Product Description
Ian Woodward tells the captivating storyof Audrey Hepburn, enduring Hollywood legend. Born into the Dutch aristocracy,her fairy-tale childhood was shattered byher father's abandonment. She trained asa ballerina, wowed the New York critics withher performance of Gigi on Broadway and went on to win an Oscar for her stunning performance in Roman Holiday. This launched her international movie career, which included such successes as Breakfast at Tiffany's and Funny Face. However, even these exemplary achievements pale against her outstanding work for UNICEF.The book was updated after Hepburn's death to include her valuable work with UNICEF in her final years and her fight against cancerAudrey Hepburn is one of Hollywood'smost enduring legends. ... Read more

Product Description
Gracious, charming, dignified--and mischievous--Audrey Hepburn captured everyone's heart, and her extraordinary life is chronicled in a definitive biography, including her childhood in Nazi-occupied Holland, rise to stardom, unhappy marriages, and work for UNICEF. 35,000 first printing. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

You Have to Love This Dame, Even If You Don't Love This Book
Warren G. Harris's biography of Audrey Hepburn is essentially boilerplate stuff, compiling all the well-known information about her life (up to 1994, shortly after her death), and adding some surprises for those who always thought that Audrey was Hollywood's answer to Mother Theresa. Knowing that she had several hot and heavy affairs with actors like William Holden and Ben Gazzara humanizes her yet never threatens to truly besmirch her virginal image, since the men she married were--as husbands--rather unfortunate choices, and she always rose above their infidelities and other shortcomings by being a wonderful mother and human being.

Harris's prose sometimes tries to engage the reader with rhetorical questions and other gossipy techniques, but these are intrusive in what is always an engaging and fascinating story. Hepburn had many interesting experiences, especially her well-known life in war-torn Holland, the fascist leanings of her parents, her rise to fame on stage and screen, her lovers and husbands, her family life, her career difficulties in her later years, and her remarkable work for UNICEF. These are all dutifully chronicled with many quotes from those who knew and or worked with her, but Harris falls down seriously in offering only a rather limited two and a quarter page bibliography and not a single attribution of any of his quotes. I don't like biographies of celebrities that sound like doctoral theses and come burdened with excessive notes and citations, but a happy medium has to be struck and readers have to know where particular quotes come from. Often, I'd read something that took me by surprise and demanded that the source be unveiled beyond a he said or she said comment in the text.

Unlike the best biographies of movie stars, this one doesn't try to offer deep (or even moderately incisive) analyses of either its subject's acting or films, and generally is content to report the general critical response to a particular performance or movie. You get the basic plot, the basic facts about success or failure, and then it's on to the next movie. I was disturbed to read about how much effort had been put into making the artificial jungle in Green Mansions, when director Mel Ferrer chose not to film on location, but not a word about how phony the eventual film looked despite all the hard work. I sometimes had the feeling that Harris had not even viewed the movies again in preparation for the book, but simply depended on whatever he'd read about them; judging by the relative sparsity of his bibliography, this couldn't have been that much.


Still, the book is never boring and is a good choice for reading on the beach. You'll get a decent overviewof this wonderful actress's life and achievements, and, if you really love her,will want to move on to something more substantial, and far better illustrated, like Hepburn's son Sean Ferrer's tributeto his mother.

A MEMORABLE MOVIE STAR

She looked like a princess; she deported herself regally.Her life followed the fairy tale plot of rags to riches.Regrettably, it did not often have the requisite happy ending.

Sent to boarding school in England, Audrey Hepburn rejoined her family in Holland prior to the German occupation in World War II.Along with her fellow countrymen, she suffered greatly.Virtual starvation permanently affected her health.

How impossible it would have seemed to her during those war torn years that she would some day become a sought after movie star, sharing the screen with Fred Astaire, Humphrey Bogart, Gregory Peck, and William Holden.A lucky break - she was seen by Colette in a hotel lobby - took her to the Broadway stage as "Gigi."Another lucky break won her the lead in "Roman Holiday."

Although family was more important than career to Miss Hepburn, her two marriages failed.She found solace in motherhood, her friends and, in later life, through her untiring labors for UNICEF.

Audrey Hepburn forever changed America's view of glamour.As a New York Times reporter wrote at the time of her death: "What a burden she lifted from women!Here was proof that looking good need not be synonymous with looking bimbo."

This biography offers a wide-screen view of one of our favorite actresses.

- Gail Cooke

A Promise
With a face that still resonates over the McCarthy era of Hollywood, Audrey Hepburn was an elegant image of purity in a corrupt world. Unlike Elizabeth Taylor, Audrey's image never tanished and she a backseat only to Marilyn Monroe as Hollywood's most famous leading lady.

