Not all celebrities are born into fame and money, and plenty of them have to climb their way to the top. Oprah, Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert Downey Junior … lots of the A-list celebrities that we know and love today had none of the success in the early stages of their lives as they do now. However, some have struggled far more than others to get where they are, and Audrey Hepburn offers one of the most heartwarming life stories that one could possibly imagine.
Born in Belgium, Audrey had a fine childhood until her parents started raising funds for the British Union of Fascists and her father left for England to help out even more, which left Audrey devastated and calls this the most traumatic event of her life.
However, life was about to get much harder for her as the Nazi occupation in her area would make reality a living hell for its occupants. Audrey had to witness a lot of things that no child should have to see, and still recalls the atrocities that the Nazis committed.
She met up with her father in the 60s, but until then, she had to go through dark days in which her family didn’t have enough money to go on, and she even developed issues like acute anemia due to the lack of proper nutrition. Since the Germans had stopped any supply routes due to the resistance that the Dutch people were putting up, there was almost no food in the region and Audrey had to make flour in tulip bulbs so that she could cook her food. Little did she know that one day, she’d have a tulip named after her. However, according to her, her hardships were nothing as compared to what other people around her were going through.
Even in her youth, Audrey had a talent for performance, and would perform in shows that weren’t made public so the Dutch could enjoy them in silence without arousing the suspicion of any Germans around. The money raised from these shows would often go towards helping Jewish people who were trying to escape German occupation.
Once the war was over, Audrey and her family moved to Amsterdam. However, Audrey’s talent and love for ballet made it so that she went to London to hone her craft and try her luck. However, things took a sharp turn for her when she was informed that she wouldn’t be able to pursue ballet due to her weak figure and tall height, which is when she decided she’s take on acting instead, which was the best choice she’d ever make in her life.
Her debut was huge, and it was made abundantly clear that she had a huge future in acting as her performance wowed everyone that witnessed it. The producers had almost chosen another actress for the role of Roman Holiday, but thankfully it was Audrey who made the cut as she was exactly what they were looking for.
Even her costar acknowledged that she’d be a great star someday, and he was right on the money about that. He made sure that Audrey received just as much importance on the movie cover as he did, even though he was a much more experienced actor.
From that point onward, Audrey found an increasing amount of success in theaters and movies alike. While she had refused her first marriage since she couldn’t handle the burden of her acting career and a marriage at first, she soon became comfortable with the idea after meeting with Mel Ferrer, another actor from America. While many speculated that the marriage would not last, these two proved everyone wrong by staying together for 14 years before they decided to get a divorce. Audrey soon became one of the biggest stars on earth, with women everywhere concerned with every detail about her, which is something Audrey could never have thought of herself 20 years ago.
There are pretty few stories that are as moving as the one that Audrey can call her life story, and we’re glad that she’s been able to live a fulfilling life because if anyone deserves that, it’s her. She died in 1993 after living out the last of her years in comfort.
