New Audrey Hepburn biography is an emotional roller coaster of joy and tragedy

Reading Intimate Audrey feels like cuddling into your favourite reading nook and wrapping yourself in a real-life fairy tale. In this book, the authors take you on a most personal journey into Audrey Hepburn’s life from her childhood to her death.
Filled with stories of victory – such as being declared the only person to play Gigi in the Broadway show of the same name by the novelist on whose book the show was based – and tragedy, such as when her housekeeper revealed the extent of her husband’s affairs, this book shows a side of Hepburn that we never knew.
But perhaps Audrey Hepburn is a new figure to you? After all, her most iconic film roles came in the 1950s and 60s in films such as Breakfast at Tiffany’s, My Fair Lady and Roman Holiday.
In her later years, her love of children and drive to help them led her to serve as a Goodwill Ambassador of Unicef. Perhaps this need to help was a way to give back after receiving international aid when she was a malnourished and traumatised child, recovering from the Nazi occupation of Holland during World War II.

One co-author, Sean Hepburn Ferrer, is Hepburn’s son from her marriage to Mel Ferrer. The younger Ferrer has worked in almost every part of the entertainment industry and carries on with Hepburn’s work through non-profits and Unicef. Wendy Holden joins him as co-author – a great choice, as she is a journalist, historian and novelist with a focus on World War II. Her bestselling titles include The Teacher of Auschwitz. She has also ghostwritten memoirs for public figures such as Goldie Hawn, Barbara Sinatra and Cher.
Each chapter begins with a quote from Hepburn and a scene written as if in a screenplay. It is an effective technique. By the end of the first chapter, readers may feel moved to tears by how Hepburn struggled to be strong while experiencing the tragedy unfolding in a Somali refugee camp where children were dying from starvation.
The stories revealed here are the ones that we have missed over the years. The ones about her childhood and her parents’ relationship; her stern mother who found her lacking in almost every way; the terrible starvation that occurred during World War II and how the conflict destroyed her dreams of being a ballerina; the infidelity of husbands; the way she cherished her children; and the solace she found in the garden and her home in Switzerland.

Each of these stories leads us to the focus of her final years. We learn about the life of service she created in her later years with her dedication to the children of the world in her role as a goodwill ambassador of Unicef. We marvel at the quiet star still leading the way in her final film role as Hap in Always. We discover the devoted gardener showing us her favourite flowers in her final passion project, Gardens of the World with Audrey Hepburn. We weep watching this singular human inviting all of her dearest friends to visit and receive gifts from her as she lay on her deathbed.
Being a film star means dedicating yourself to your art and career. Being a devoted mother, in many ways, means leaving that career behind. This is a woman who wanted to have it all, who wanted the nights in to read and play with her young son, but also to have a film career.
Of course, to do that means to promote and to make connections to continue her work, and so, instead of staying in, she walked out the door most evenings dressed for lavish parties. It all seems so glamorous until you see the yearning for those precious moments. But through it all, her son, Sean, avers that he never felt neglected or a lack of love from his mother.

Being that iconic film star and fashionista allowed her to have a life filled with purpose and love.
Perhaps this book is less like reading a fairy tale than watching a documentary, one where you cannot bear to leave the cinema, and find yourself watching the credits while tears run down your face as you smile in the dark.