is synonymous with elegance, style, and grace. Over the course of her extraordinary life and career, Audrey Hepburn captured hearts around the world and created a public image that stands as one of the most recognizable and beloved in recent memory. But despite her international fame and her tireless efforts on behalf of UNICEF, Audrey was also known for her intense privacy. With unprecedented access to studio archives, friends, and colleagues who knew and loved her, best-selling author Donald Spoto provides an intimate and moving account of this beautiful, elusive, and talented woman.Tracing her astonishing rise to stardom, from her harrowing childhood in Nazi-controlled Holland during World War II to her years as a struggling ballet dancer in London and her Tony Award-winning Broadway debut in Gigi, Spoto illuminates the origins of Audrey's tenacious spirit and fiercely passionate nature.
She would go on to star in some of the most popular movies of the 20th century, including Roman Holiday, Sabrina, Funny Face, The Nun's Story, Breakfast at Tiffany's, and My Fair Lady. A friend and inspiration to renowned designer Hubert de Givenchy, Audrey emerged as a fashion icon as well as a film legend. Her influence on women's fashion is unparalleled to this day.
But behind the glamorous public persona, Audrey Hepburn was both a different and a deeper person, and a woman who craved love and affection. Donald Spoto offers remarkable insights into her professional and personal relationships with her two husbands and with such celebrities as Gregory Peck, William Holden, Fred Astaire, Gary Cooper, Robert Anderson, Cary Grant, Peter O'Toole, Albert Finney, and Ben Gazzara.