Enchantment: The Life of Audrey Hepburn

Enchantment: The Life of Audrey Hepburn

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 Awardâ€“winning Broadway debut in Gigi, Spoto illuminates the origins of Audreyâ€™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 Nunâ€™s Story, Breakfast at Tiffanyâ€™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 womenâ€™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 Oâ€™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 Hepburnâ€”and invites readers to fall in love with her all over again.

â€œShe was as funny as she was beautiful. She was a magical combination of high chic and high spirits.â€ â€”Gregory Peck

â€œIn spite of her fragile appearance, sheâ€™s like steel.â€ â€”Cary Grant

â€œAudrey was known for something which has disappeared, and that is elegance, grace and manners . . . God kissed her on the cheek, and there she was.â€ â€”Billy Wilder

â€œThere is not a woman alive who does not dream of looking like Audrey Hepburn.â€ â€”Hubert de Givenchy

â€œHer 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 couldnâ€™t get behind it easily. It made her remarkably attractive.â€ â€”Stanley Donen

â€œShe has authentic charm. Most people simply have nice manners.â€ â€”Alfred Lunt

From the Hardcover edition.
Country USA
Brand CROWN
Manufacturer Crown
Binding Paperback
ItemPartNumber 9780307237590
Color White
ReleaseDate 2007-10-09
UnitCount 1
EANs 9780307237590

Country	USA
Brand	CROWN
Manufacturer	Crown
Binding	Paperback
ItemPartNumber	9780307237590
Color	White
ReleaseDate	2007-10-09
UnitCount	1
EANs	9780307237590

Enchantment: The Life of Audrey Hepburn

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