Audrey Hepburn: A Biography

by Warren G. Harris

Chronicles the life of the charming and dignified actress, discussing her childhood in Nazi-occupied Holland, rise to stardom, unhappy marriages, and work for UNICEF.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, Biography Memoir, Audiobook, Media Tie In, History, Fashion

Audio Cassette

First published August 1, 1994

Reviews

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay, I must be honest that I "really enjoy" reading about anything about Audrey Hepburn. This biography felt a little further away from the biographies with up-close sources that I've read, like the one by her son, Sean Ferrer, but I still enjoyed it. Written in large-print format, I originally thought I was going to cruise through the book, but the paper-thin 400+ pages took me forever to get through. I appreciate Audrey's kind and gentle nature, her love of children and her desire to use her fame to make this world a safer place.

[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audrey Hepburn was in real life exactly who you want her to be from watching her movies. Full of grace, elegance, integrity, and charity for others. She was gentle, kind, down-to-earth, and loving. She sacrificed for those she loved. She dedicated her life and resources to helping those less fortunate by becoming an ambassador with UNICEF. She thought of others before herself. Not your typical Hollywood star. She suffered a great deal, but she carried herself with grace and humility. RIP, queen. We miss you.

[Margaret Carpenter · Rating 3 out of 5]

This novel also has one true fault, and the fault is that underneath all of the well-researched facts and trivia and all the information and precision found in this biography, the biographer is simply not a very good writer. Biographies are generally written in a semi-formal tone, and certainly not a conversational one. For the most part Harris stuck to one voice, but there were times when he would slip from formal into dead casual, or add in some turn of phrase that struck discordant and spoiled the thought. But I did learn much about Audrey that I presume to be true, this book being the only one on the subject of her life I’ve ever read. The fact I finished it also says something for its lucidity, I suppose, as half-reading biographies is a bad habit of mine.

[Pamela(AllHoney) · Rating 3 out of 5]

If I had to list my favorite actresses of all time, Audrey Hepburn would be high on the list. Not because she made lots of movies because she really didn't. But she starred in several of my all-time favorite movies. My Fair Lady, Breakfast at Tiffany's, Sabrina, Wait Until Dark, Roman Holiday all make the list.

I found this at the library and grabbed it. Although I will admit I would have preferred reading the book written by Audrey Hepburn's son. For the most part I enjoyed this book but I did feel there was a lot of speculation in some places. Still, it was written in a good comprehensive manner.

[Olivia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was really amazing because she has alot of great life lessons quotes that can relate to me in way shape or form. This book talks about how her whole life was either if it was good or even bad at some points. Audrey was an amazing actress and a ballerina. Audrey had alot of goals and strived to conquer all of them a some point and time. She was a great person and will be remembered for her coreers.

[Rebecca · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoyed learning more about Audrey Hepburn. However, this book reads like the author simply read gossip columns and magazines of the time period, rather than a thoughtful biography of an amazing life. There appeared to be no first hand accounts or interviews. I would have given it a much higher rating had there been a personal touch to the book.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well researched account of Audrey's life. Harris seemed to focus a lot on her superficiality, I'd like to read another biography to confirm this and a few other things. It was well written and I enjoyed the book that I read it rather quickly.

[Mia Emslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun romp into all things Audrey. It was great to hear every detail in chronological order of her entire life, from birth to death.
She was born into a privileged family .. but nearly died from hunger in WWII.. With her mother, she lived through the fear & uncertainty of the Nazi occupation of Holland, bombing, food shortages, etc.
Before the war, she trained to be a ballet dancer.. & loved it. Apparently she was loved for her gracefulness, long limbs, regal bearing.. but didn’t get highest accolades to become a prima ballerina.
Her gorgeous eyes & gamin beauty caught the eye of Colette.. which led to her 1st role as Gigi on Broadway… & to her 1st movie Roman Holiday with Gregory Peck… & the Academy Award for Best Actress.

Without formal training, Audrey was a natural, genuine actress… whose honest, guileless performances are what endeared her to everyone. She was also like that in real life. I feel like I grew up with her as my role model & style icon… along with so many others of my generation. She was grace & beauty personified.

She was married to Mel Ferrer.. who was more concerned with his own lack of success than being a good husband to Audrey. Then married Dotti, an Italian doctor, who was more interested in running around with other women. A gave her all to making these marriages work.. probably staying in them too long.
She finally met a genuine loving man.. Robert Wolders, who cared about her for the wonderful person she was.
She wanted lots of children, but had difficulty getting & staying pregnant. She was thrilled to eventually have 2 boys, Sean Ferrer & Luca Dotti.

When Danny Kaye died, she appeared when asked to step in as a spokesperson for UNICEF. That became a huge cause for her in the last years of her life.
Even when she got sick with cancer, she was driven to help all she could. She felt is was a great way to give back, using her celebrity status.

She was so insecure about her looks (!), acting (and singing) talent, etc etc. She was humble, self-effacing, gentle, kind & generous.. she was truly herself, onscreen and off. Still love her.

