Audrey Hepburn

1929–1993 · Belgian-born actress and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador

Born in Ixelles, Brussels in 1929 and raised partly in the occupied Netherlands, Hepburn became one of the defining screen presences of the 1950s and ’60s in Roman Holiday, Sabrina, Breakfast at Tiffany’s and My Fair Lady. She stepped away from full-time acting in 1966 to raise her sons, and spent her final years as a Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF, travelling to famine and war zones on the fund’s behalf. She died at her home in Tolochenaz, Switzerland in January 1993, less than two years after giving the interview this line comes from.

Traced to source

7 quotes we’ve traced to Audrey Hepburn

“I was born with an enormous need for affection, and a terrible need to give it”

Verified

“Living is like tearing through a museum. Not until later do you really start absorbing what you saw, thinking about it, looking it up in a book, and remembering — because you can't take it all in at once”

Attributed

“The most important thing is to enjoy your life - to be happy”

Attributed

“Elegance is the only beauty that never fades”

Disputed

“Happy girls are the prettiest”

Disputed

“I believe in pink. I believe that laughing is the best calorie burner. I believe in kissing, kissing a lot. I believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong. I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls. I believe that tomorrow is another day and I believe in miracles”

Disputed

“Nothing is impossible, the word itself says I'm possible”

Disputed

Not actually Audrey Hepburn

Often misattributed to Audrey Hepburn

Famous lines widely pinned on Audrey Hepburn that we’ve traced to someone else.

“Anyone who doesn't believe in miracles is not a realist”

actually David Ben-Gurion

“Elegance is the only beauty that never fades”

actually Unknown

“For attractive lips, speak words of kindness. For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people. For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry”

actually Sam Levenson

“Happy girls are the prettiest”

actually Anonymous (a MySpace-era “I believe in pink” passage)

“I believe in pink. I believe that laughing is the best calorie burner. I believe in kissing, kissing a lot. I believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong. I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls. I believe that tomorrow is another day and I believe in miracles”

actually Unknown (anonymous online author, c. 2007–08)

“Nothing is impossible, the word itself says I'm possible”

actually Unknown — an anonymous piece of wordplay

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