Audrey Hepburn was only 63 years old when she died of cancer in 1993, but the European-born Hollywood legend packed more living into her time on earth than most people could do in a century. It's broadly known that she was the designer Givenchy’s muse, that she retired from acting to do relief work for UNICEF and that women still show up at Tiffany’s with bags of pastries thanks to Hepburn’s iconic performance in Breakfast at Tiffany’s. But while seemingly every moment of her adult life was documented, there’s still a lot that most people don’t know about the glamorous movie star. Here are six lesser-known facts about HHepburn.
Hepburn helped the Resistance during WWII, but her parents were Nazi Sympathizers
Hepburn's activism during World War II was always a part of her official biography. The British-born actress moved to Holland during the war because her Dutch mother believed they would be safe in a country that had pledged to stay neutral. The Nazis invaded anyway. Hepburn, like millions of others, nearly starved when the Nazis cut off food supplies. Her envied slender figure was the result of being malnourished during adolescence.
