An American actress who projected a doelike innocence with her large, expressive brown eyes, Audrey Hepburn possessed an ethereal beauty that illuminated the screen, and created unforgettable film roles as the epitome of sophistication and glamour while paradoxically bewitching audiences and critics with her sprightly mannerisms and elfin charm; she was also renowned in later years as a tireless goodwill ambassador for UNICEF and as one of the foremost advocates for Third World children. Hepburn, who grew up in London, spent part of her childhood trapped (while on vacation) in Nazi-occupied Holland, subsisting partly on tulip bulbs as that country neared starvation at the end of World War II. After returning to London, she modeled and studied ballet and acting. Hepburn was discovered by French novelist Colette, who insisted that she star on Broadway in Gigi (1951). The same year, Hepburn made her American motion-picture debut in One Wild Oat and, two years later in her first starring role in Roman Holiday, she enchanted audiences with her portrayal of a high-spirited princess who falls in love with a journalist, portrayed by Gregory Peck; her performance earned her an Academy Award as best actress, and her tomboyish haircut and attire (oversize man's shirt worn with rolled-up sleeves) created a fashion rage, the first of many trends she set. She earned a Tony award for her performance in Ondine (1954) opposite her first husband, Mel Ferrer. Hepburn continued to delight moviegoers as a chauffeur's daughter romantically linked with William Holden and Humphrey Bogart in Sabrina (1954), as Natasha in War and Peace (1956), as a bookstore clerk turned fashion model in the musical Funny Face (1957), as a nun questioning her vocation in The Nun's Story (1959), and, in one of her most celebrated roles, as the endearing Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961). She made The Children's Hour (1962), Charade (1963), My Fair Lady (1964), Two for the Road (1967), and the thriller Wait Until Dark (1967) before retiring. Hepburn and Ferrer divorced in 1968, and she married psychiatrist Andrea Dotti the following year. After she and Dotti divorced, Hepburn and Dutch actor Robert Wolders became longtime companions. She garnered Oscar nominations for Sabrina, The Nun's Story, Breakfast at Tiffany's, and Wait Until Dark. Hepburn came out of retirement to star in Robin and Marian (1976) and appeared sporadically in films before making a final cameo as an angel in Always (1989). The internationally beloved Hepburn, a symbol of gentility and kindness, was posthumously awarded the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award after succumbing to colon cancer.

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