Initially a keen hunter, he [William Holden] changed tack and became a protector of wildlife when, on safari in Kenya, he shot an antelope and noting its huge eyes and long, slender neck exclaimed, ‘I’ve just shot Audrey Hepburn.’

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Audrey Hepburn being a queen

Audrey Hepburn photographed by Bob Willoughby, 1959

For the four months of filming, she and Albert Finney pursued a frolicsome romance in the most discreet manner possible. They rehearsed in private, they went to beaches with no other company, they dined à deux. Her marriage, she had to accept, was merily legal, and Finney was divorced. More to the point, he had a keen sense of humor, he was highly intelligent, he took his craft with utmost gravity, and he had a personality that was enormously beneficial to Audrey at this point: he was entertaining and exuberant. The relationship was refreshingly uncomplicated and so perhaps unique in her romantic life. 

“I didn’t even know the Audrey of the last few weeks on this film,” recalled Donen. “She overwhelmed me. She was so free, so happy. I never saw her like that - so young! I don’t think I was responsable. I guess it was Albie.”

“She and Albie had this wonderful thing together,” recalled writer Irwin Shaw, a frequent visitor to the production that summer, “like a pair of kids with a perfect understanding and a shorthand of jokes and references that closed out everyone else. When Mel was there, it was funny: Audrey and Albie got rather formal and a little awkward, as if now they had to behave like grown-ups”.

As for Finney, he was discreet then and later: his relationship with Audrey, he said, was “one of the closest I’ve ever had”. Audrey was typically equivocal. “I really love Albie”, she said with a smile, and that was that.

(From the book “Enchantment: The life of Audrey Hepburn”)

bogarted:

“I don’t make love by kissing, I make love by dancing” - Fred Astaire

“Audrey was the kind of person who, when she saw someone else suffering, tried to take the pain on herself. She was a healer. She knew how to love.”

— Shirley MacLaine

Audrey Hepburn during a wardrobe test for Breakfast at Tiffany’s, 1961.

ourfairlady:

On Saturday, May 4, 1929, the loveliest lady was born. Happy birthday to you, funny faced, doe eyed, elegant spirit, fair lady, princess, hero, s’wonderful Audrey.

“Saturday’s child works hard for a living.” -Mother Goose

missavagardner:

The beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the figure that she carries, or the way she combs her hair. The beauty of a woman is seen in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart, the place where love resides. True beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul. It is the caring that she lovingly gives, the passion that she shows. And the beauty of a woman only grows with passing years.

Audrey Kathleen Ruston aka Audrey Hepburn | 4 May 1929 – 20 January 1993

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AUDREY!

“Before I even met Audrey, I had a crush on her, and after I met her, just a day later, I felt as if we were old friends… Most men who worked with her felt both fatherly or brotherly about her, while harboring romantic feelings about her… She was the love of my life.”

— William Holden

Fred Astaire and Audrey Hepburn on the set of Funny Face, 1957.

kimnovaks:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AUDREY HEPBURN

May 4, 1929

“I decided, very early on, just to accept life unconditionally; I never expected it to do anything special for me, yet I seemed to accomplish far more than I had ever hoped. Most of the time it just happened to me without my ever seeking it.”

wednesdaydreams:

There is no doubt that the princess did become a queen — not only on the screen. One of the most loved, one of the most skillful, one of the most intelligent, one of the most sensitive, charming actresses — and friends, in my life — but also in the later stages of her life, the UNICEF ambassador to the children of the world. The generosity, sensitivity, the nobility of her service to the children of the world and the mothers of the world will never be forgotten. – Gregory Peck on Audrey Hepburn

Happy Birthday Audrey Hepburn! (May 4th, 1929)

Audrey Hepburn and James Garner palling around on the set of The Children’s Hour. Photograph by Bob Willoughby, 1961.