Hollywood star Audrey Hepburn, whose early career was formed in London, is to be honoured with a prestigious Blue Plaque
The 'Breakfast at Tiffany’s' star’s time in the capital will be celebrated with a plaque in Mayfair on the walls of her former home, and a film screening.
A blue plaque to honour the English-American actor Audrey Hepburn will be unveiled in London next week by English Heritage. The plaque on South Audley Street in Mayfair will commemorate her early years in the capital, which saw her transition from ballet to acting.
‘From literature and art to dance and music, these figures helped shape the London we know today. Their contributions not only had a profound impact on their fields but also continue to inspire generations,’ English Heritage's curatorial director Matt Thompson said when the list of those to receive plaques was first announced. There will be no official unveiling ceremony due to the busy nature of the Mayfair street, but it is highly likely that many fans of the late Hollywood actress will visit.
Audrey Hepburn went to boarding school in Elham, Kent.
Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck in Roman Holiday.
Hepburn is best known for her roles in the films Breakfast at Tiffany's and Roman Holiday. It was during her spell in London that she first gained roles on the big screen and on the stage, including her Broadway debut in Gigi. It was also here that she landed the role of Princess Anne, alongside Gregory Peck in Roman Holiday, which shot her to fame in 1953, and for which she won an Oscar.
Hepburn was born into an aristocratic family in Brussels on May 4, 1929, to her Irish-English father, James Hepburn Ruston and Dutch-Hungarian-French mother Baroness Ella Van Heemstra. She was sent to boarding school in England in Elham, Kent, in 1936, but returned to the Netherlands when the Second World War broke out and studied ballet at the Arnhem Conservatory from 1939-1945. She later moved back to the UK and studied ballet with Marie Rambert in Notting Hill, London, working part-time as a model to support herself. She suffered from malnutrition during the War and was painfully ill with jaundice, anaemia, a respiratory infection and oedema — as a result, the Rambert school said that her short stature and weak constitution would make a career in ballet impossible, which saw her switch to acting.
'My Fair Lady 'may have seen some of the more elaborate costumes worn by the actress.
With the Academy Award she won for Best Actress in 'Roman Holiday'.
Her career began with performances as a chorus girl in the West End in High Button Shoes at the London Hippodrome. Roman Holiday made her the first actress to win a BAFTA, Golden Globe and Academy Award for a single performance. She went on to star in Sabrina (1954), with Fred Astaire in Funny Face (1959), as Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961) and as Eliza Dolittle in My Fair Lady (1954).
In later life she devoted her time to UNICEF in her role as a Goodwill Ambassador, working in poor communities around the globe. She died of cancer of the appendix in Switzerland on January 20, 1993, aged 63.
To celebrate the plaque’s unveiling, the Curzon cinema in Mayfair, which is only a short walk away, will be hosting a special screening of Roman Holiday, with an introduction by the cultural historian Christopher Frayling.