[Iris · Rating 3 out of 5]

There wasn't much that I learned from this biography; I guess through my many years of fawning over her films I must've picked up the tidbits of her life, so that this was more a refresher course than anything. The biography was really just a listing off of the facts of her life; it wasn't one of those intimate memoirs told by a friend/family member that help you to see the person beyond the star and that's a real shame. Audrey Hepburn is always synonymous with perfection, and I do wonder if she ever tired of that. She was a human being, was she not? She had her ups and downs like the rest of us. She wasn't some paragon of perfection; some Madonna monument. Even so, I'm not sure I would want to know all of the sordid details and half-truths of her everyday life. We idolize and respect her, but that does not make us entitled to her.

Audrey Hepburn was and remains a beautiful soul. I've seen every single one of her major films and I loved all but one; (Green Mansions really is just not good.) I encourage everyone to check out her films. They will fill you with simple joy and help you to feel as radiant as she was. 3/5

[J. David Buerk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good overview of Audrey's life, though a bit dry in places, however I still enjoyed the book and managed my way through it, which is saying something considering biographies are not high on my list of preferred reading genres. The book was mostly descriptions of her life from start to finish, much like a Wikipedia article, with more author opinions than actual quotes sprinkled in between paragraphs. I read this book only because it seemed to be the closest to "Audrey Hepburn, An Elegant Spirit" by Audrey's first son, Sean Hepburn Ferrer, that I wanted to read instead - there is no audiobook version of his book, and this one also happened to be "free" included in my Audible subscription. Good choice for a crash course about Audrey Hepburn's life from start to end with primarily focus on her acting career, but don't go into this book expecting a deep dive into any portion of Audrey's life - other books available focus more closely on her childhood, humanitarian work, fashion influence, acting, etc, and will serve as better resources if you're researching a specific facet of her life.

[Melissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ehh. It was alright. Not much info one couldn't get on Wikipedia. Talked about the movies she made, who she made them with. Very little insider info.

One bit of interesting info was her relationship with Givenchy, and that he created the first celebrity fragrance, for her!

[Kari · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good over view of her life. Harris did not gloss over the negatives but did accentuate the positive side. The combination of writer and narrator makes the audiobook was almost like listening to a friend tell her life story.

[Shana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Audrey Hepburn truly was a great influence on the movie industry and the world. I enjoyed learning more about her journey and how WW2 deeply impacted her story.

The biography was well researched, presented, and respectful of what Audrey intentionally kept private. Loved this book!

[Cheryl Stegall-Blevins · Rating 3 out of 5]

Completed via audio book.
I love Audrey Hepburn and I did learn facts several things about her life I did not know. The tone of the book was not as compelling as I had expected.

[Dawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved all the history lessons on a star I have always admired.

[Katherine Thornton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story about a truly elegant lady who was dazzling on the screen and in person. Enjoyed it!

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audrey Hepburn was just as beautiful inside as she was on the outside. Oh, if there were only more people in our world like her. Great read... you will enjoy it!

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Part dancer.
Part actor.
Part ASPCA supporter.
Part human rights advocate.

ALL ANGEL.

[eron kristofer · Rating 4 out of 5]

i will always adore you audrey hepburn

[Craig Adamson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This author has done extensive research on the life and times of Audrey Hepburn.

I’ve only seen one of her movies she is definitely a timeless beauty.

What I found most interesting was her European heritage and how that impacted her approach to living her life and how she interacted with others. Additionally it was informative to hear about her inability to act or sing, but her determination to learn to do both. Her grittiness belies her beauty.

This is somewhat of a tragic story. Her movie stardom brought her many tremendous opportunities gifts and wealth that she could have imagined in childhood. However as with many actors and actresses it was difficult to find happiness in her personal life. Two marriages gave her two sons but both ended in divorce and created a great deal of heartache.

Since I listen to the Audible version of this book I want to congratulate the narrator for her willingness to do multiple voices to break up the story. But there are some very awkward pauses during the reading they were not edited out. Additionally she seems very fluent in reading French, but at one point she is talking about Audrey visiting the “Arch of Triumph”. I don’t understand how it’s even possible to pronounce it this way in a book filled with French names and phrases. There are several of these just oddball editing oversight that detract from the story but not enough to lose any enjoyment. The narrator overall does a good job and certainly has a special ability to mimic Audrey Hepburn’s voice. Which may have been one of the reasons she was chosen to read this book.

[Abbey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book inspired my love of biographies when I was 14 years old. It’s beautiful story told about the tragic and beautiful life of Audrey.

[Gina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best bio I've read about Audrey Hepburn.

[Brian Thompson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very nice bio on a very special lady.

Outlines her accomplishments outside of being a film star.

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Warren G. Harris has written a really in-depth biography of Audrey Hepburn. Very interesting and enjoyable to read.

[Jody Ogle schardin hallonquist · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delightful insight to a true lady.