My review of Audrey: Her Real Story, by Alexander Walker

Audrey: Her Real Story

by Alexander Walker

My rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Another great job by Alexander Walker, this story covers the life an intriguing, beautiful and talented woman.

Not the easiest of subjects for anyone to document, Ms. Hepburn had something almost indescribable - I disagree that she broke through on acting ability alone, but then few of her calibre have. She was breathtakingly beautiful and had a rare persona of innocence, naivety and sincerity that moviegoers found jawdroppingly enigmatic.

Audrey had many lingering demons to live with and held them off admirably and modestly throughout her great career.

Born in Brussels, she grew up in Belgium, England, the Netherlands, including German-occupied Arnhem, in WWII. She studied ballet in Amsterdam, moving to London in 1948 to continue her ballet training and appeared in the chorus of West End musical theatre shows. Here she paid her dues, learned the ropes and worked her way into the industry, in a typically honest, hardworking, decent Audrey Hepburn-like way. So came her well-deserved, if lucky, break.

We remember her most for her enchanting performances in 'Gigi', 'Roman Holiday', 'Sabrina', 'The Nun's Story', 'Breakfast at Tiffany's' 'Charade', 'My Fair Lady' and 'Wait Until Dark'. She deservingly won Academy, Emmy, Grammy, and Tony and BAFTA wards for her fine and unforgettable work.

After gently, gracefully backing away from her glittering film career she became a notable philanthropist and humanitarian, doing many greater and what she considered more important things than movies, resulting in her Presidential Medal of Freedom for her work as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador.

Like other great celluloid goddesses, she died not terribly old, ending her days in Switzerland.

This is a good biography about an unusual woman who we end up liking and respecting for far more than her movie work.