Her name is synonymous with elegance, style and grace. Over
the course of her extraordinary life and career, Audrey Hepburn
captured hearts around the world and created a public image that
stands as one of the most recognizable and beloved in recent
memory. But despite her international fame and her tireless efforts
on behalf of UNICEF, Audrey was also known for her intense privacy.
With unprecedented access to studio archives, friends and
colleagues who knew and loved Audrey, bestselling author Donald
Spoto provides an intimate and moving account of this beautiful,
elusive and talented woman.
Tracing her astonishing rise to stardom, from her harrowing
childhood in Nazi-controlled Holland during World War II to her
years as a struggling ballet dancer in London and her Tony
Award–winning Broadway debut in Gigi, Spoto illuminates the origins
of Audrey’s tenacious spirit and fiercely passionate nature.
She would go on to star in some of the most popular movies of the
twentieth century, including Roman Holiday, Sabrina, Funny Face,
The Nun’s Story, Breakfast at Tiffany’s and My Fair Lady. A friend
and inspiration to renowned designer Hubert de Givenchy, Audrey
emerged as a fashion icon as well as a film legend, her influence
on women’s fashion virtually unparalleled to this day.
But behind the glamorous public persona, Audrey Hepburn was both
a different and a deeper person and a woman who craved love and
affection. Donald Spoto offers remarkable insights into her
professional and personal relationships with her two husbands, and
with celebrities such as Gregory Peck, William Holden, Fred
Astaire, Gary Cooper, Robert Anderson, Cary Grant, Peter O’Toole,
Albert Finney and Ben Gazzara. The turbulent romances of her youth,
her profound sympathy for the plight of hungry children, and the
thrills and terrors of motherhood prepared Audrey for the final
chapter in her life, as she devoted herself entirely to the charity
efforts of an organization that had once come to her rescue at the
end of the war: UNICEF.
Donald Spoto has written a poignant, funny and deeply moving
biography of an unforgettable woman. At last, Enchantment reveals
the private Audrey Hepburn—and invites readers to fall in love with
her all over again.
“She was as funny as she was beautiful. She was a magical
combination of high chic and high spirits.” —Gregory Peck
“In spite of her fragile appearance, she’s like steel.” —Cary
Grant
“Audrey was known for something which has disappeared, and that
is elegance, grace and manners . . . God kissed her on the cheek,
and there she was.” —Billy Wilder
“There is not a woman alive who does not dream of looking like
Audrey Hepburn.” —Hubert de Givenchy
“Her magnetism was so extraordinary that everyone wanted to be
close to her. It was as if she placed a glass barrier between
herself and the world. You couldn’t get behind it easily. It made
her remarkably attractive.” —Stanley Donen
“She has authentic charm. Most people simply have nice manners.”
—Alfred Lunt
From the Hardcover edition.
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