Hello & welcome to this fortnight’s edition of the GK
Nugget. While January 20th 2017 is a day that we will all
remember& refer to for decades (for good or bad reasons, depending on your
views) but 20th January 1993 was a truly sad day because the gorgeous,
talented, fashionable & evergreen British actress Audrey Hepburn died of
appendiceal cancer at her home in Switzerland on that day. This fortnight’s GK
Nugget pays a small tribute to the “Fair Lady”.
Audrey Hepburn was born on 4th May 1929 in Ixelles,
a district of Brussels, though she spent her childhood between Belgium, England
and the Netherlands.
She was ranked by the American Film Institute as the
third-greatest female screen legend in Golden Age Hollywood and was inducted
into the International Best Dressed List Hall of Fame.
She shot to stardom for playing the lead role in Roman
Holiday (1953), for which she was the first actress to win an Academy Award, a
Golden Globe and a BAFTA Award.
She was also one of the rare EGOTs – individuals who have
won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony Award. She won a Tony for Best
Actress in a Drama for her performance in Ondine (1954), the Emmy for hosting
PBS’s 1993 documentary series Audrey Hepburn’s Gardens of the World & her
1994 Grammy (posthumous) was for Best Spoken Word Album for Children. She won
for Audrey Hepburn’s Enchanted Tales, which featured her reading classic fairy
tales.
She went on to star in a number of successful films, such
as Sabrina (1954), The Nun's Story (1959), Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961),
Charade (1963), My Fair Lady (1964) and Wait Until Dark (1967), for which she
received Academy Award, Golden Globe and BAFTA nominations. She won a record
three BAFTA Awards for Best British Actress in a Leading Role.
Her character in the 1961 blockbuster Breakfast at
Tiffany’s is considered one of the most iconic in American cinema, and a
defining role for Hepburn. The dress she wears during the opening credits is
considered an icon of the twentieth century and perhaps the most famous
"little black dress" of all time.
When World War 2 broke out, Hepburn’s family moved to
Arnhem (The Netherlands) with a hope that the country would remain neutral and
not be attacked. But the Germans invaded in 1940 and occupied the Netherlands
till May 1945. During the Dutch famine in the winter of 1944, Audrey Hepburn’s
family had to resort to making flour out of tulip bulbs to bake cakes and
biscuits. She developed acute anæmia, respiratory problems and edema as a result
of malnutrition.
In 1990, her life came full circle when a new hybrid
breed of tulip was named after her - the Audrey Hepburn Tulip.
Besides being a splendid actress, Hepburn is also
remembered for her humanitarian work. After retiring from the limelight, she
dedicated the remainder of her life to helping impoverished children in the
poorest nations. Hepburn was appointed a Goodwill Ambassador of UNICEF.
United States president George H. W. Bush presented her
with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in recognition of her work with UNICEF,
and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences posthumously awarded her
the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award for her contribution to humanity.
Besides being bilingual in English and Dutch, Audrey
Hepburn was fluent in French, Italian, Spanish, and German.
So which one of her classic movies will you revisit today
as a tribute to this icon of American cinema?
