“I am not beautiful. My mother once called me an ugly duckling. But, listed separately I have a few good features. “(Woodward 45). Who would have thought this “ugly duckling” would blossom into such a beautiful and talented actress. Audrey Hepburn took a difficult childhood and effortlessly turned it into a gilded fairytale. Early in life Audrey was faced with both social and family oriented conflicts. Her parents fought and in 1938 her father left Audrey and her mother. Audrey recalls the leaving of her father as “the most traumatic event in my life.
As a young child it is difficult to cope with parents arguing and even more emotional damage was brought upon Audrey with the leaving of her father. As a result of her father’s absence Audrey had problems socially. Audrey was teased for her size, the way she spoke, andher shyness. She drowned her emotions in food and as a result she was larger than most children. (“Audrey Hepburn Biography” 1). Many would see Audrey’s emotional problems as Bremmerman 2 weaknesses which would prevent her from fulfilling her dreams or making anything out of her difficult life.
Soon Audrey would face even more difficulties and strengthen her emotional self even more. As a child Audrey was put through emotional challenges that would later help her in her career. Soon after Audrey’s father left her suffering worsened. In order to understand her suffering one must understand what the world was going through at the time. Germany was just beginning to take over the eastern hemisphere. The Nazis invaded Poland and Audrey’s mother thought Poland would be safe for the two.
As a child who had already been through a lot of suffering Audrey faced much more despair during this time. The events witnessed by Audrey were far worse than the conflicts of her parents. Her relatives were killed she had to eat “tulip bulbs and carries messages… in her ballet shoes”. Malnutrition and starvation contributed to Audrey never weighing more than 110 pounds. (“Audrey Hepburn Biography” 1). The starvation and malnutrition counteracted the weight Audrey had gained during her family problems. If this had never happened she might have never been as thin and beautiful as she was.
Audrey says of these experiences “On the one hand maybe I’ve remained infantile, while on the other hand I matured quickly because at a young age I was very aware of suffering and fear. ‘”(Woodward 39). This maturity would give Audrey an edge in acting and also in Bremmerman 3 life. In the future Audrey would use her maturity and strength to get herself into dancing on stage. Soon Audrey’s life would take a turn for the better when she discovered a love for dancing. Audrey recalls that “there was this young dancer who would come up from London and give ballet lessons, I loved it, I just loved it. (“Audrey Hepburn Biography” 1).
Audrey’s love of dance gave her a drive to succeed and overcome her difficult past. Audrey soon tried to make a career for herself out of dancing. Audrey tried out for High Button Shoes as a chorus girl and surprisingly finds that she’s been given a spot in the front line of the chorus. (Woodward 48). At this time Audrey would have never been able to imagine what the future would hold for her. She started in dancing and without effort she would soon be tossed into acting. Audrey hadn’t ever wanted to be an actress she didn’t try to get into the business, it just happened.
Audrey once said that “It was the only dream of my life, to be a ballerina. The acting was a surprise to me. It still is. “(Woodward 63). So many people try their whole lives to be famous, but Audrey had no desire whatsoever to be an actress until she was given parts in movies. Audrey was in many films while in England. The first film role Audrey was offered was “Laughter in Paradise'” by Mario Zampi who had seen her on stage in Cabaret. She had to decline because of her contract with the show. Mario had already Bremmerman 4 found a replacement when Audrey discovered her contract had fallen through and she was out of work.
She went back to Zampi but he had no other role for her except for a cigarette seller, she took the job and begun her acting career. (Woodward 64) Audrey took the acting job because she needed it she didn’t want to be an actress but she needed the money she would get from this film. After the filming of this Audrey become a sought after actress in London. By 1952 Audrey had been in countless English films such as “One Wild Oat'”, “Laughter in Paradise'”, and “The Lavender Hill Mob'”. While filming “Monte Carlo Baby'” Audrey was spotted by a “famed French writer” known as Colette.
Colette had to have Audrey in her Broadway play “Gigi'” so she cast her as the lead, Gigi. (“Audrey Hepburn Biography” 1). This play brought Audrey to America where her fame would be escalated. Once in America it was obvious that Audrey would need some help acting before she would be able to make it in America. The rehearsals for “Gigi” starter and “… it became obvious that Audrey was going to have to do a lot of hard work. After vocal lessons and seriously applying herself to the role Audrey’s skills improved greatly. “(“Audrey Hepburn Biography” 2).
Being in this musical gave Audrey the experience and exposure for her to further her acting career in America. After “Gigi” Audrey began her first American movie role. In 1952 Audrey began “Roman Holiday'”. Her second American film was “Sabrina'”. Bremmerman 5 Soon after “Hollywood was in love with her”. (“Audrey Hepburn Biography” 2). This was the beginning of her fairytale life. Everything was going good for her and now she wanted to fulfill her dream of becoming a mother and having a family, but it would be harder for her than she expected.
From the outside anyone would want the career Audrey was building, but inside her life still wasn’t perfect. Audrey wanted nothing else but a family and this was difficult to achieve. In late 1954 she learned that she was pregnant, but soon this became “… the first of several miscarriages” these miscarriages would cause her to become “very depressed… and [she] smoked heavily after most of the ordeals. “(“Audrey Hepburn Biography” 2). This would not be an easy thing to work through but Audrey kept with her career despite of the problems she was having with her body.
Audrey says of her miscarriage in 1956 that she is “… better, but it is still a thin layer–there is much to go through still… ‘” As therapy after her miscarriage she went to filming “Two for the Road”. (Warren 2) Audrey became very successful as her dreams of family slipped away. All hopes were not lost however; In 1960 Audrey have birth to her “Gift of God”, Sean Hepburn Ferrer. When she became pregnant with him she was committed to have a child and “refused all roles”. When she finally saw her healthy baby son she abruptly passed out. (“Audrey Hepburn Biography” 3).
Even after miscarriages Audrey was still Bremmerman 6 the actress with a perfect life that everyone saw. Giving birth was her greatest feat, even greater than becoming a great actress. She achieved the one thing in life she had always wanted. After many hardships Audrey Hepburn’s life changed to the better on the outside, she led the life everyone thought they wanted, but being the scenes she was still being faced with emotional misfortunes. She was a remarkable actress and she becomes even more remarkable as the conflicts of her life are revealed.