Femme and Fierce: Part Three
So this is it, the last in Ellie and I's mini-series, 'Femme and Fierce'. It's been so much fun researching and writing about these amazing women and I have been saving the best till last! This week looks at the inspirational Audrey Hepburn... I hope you're as ready for this as I am!
Also, show my girl Ellie some love as this week she wrote about Emma Watson and her part in the battle for equality between men and women.
Click here to read Ellie Farrow's post.
A U D R E Y H E P B U R N
"The most important thing is to enjoy your life - to be happy - that's all that matters."
Also, show my girl Ellie some love as this week she wrote about Emma Watson and her part in the battle for equality between men and women.
Click here to read Ellie Farrow's post.
A U D R E Y H E P B U R N
"The most important thing is to enjoy your life - to be happy - that's all that matters."
It's pretty much indisputable that Hepburn is one of the most iconic women of the 1960s. Her elegance and style surpass that of most people and anyone who knows me will know that this woman has been my role model for a very long time now. I have many books in my, somewhat limited collection, from biographies of Hepburn's life, to 'How to be Lovely', to books on Hubert Givenchy.
The first film I watched of hers was the iconic 'Breakfast At Tiffany's', starring Hepburn, Peppard, and Neal to name a few. An amazing cast yet I think it's fair to say that Hepburn's character, Holly Golightly, stole the show by enchanting audiences worldwide with her delicate grace, fiery determinism and contagious charisma. And these are all traits I believe she embodied throughout her whole career in Hollywood, not just as Holly Golightly.
Photo: http://www.lelalondon.com/2013/10/weekend-wonder-virginia-satir/
Nevertheless, it was a mixture of watching this film for the first time and also being constantly surrounded by 60s pop culture references and images that sparked my admiration for this woman. I'm sure you know the ones I mean, the Warhol-esk pop art prints of Golightly and the famous black and white images that are still present in pop culture today. For example, the image of "Breakfast at Tiffany's" have even crept into music with Deep Blue Something's catchy song or The Summer Set's reference to the star in their song 'Boomerang'.
"And if I was James Dean, you can be my Audrey, breakfast at Tiffany's for two."
...even though James Dean and Audrey never actually met, they are both famous icons of their time.
I think that Hollywood flung Hepburn's life into the spotlight, seemingly overnight, because of her undeniable beauty and delicacy as she embodied everything society has been taught to admire about femininity. She was one of the first women I looked up to who encapsulated everything I love about femininity and being a woman - the idea of inner beauty, of spreading love and kindness even in the face of hate and judgment.
Although Hepburn is maybe the most famous because of her doe-eyed, youthful, slim features and maybe even those superficial things are what attracted Hollywood to her in the first place. But don't get it wrong, I strongly believe that it was her unshakable representation of what a woman could be, in a man's world. The light she shared with the world continues to inspire love, happiness, health, and humanity in many many people.
When Hepburn was a young girl, her family were affected by World War Two, her home in Holland was invaded by the Germans, and food and liberty soon became in short supply. Her family suffered through the war in poverty and nearly lost both brothers. She said in interviews that this period of her life when food was scarce and rationed, her figure became so slim and fragile that she never really recovered from the malnourishment, yet this was an aspect of Audrey that was often glamorized by the media.
Audrey always knew who she was and where she came from, a humbleness that is often lost in today's society I think. Even when the world granted her fame and fortune, it also dealt her some hardships- heartbreak, loss, miscarriages, and poverty. However, she never lost her humble and kind-hearted nature, leaving her career on the silver screen at the pinnacle of her celebrity to start and take care of her own family.
"The world has always been cynical, and I think that I'm a romantic at heart. I hope for better things, and I thank God the world is also full of people who want to be genuine and kind."
Melissa Helstern poignantly summarised that "Audrey spent her career making art and her fame creating humanity."
Arguably, the most important and inspiring action that Hepburn gave the world was during her role as a goodwill ambassador for UNICEF. She used her high status to travel across the world, to see the hardships of impoverished children and to tell the world of the progress being made and the importance that action is to be taken to help others. In 1992, Hepburn received the Presidential Medal of Freedom - the highest civilian honor.
She was a voice for communities experiencing immense hardships, stating that 'War' was the biggest obstacle that any humanitarian charity organizations will ever face. "The developing countries spend $150 billion on arms each year. Meanwhile, the five permanent members of the UN Security Council sell 90% of the world's arms."
She was a woman wise beyond her years and her time. She passed away in 1993 from cancer. However, her wisdom, generosity, and humbleness is something that lives on. I think we can all learn something from Audrey Hepburn. Think of everything this one woman endured and accomplished in her lifetime. She believed in a collective responsibility to make the world a better place - one country, one person, one child at a time. And I think that her character and her story will continue to inspire generations of hope and progressive change in the world. I know she has inspired me - what about you?
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