Audrey Hepburn

Abstract

As a social type representing well-bred, sophisticated, and fashionable women in upper-class society, Audrey Hepburn often posed for famous photographers like her friend Richard Avedon. She is usually linked with Grace Kelly, who was also frequently named in international best-dressed lists, but was a distinctive European cosmopolite.¹ After playing small roles in British films and starring in Gigi on the Broadway stage, Hepburn made a spectacular American screen debut. Portraying a charming runaway princess befriended by a handsome reporter in Roman Holiday (1953), she became an overnight sensation and won an Academy Award. A Photoplay writer who went to see Gregory Peck in the film exclaimed, “Who is that girl?” As fan magazine readers soon learned, the rising star was a gamine but one with an aristocratic lineage and an atypical look defying classic beauty. She brought an unusually lithe silhouette to the screen. William Wyler, her director in Roman Holiday, claimed in a Motion Picture story, “This girl, singlehanded, will make bust measurements a thing of the past.” Photoplay described her as being “flat-chested, slim-hipped and altogether un-Marilyn Monroe-ish.” Rather, she was “angular, lissome and tousle-haired.” The magazine declared: “For modeling, which was her occupation in London…, her figure would be an asset. But the films, traditionally, have required more voluptuous contours.