Audrey's life is mostly public facts: she married a second rate actor, Mel Ferrer; won an Academy Award for her first film, Roman Holiday, and a Tony for Ondine; earned five Oscar nominations; had two sons and obsessed over her career and family; and remarried an Italian playboy. But only an Audrey insider like Harris can go beyond the well-known myth making and draw a complete picture.

Previously it has only been the subject of major speculation, but Harris confirms that Hepburn had several affairs with her leading men such as William Holden. The biography isn't all gossip though. Harris covers the later movies and Andrey's work with UNICEF. Although this prjects her Mother Teresa side, what is really interesting about Audrey is not her war experiences, her rise to fame, or her post-Wait Until Dark family life, but the period between 1952 and 1967 when she made fifteen great films including Charade and Two For The Road.

Harris recognizes Hepburn's peak in the 1960s and uses the bulk of the book to detail this period of her life, but his knowledge doesn't protect him from the obvious shortcomings in his own work. He does tend to be repetitive. He's not much of a prose stylist. Beyond that, there is another major gripe to raise: there are only sixteen pages of Audrey photos in this book, and they don't go far beyond the standard postcard set. Obviously, anyone reading a Hepburn biography craves that classic look and an illustration of the movement from film to film.

Why many grew so accustomed to her face
Warren G. Harris's biography on Audrey Hepburn is an unbiased, straight-ahead account that details her ups and downs, from her childhood in the war-torn Netherlands, her first starts at stardom in England, her breakthrough in Roman Holiday, marriages to Mel Ferrer and Andrea Dotti, to her declining movie career from the late 1970's onward, and to her work as UNICEF spokesperson.

The initial quotes from Billy Wilder, Cecil Beaton, Hubert Givenchy, and Stanley Donen give what made Hepburn a star.Wilder says that God kissed her with that gift of stardom.True enough:that 5'7" height, slender birdlike figure, prominent eyebrows, squared off chin, princess-like elegance and beauty that continued in her fifties, a wistful fragility, and soft voice that spoke perfect English and ended a sentence in a girlish query.And that European sophistication she exuded no doubt came from a multinational heritage that included British, Dutch, Austrian, Hungarian, French, Scotch, and Irish.And she is very distantly related to Katherine Hepburn, as both traced their lineage to James Hepburn, Earl of Bothwell, the third husband of Mary Queen of Scots.

And she was a professional actress, someone striving for perfection and a trooper when it came to her work.She took time studying her background material, whether it be reading Tolstoy's War And Peace, where she played Natasha Rostova, Kathryn Hulme's biography on her experiences as a nun, and even going to see Hulme, resulting in The Nun's Story, and her going to a college for the blind for her part as Susy Hendrix in Wait Until Dark.That's not to say Audrey was perfect.Her one vice, smoking, came from the cigarettes she saw American soldiers smoking when her homeland was liberated.She became addicted to life on them.

Hepburn's wartime hardships in occupied Netherlands is given quite some coverage because the experiences affected her later in life.One was the closeness to her mother and brothers, one of whom, Alexander, became a "diver," people who avoided conscription by the Axis army by hiding.Second, being malnourished in the final years of war led to a metabolism that prevented her from significantly gaining weight.And finally, the suffering she went through made her empathize with the starving children in Africa when she joined up as a UNICEF spokesperson during the last years of her life.Her generosity extended to Givenchy, whom she fought to get him credit for his designs, and to William Wyler, to whom she felt indebted for Roman Holiday and thus agreed to star in The Children's Hour, which wasn't among her best movies.

All of Hepburn's movies, from her bits parts beginning with 1948's Dutch In 7 Easy Lessons through her final performance in Always, depending on how significant the movie, is given 5 to 7 pages coverage, from a brief synopsis, recollections by Hepburn herself, the directors, and co-stars.So far, the only person who hated Hepburn was her Sabrina co-star Humphrey Bogart, who thought Audrey, Billy Wilder, and others were conspiring against him.Others, such as her Roman Holiday co-star Gregory Peck, were gentlemanly.

Harris hits early on that actor Mel Ferrer, husband #1, was constantly being overshadowed by his wife, as he never got into the star tier and that led to a simmering resentment that finally ended their marriage.

Harris's coverage on her career is unbiased.He gives what the critics thought of her performances and movies, even bad ones like Paris When It Sizzles and Always, where she was clearly the best thing in the film.But through it all, he makes it clear why many, myself included, grew accustomed to her face.

Hmm.A tedious biography by Warren G. Harris
One and ½ stars.

