Audrey Hepburn [Hardcover]

Barry Paris (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 29, 1996

A detailed and revealing biography of Audrey Hepburn includes never-before-published photographs that complement coverage of her traumatic childhood in Nazi-occupied Europe, her award-winning film performances, and her humanitarian endeavors.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Barry Paris loves Audrey Hepburn, and who can blame him? His exuberant profile of the movie star traces Hepburn's life from her childhood in the Netherlands (where she aided the Dutch resistence) through her Hollywood career (from her Oscar-winning performance in Roman Holiday to Steven Spielberg's Always). Paris, a veteran of Hollywood biography books, wants to free his readers of any false impressions that might sully the late star's reputation. The impression that Hepburn was a snob, he persuades us, was the result of an introverted character formed by her experiences during the war. This wartime experience both fed Hepburn's love of the spotlight and inspired a concern for the poor and powerless that compelled her to campaign for UNICEF from 1988 until her death in 1993. Some of the most fascinating material in this delightfully readable volume concerns the impact the ever-elegant Audrey Hepburn had on women's style and self-conception. If you don't already love her, Paris's book will at the least evoke admiration of her, if not enlist you in a movement for her beatification.

From Publishers Weekly

The life of beloved actress Audrey Hepburn (1929-1993) is stylishly explored in this lively, at times even frothy, biography from Paris (Louise Brooks; Garbo). Paris goes a long way toward explaining Hepburn's gamine appeal with his account of her hardscrabble, often terrifying childhood during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. For the rest of her life, he shows, Hepburn had a former refugee's infectious love of the limelight and the good life but also a charmingly modest understanding that most people suffer more than movie stars do. Hepburn's personal and professional relationships with her leading men?William Holden, Gregory Peck, Fred Astaire, Cary Grant?are presented in gossipy detail, as is her often difficult marriage with actor Mel Ferrer. There are also informative accounts of the making of her films, with special emphasis on the controversy surrounding the casting of Hepburn rather than Julie Andrews as Eliza in the film version of My Fair Lady. Paris presents some new material from Ferrer, and some very witty new remarks by composer Andre Previn about the struggle over whether to dub Hepburn's singing voice in My Fair Lady, but for the most part this biography is a pastiche of earlier articles, interviews and biographies. Even so, it's the very model of a celebrity biography?a little breathless, a little prurient, with just enough fiber in the way of psychological insight to make reading it a slightly more substantial experience than gobbling chocolates. Photos and filmography not seen by PW. BOMC selection; first serial rights to Vanity Fair.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 452 pages
• Publisher: Putnam Adult; First Edition edition (October 29, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399140565
• ISBN-13: 978-0399140563
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.3 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #431,678 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #14 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( H ) > Hepburn, Audrey

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Audrey,you were a true lady, January 15, 2003

By 

Carl P. Rychlik (Monroe, Ct United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Audrey Hepburn (Paperback)

I congratulate Barry Paris on a great biography of Audrey Hepburn.This book deserves at least 6 stars!Before I read the book,I had a lot of respect for Audrey Hepburn-but after reading this book,I have the utmost respect for her and admire her greatly.She was a saint and certainly was an attractive lady.You really have to feel sympathetic and empathetic for her with all the disappointments and hardships she had to confront throughout her life.A lot of people think that movie stars come from well-to-do families and lead charmed lives-not Audrey Hepburn.Her life is of horror,loss of love, and tradegy:(at six years of age, her father left the family leaving her forever heartbroken;she would witness the execution of an uncle and cousin during nazi occupied Holland;later in life,suffer 5 miscarraiges and 2 devastating divorces).There were happy moments of her life, too;film stardom, 2 marriages and two sons.These accounts of her life forged the true and genuine heart that she had. All through her life,Audrey Hepburn was a woman of love, and cared very much for the well being of others-she was not a selfish person.All her life, she helped others before helping herself.These acts of kindness, compassion, and caring was certainly genuine,and Audrey certainly was giving from her heart and soul.In her last years of her life ,she would be an ambassador of UNICEF, helping the children of impoverished nations. This book tells never known things about this selfless lady that thought of others more than herself.Mr.Paris certainly has done a great deal of research(looking at all the acknowlegements and bibliographies in the back of the book should tell you this man went through great lengths).This is a great book written about a real lady with a heart of gold.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A tribute to Audrey and to Barry Parris' writing skill, August 2, 2004

By 

chintz22 (Newburyport, MA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Audrey Hepburn (Paperback)

What is the true test of a biographer's skill? Creating a riviting, insightful book about a subject who had no scandal in her life and who seems to have be beloved by everyone. Material that, in lesser hands, could have been saccherine or written with the usual "movie star bio" template is instead moving, wise, very informative, and beautifully written. Check out Mr. Paris' other biographies of Garbo and especially Louise Brooks for more great writing.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Saint Audrey, January 9, 2002

By 

N. Kimbrough "nkimbrough" (Springfield, MO) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Audrey Hepburn (Paperback)

If you love to read those books on stars who looked beautiful and charming on the outside and brutal alcoholics behind closed doors, you will be sorely disappointed by Audrey Hepburn. Barry Paris's book on the Imph is just astonishing. It begins with her troubled childhood, a father who abandoned her and the World War II stories of her and her home country are tear-jerking. Then her sudden rise to success was only off-set by a set of miscarriages and missed-marriages. Yet her charm and elegance shown through it all. The part that really makes an impact is that last chapters of Hepburns life. Paris's coverage of Hepburn's travels with UNICEF. It was riveting to find out how committed she was to her cause, the extents she would go to help the children, even to her dying days. Barry Paris did an excellent job in collecting facts, interviews, and side stories to make this the best Hepburn book yet.