May 4 – Happy Birthday, Audrey Hepburn

nPostednon May 4, 2016

AudreynHepburn is one of the most famous actresses from Hollywood’s GoldennAge, with starring roles in tons of big-time movies—including onenof my favorites, My Fair Lady. n

nShengot lots of nominations and awards and is one of the few people whonhave won Academy (motion picture), Emmy (TV), Grammy (music), andnTony (live Broadway theater) Awards. n

nSheneven appears in the International Best Dressed List Hall of Fame!

ButnI don’t want to talk too much about that. I want to acknowledge thatnHepburn devoted a lot of her time and effort to helping other people.nMuch of her later life was devoted to UNICEF, the United Nationnorganization that works on improving children’s lives.

nMostnpeople know about the acting, the awards, her wonderful fashionnsense, and her amazing work as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador.nBut…did you know that she bravely worked to help people duringnWorld War II?

nHepburnnwas born in Belgium on this date in 1929. Her father was a Britishnbusinessman, and her mother was a Dutch baroness. The family lived innseveral different nations, and Hepburn ended up being able to speaknfive languagesL English, French, Dutch, Spanish, and Italian. n

nHepburn’snparents were members of the British Union of Fascists in then1930s—and remember, the Nazis were fascists—and Hepburn’s dadnended up becoming an actual Nazi sympathizer! But at that point henleft the family and didn’t see Hepburn at all for decades.

nWhennBritain entered World War II, declaring war on Hitler and the Nazi’s,nHepburn’s mother moved the with her children to the Netherlands.nAudrey was ten years old. Her mother hoped that the Dutch wouldnremain neutral, as they had during World War I. But instead, Germanyninvaded and occupied the Netherlands.

nHepburn’snfamily endured a lot of hardships, including being malnourishednbecause the Germans cut off the Dutch food supplies. At one point,nthe Dutch people started making flour out of tulip bulbs.

ButnHepburn didn’t sit around a complain. She worked for the Dutchnresistance! She was already a wonderful ballet dancer at age 14, andnshe performed for fundraisers and donated the proceeds to the Dutchnpeople who were still fighting the Nazis. She also sometimesndelivered messages and packages.

nOfncourse, Hepburn saw a lot of terrible stuff. But she also saw hownmuch relief being flown in from other countries helped people. Thisnis one reason she worked with such dedication to help people inndisasters or poverty.

nTwonmore things:

nIn read in some places that Hepburn’s mom, as well as her dad, wasn pro-Nazi. That doesn’t seem to jive with other things I read, and In am inclined not to believe that, especially given the fact that hern mom’s own brother was killed by the Nazis, and the family endured an lot of hardships at their hands.

No matter what the truthn about her mom, Hepburn actively worked against the Nazis. And shen was courageous to do so; she would have been executed if her workn for the Dutch resistance was discovered.

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nTheren are a lot of quotes attributed to Hepburn, including a lot in whichn she gives “beauty tips” like “for beautiful eyes, look for then good in others,” or she proclaims that she believes in pink, inn manicures, in kissing, on and on. There doesn’t seem to be anyn evidence at all that she said any of those things. Here’s one thatn she DID say:

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