Tedious.Not recommended.Gossipy, but full of "facts",that do not flow. Each paragraph of this biography stops andstarts alone. Though it seems well researched,it drips with small, butunmistakable unknowable ideas presented, again,as (gossipy) facts by theauthor.It was a pain to get through the initial pages.Page 13 - "Ellapicked "Hepburn" because it wash the only noble name... [OK] That he mayhave also murderedMary's second husband, Lord Darnley [she actually knewthis? hmm. unsubstantiated],didn't seemto bother the Baroness when sheborrowed the name".Well, she may have `shamelessly' borrowed the name,but the author clearly begins filling in supposed knowledge of thecharacter and continues to do so with other ideas throughout the work. Page 14 - "Ruston and Ella made a strikinglyand highly volatile couple.":[OK]."Tall and handsome,he'd grown a mustache to compensate for hisreceding hairline."What?Is the author struggling with same?Back thena mustache was worn prominently for the display of its own sake, regardless of receding hairline - you've seen the photos.Clearly a90'scynical filter on earlier facts gets in the way in these simple examples asit gets in the way throughout the text.The work is littered with the 90'saddiction of showing us supposed belly-button lint as somehow interestingfact.This is not biography. Sadly,selection of photos here seems thereal strength.Wonderful photos.But this historical reader would ratherturn back to reading about settlers taking bloodyhatchets, as long astruth is presented. A thought;should I reward this 2 stars for effort?No. In this day and age,anyone can muster forth the so-called facts ofanyone famous.Don't let the titles, the initial script of the openingpages,and theprior works of Harris fool you,this kind of fact/gossipintertwined crud can't be polished.Sadly,there may not be an AudreyHepburn biography that flows and captures all the interesting facts andheart of her life until the end. But there is hope ... Read more

Product Description
A celebration of the life of Audrey Hepburn. It tells the story of her life from her childhood in Nazi-occupied Holland, through early aspirations to become a ballet dancer, to her debut on the screen to instant and universal acclaim, and her years as one of Hollywood's most sought-after stars, to her later life working among the poorest children of the Third World. After a series of minor revue and film roles in London, Hepburn was spotted by Colette, who immediately decided to cast her for the central role in the Broadway adaptation of her last novel "Gigi". Soon afterwards she was offered a role alongside Gregory Peck in "Roman Holiday", for which she collected the Best Actress Oscar. More successful parts followed: she won the Tony Award for Best Actress for "Ondine", captivated audiences as Natasha in "War and Peace" and was highly praised for her serious role in "The Nun's Story". Robyn Karney's work in film includes writing and editing, film criticism and film story consultancy. She is the author of "Who's Who in Hollywood" and co-author with Ronald Bergan of Bloomsbury's "Foreign Film Guide". ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A star danced, and under that was I born
As revealed before the title page, the book's title was taken from Act II, scene I of Much Ado About Nothing:"...but then there was a star danced, and under that was I born."Definitely apropos for Audrey Hepburn.

Robyn Karne's biography on Hepburn is a combination truncated but effective text that emphasizes the highlights of her life with a series of photos accompanying each movie or phase of her life.They are either in colour or B&W, and she sizzles in costume or relaxing in ordinary clothes.One set of photos that were cute was her and Ip, the tame fawn that became a temporary pet during her work on Green Mansions, and with she is photo'd taking a nap with, her terrier Famous also resting at the further end of the sofa.The beginning of each chapter is prefaced by two quotes, one from Audrey, the other from a third party, be it Billy Wilder, Henry Mancini, or Alfred Lunt on what characteristics the star had, and a pretty clear picture is formed from them.

A need for stability and comfort as opposed to luxury is also shown the way up to fifty-five pieces of luggage accompanied her wherever she was making movies.The result was that she dispensed the hotel's finery and replaced them with her own, thus making the illusion of a home away from home.

Like Harris's book, Karne lists two big names who actually hated her.One was Humphrey Bogart, who was purposefully excluded because he was not fun to be with, due to racist things he said about Jewish Billy Wilder, and how he saw Audrey as "an inexperienced upstart."The other was Alfred Hitchcock, who never spoke to her after she refused a role that exceeded her line of taste.The movie he intended was never made.
She was a great actress, that much can be established without debate, but one thing made clear is that she mostly wanted to settle down and cook and spend quality time with her family and enjoy nature's tranquil scenes.Who knows what would have happened had she been a cinematic one-hit wonder, but the hits kept coming with Roman Holiday, Sabrina, Charade, and My Fair Lady, to name some.But it is clear that despite her career, she tried hard to maintain her first marriage by giving it her full attention, but in vain.Like her character Sabrina, Audrey was clearly an idealist.

