British Legends

*Includes pictures of Audrey and important people, places, and scenes.

*Includes Audrey's own words about her upbringing and relationships.

*Includes a Bibliography for further reading.

"One might guess this is Miss Hepburn's picture, since she has the title role and has come to it trailing her triumphs from last year's 'Roman Holiday.' And, indeed, she is wonderful in it - a young lady of extraordinary range of sensitive and moving expressions within such a frail and slender frame. She is even more luminous as the daughter and pet of the servants' hall than she was as a princess last year, and no more than that can be said." - Bosley Crowther, movie critic for The New York Times, 1954

A lot of ink has been spilled covering the lives of history's most influential figures, but how much of the forest is lost for the trees? In Charles River Editors' British Legends series, readers can get caught up to speed on the lives of Britain's most important men and women in the time it takes to finish a commute, while learning interesting facts long forgotten or never known.

For someone whose career ended over 30 years ago, Audrey Hepburn continues to retain her popularity and exert a strong influence over how people view beauty and sophistication. She remains an American icon, despite the fact that she did not even move to the United States until 1953 (at the age of 24) and spent the majority of her life living in Europe, while her characters in films such as Roman Holiday (1953) and Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961) are still held up as the paragon of delicate femininity and elegance. After undergoing a revival in popularity throughout the 1990s, her renewed popularity has refused to wane, and even though she acted in just 25 films, Hepburn is viewed in high regard by the entertainment establishment. When the American Film Institute listed their Top 100 actresses of the past century, Hepburn trailed only Katherine Hepburn and Bette Davis.

Audrey Hepburn has been canonized as one of the preeminent actresses in history, but the majority of the other actresses on the American Film Institute list appeared in far more films than she did, and many of her films are almost entirely forgotten at the present moment. People are still familiar with Breakfast at Tiffany's, Roman Holiday, and Funny Face (1957), but Paris When it Sizzles (1964) and How to Steal a Million (1966) were virtually forgotten not long after their release. In light of the relative obscurity of many of Hepburn's films, it is worthwhile to consider exactly what Hepburn possessed that gave her such enduring popularity and significance. Obviously, she was very attractive, but so are many actresses; in fact, it seemed to be Hepburn's ability to be both attractive and angelic that seemed to set her apart. She brought a different kind of beauty to Hollywood; in the words of Barry Paris, she was the "diametric opposite of the European sex goddess." She combined the graceful movement of a classically-trained dancer with the unconventional facial features that made her impossible to forget, and her legacy has only grown in significance since her premature death in 1993.

British Legends: The Life and Legend of Audrey Hepburn looks at the life of the iconic actress on and off the silver screen. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about Audrey Hepburn like you never have before, in no time at all.