The Audrey Hepburn Story

Audrey's father, a Nazi-sympathizer, abandons her and her mother Ella. She is sent to an English boarding school where she grows passionate about ballet. These early years lay the groundwork for her later career in performance.

When Britain enters WWII, Audrey returns to live with Ella in the neutral Netherlands. The Nazi invasion brings years of hardship and fear. Liberation brings UNICEF resources to a starved population.

After the war, Audrey studies ballet in London but does not become a prima ballerina. She dances in musicals and revues to make ends meet and takes small parts in several films. These experiences gradually propel her toward major stardom.

Audrey is engaged to James Hanson, a wealthy industrialist who supports her career. While filming Monte Carlo Baby (1951), she is scouted by Colette to star in the Broadway play Gigi, and ultimately breaks off the engagement as her passion for acting deepens.

Audrey's leading role in the 1953 film Roman Holiday catapults her to international fame. While filming Sabrina, she falls in love with married co-star William Holden, who proposes marriage but she declines after learning about his vasectomy.

Actor Mel Ferrer and Audrey co-star in the Broadway play Ondine, and she wins the Academy Award for Best Actress for Roman Holiday. Shortly after, she marries Mel Ferrer and moves to Switzerland, continuing her film work on Funny Face, Love in the Afternoon, and The Nun's Story.

While filming The Nun's Story in Stanleyville, Belgian Congo, Audrey learns about the area's lack of access to good medical care and questions the value of her work as an actress. Mel insists that her movies matter to millions.

During the production of The Unforgiven, a pregnant Audrey falls from a horse and injures her back. In hospital, she receives a letter from her estranged father and learns that Ella hid his other letters from her. She later miscarries.

After recovering, Audrey travels to Ireland to see her father, but the visit is short and he shows little desire to meet again. She reconciles with Ella and eventually takes a hiatus from acting to start a family.

Audrey takes a hiatus from acting to have her and Mel's son, Sean Hepburn Ferrer. She is offered the role of Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany's but initially declines due to concerns about playing a wild 'call girl'. Mel convinces her the role is worth taking.

Preparing to film the final scene, Audrey theorizes that Holly's abandonment of her cat symbolizes how she feels about herself: lost and unlovable. When the cat reappears, Holly accepts herself, and Audrey gains respect from Truman Capote. The final scene is shot in one take and celebrated.

The closing text references Audrey's later film work and the birth of her second son Luca Dotti. In later life she becomes a UNICEF ambassador, with footage of her on a mission; she passes away from cancer in 1993.