The one thing I observed in this bio as opposed to the other one I have was how Audrey's legendary charm and status even moved Sidney Sheldon to rewrite ten pages of his novel Bloodline so that the main character was 35 and not younger, for Ms. Hepburn.
Karne is supportive and positive on the star, not emphasizing anything bad about her.Come to think of it, there didn't seem to be.

The photos are wonderful and succeed in illuminating Hepburn's best traits:"Grace, dignity, charm, and compassion".Of the reviews included in the biography, they all single out Audrey as the dazzling star of the show, or the only good thing about the movie (e.g. The Children's Hour, Paris When It Sizzles, They All Laughed).Nothing wrong with Karne's praiseworthy bias of Audrey

A Classic Look at the Life of a Star
This book was an incredible find and gives the reader a personal look into the life of Audrey Hepburn.A Star Danced goes behind the scenes to show her real, not always so perfect life.Through this gook I realize thatAudrey was more then a movie star, she was a real person with strugles andtriumphs.This book would be a great read for any Audrey Hepburn fan. ... Read more

Product Description
Growing up with Audrey Hepburn is the first full-length academic study of one of the most loved stars of Hollywood cinema. A study of both Hepburn's star persona and films, it is also an audience study, using interviews to explore accounts given by British women who have admired her in the 1950s and 1960s, and, more recently, in the 1990s.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Fascinating feminist theory applied to Hepburn's persona
Evaluating the intersection between Hepburn's roles, persona, and her audience appeal, this fairly academic treatment teases out interesting themes. Although specific to experience of British women of "a certain age," the title adds to the analysis of Hepburn's oeuvre. ... Read more

Product Description
Morley follows the life and work of this exc eptional actress from her early childhood in Nazi-occupied H olland to her campaigning work with UNICEF in Somalia. He in cludes personal recollections of his meetings with Hepburn. ' ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A fabulous story about the most enchanting woman!
This book is a must for any movie fan, especially Audrey Hepburn fans.Abeautiful story about the doe- eyed actress.This book contains plenty ofnever seen before pictures and they are absolutely amazing.You will bemesmerized by the incredible aura of Audrey Hepburn.

An Excellent Book
This is a wonderful book about the life of Audrey Hepburn. Packed with wonderful pictures and a fabulous look at her life, I must say that it's a definite A+ for all Audrey Hepburn or Golden Cinema fans. ... Read more

Product Description
Morley follows the life and work of this exc eptional actress from her early childhood in Nazi-occupied H olland to her campaigning work with UNICEF in Somalia. He in cludes personal recollections of his meetings with Hepburn. ' ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A fabulous story about the most enchanting woman!
This book is a must for any movie fan, especially Audrey Hepburn fans.Abeautiful story about the doe- eyed actress.This book contains plenty ofnever seen before pictures and they are absolutely amazing.You will bemesmerized by the incredible aura of Audrey Hepburn.

An Excellent Book
This is a wonderful book about the life of Audrey Hepburn. Packed with wonderful pictures and a fabulous look at her life, I must say that it's a definite A+ for all Audrey Hepburn or Golden Cinema fans. ... Read more

Product Description
A fine glossy photo. Signed by Audrey circa 1952. A beautiful portrait -- this is as good as it gets. Size is 8"x 10". ... Read more

Product Description
A celebration of Audrey Hepburn's life is filled with more than 150 photographs and tells her story from childhood in Nazi-occupied Holland and plans to be a ballerina, to her successful screen career and humanitarian efforts for Third World children. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A Good Book for All Audrey Hepburn fans
At first glance, this book, in its fairly oversized hardcover edition, may come across as something more suited for a coffee table.There would be some truth to this assumption as the true strength of this book lies in the wonderful collection of pictures encompassing the life of Audrey hepburn.Some have been published in previous works but there are many pictures that are unique to this book.From refreshing candid shots to stunning stills from all her films, it is very visually enjoyable.I found a few excusable inaccuracies in the captions under some of the photographs (a still from "Roman Holiday" refers to a different scene than what is mentioned) but this would be noticable only to die-hard Audrey Hepburn fans such as myself.It does not take away from the high quality of this product.What makes this more than your regular coffee table book is the accompanying text.It features a relatively condensed biography along with many quotes and observations from the people in Hepburn's life.It is very interesting, straight-forward, and well organized.All of these combine to create a great package for any reader interested in getting to know Audrey Hepburn either for the first time or just a little better than before.

Worthy of its subject
This slender book, with its dark, attractive cover and glossy, gorgeous pages, is a work of tribute to Miss Hepburn which skillfully evokes her tremendous appeal. The text is slight but smoothly readable, and filled with amusing and often touching recollections from directors, actors, and other friends of the late movie legend. The real attraction of the book is of course the pictures, in particular the stunning black-and-white gatefold taken from a session with Richard Avedon. ... Read more