Born in Brussels in 1929, Audrey Hepburn was the daughter of a British father and a Dutch baroness. However, when she was five years old, her father left the family. At the outbreak of war in 1939, her mother believed they would be safer in the Netherlands than in Holland Park, but while they survived the German occupation, the experience left its physical and emotional marks. Returning to England once again, Audrey studied ballet with Marie Rambert. After some West End musicals and minor film roles, she was spotted by the writer Colette to star in a theatrical version of her novel, Gigi. From there her career took off. Her debut screen role was as Princess in the enchanting Roman Holiday, which won her an Oscar.

She continued to bring her unique grace and high spirit to many outstanding films - from Funny Face and The Nun's Story to My Fair Lady, Breakfast at Tiffany's, and Robin and Marian. For a time, it seemed that her personal life would follow the Hollywood dream. However, her marriage to Mel Ferrer did not last. She married and divorced a second time and had other passionate but brief relationships, some of which are revealed for the first time in this book, but her relationships were never entirely successful.

With all the understanding, knowledge, and innate sympathy for his subject, qualities that have made his biographies of Hitchcock, Dietrich, Monroe, and Bergman international successes, Donald Spoto truly captures the spirit of an elusive, beautiful, talented, and vulnerable woman.

Pages: 320, Dimensions: 13x13cm