When one thinks of Audrey Hepburn, her many acting roles, charming personality, or beautiful appearance may be the first things that come to mind. Many people are unaware of Hepburn’s war-ridden childhood, or the services she gave to underprivileged children in her later years of life. She grew up with dreams of becoming a famous ballerina, but those dreams were crushed by harsh reality. Although she never became prominent as a dancer like she had hoped, Hepburn ultimately became one of the most beloved actresses of all time. Her lean frame and tiny weight of only 88 pounds were partly because of her frequent dance training, but mainly because o the malnutrition she struggled through as a child. For a person to come from such a dangerous, …show more content…
Hepburn was born on May 4th, 1929, to a Dutch mother and British father. Her father was often travelling for work, so her first four years of life were mainly spent with her mother and two older step-brothers in Brussels. When Audrey turned five, her mother decided it would be best for her to attend a boarding school in England to learn different English customs and traditions. During her stay, Hepburn begins to attend ballet classes. In 1938, Hepburn’s father abandoned the family, eventually moving to England. Her mother and father divorced three years later, and Audrey did not see her father again for almost twenty-five years after. Following the separation, Hepburn’s mother decided to bring Audrey back to Holland with the rest of family, thinking it would be safe from the impending war. Audrey had to learn how to speak Dutch as soon as possible, seeing as she had only ever spoken English and her mother worried it would seem suspicious to the nearby German …show more content…
He was among hundreds of pro-Nazi English citizens who were imprisoned without trial. A few years later, Hepburn’s uncle was killed, along with several others, as penalty for a failed resistance attempt. Many people during that time were killed simply as punishment for an entire group’s actions. To avoid being publicly executed, Hepburn’s step-brother, Alexander, decided to take refuge underground, but her other step-brother, Ian, was caught and forced into labor. Nobody in the family knew if he was alive or dead until months after the