“If I were to write a biography,” my mother once told me, “it would start like this: I was born in Brussels, Belgium, on May 4 1929… and I died six weeks later”. My mother felt that her life had been rather straightforward and therefore not worth much writing about. Her Victorian upbringing dictated that you never call attention to yourself. So she worked hard, she was a good mother, and she got on with the rest of it.”

Grace Kelly in Hitchcock’s Rear Window (1954)

“She was the most extraordinary, natural actress.. but not even so much an actress as a person of great, great quality. Great depth, great intelligence, great human, a wonderful, wonderful lady. I treasure in my recollections of my career those six months that we spent in Rome; probably the happiest experience that I had making movies.” Gregory Peck

“I’ve never seen anybody change so much in front of a camera as Audrey. In life, you’d think ‘How is she going to get through the day or even the hour?’ Her hands were shaking, she’s smoking too much, she’s worried, she’s being kind of desperately nice to everybody, she’s so fragile… But between the time she stepped in front of the camera and you said ‘Action!’, something happened. She pulled it together. A kind of strength through vulnerability - strength like an iron butterfly… The performance was true, never weak, always strong and clear. It was an amazing thing to watch, this professional completely in charge of her instrument without even thinking about it. I think it was all second nature.” Peter Bogdanovich

“I have been in pictures for thirty years, and I have never had a more enthusiastic leading lady than Audrey. She puts more light and energy into her acting than anyone else I’ve ever met.” Gary Cooper

“I never saw anyone work so hard. She was tireless in learning both the songs and the dances. It wasn’t like Cyd Charisse or Ginger Rogers, who did it all the time. Roger Edens would say, ‘Audrey, take tomorrow off. You’ve been working sixteen hours a day’. She’d say, ‘No, I’ll be here at nine’. And then she’d be there at eight.” Leonard Gershe

“My passion for her has lasted through four marriages - two of hers and two of mine.” Stanley Donen.

“She was so gracious and grateful that everybody fell in love with her after five minutes. Everybody was in love with this girl, I included. My problem was that I am a guy who speaks in his sleep, I toss around and talk and talk… But fortunately, my wife’s first name is Audrey as well.” Billy Wilder.

“I had the opportunity to see how deep her soul is, and its commitment to life… The love that the woman exuded was absolutely fathomless.” Harry Belafonte

“Her performance [in The Nun’s Story] will forever silence those who have thought her less an actress than a symbol of sophisticated child/woman. Her portrayal of Sister Luke is one of the great performances of the screen.” Films in Review

“No one in the profession was ever jealous of her. No one ever disputed her title as ‘The Best’ in romantic comedies. Courageous, stoical even, her sense of duty amazed her colleagues; she was always on time, ever ready with her script on the movie set. No one ever saw her throw a tantrum, or the shadow of a movie-star caprice. She was moved to this code of perfect behavior by the most touching modesty. According to her, she had just been lucky to be singled out for a fabulous career. She tried forever to measure up to what she thought she ought to be.” Leslie Caron

“We were filming an exterior in Paris and the weather… became very, very cold indeed. Audrey had to walk across the street, get into a waiting car and drive off, but the poor child had turned bright blue with cold. The light was going and the shot was needed. I pulled Audrey into the caravan and gave her a shot of brandy. She went all roses and cream, bounced out of the caravan, radiated towards the motor car, hopped into it and drove off, taking with her five great big lamps [being used to light the scene], the trimmers of which had flung themselves on the cobbles out of the way.” Peter O’Toole

“In Breakfast at Tiffany’s, all of a sudden - because was Audrey who was doing it - living alone, going out, looking fabulous, and getting a little drunk didn’t look so bad anymore. Being single actually seemed shame-free. It seemed fun.” Sam Wasson

“She was so sweet and unassuming and nice to everybody. Some stars go to their dressing rooms between takes, but she didn’t. I remember a group of us had gathered around her while they were relighting the scene, and she told us about the blitz in London. And she also told us that her mother always wanted her to have an extra pair of white gloves in case the gloves she was wearing got dirty. I remember that.” Miriam Nelson

“Before I even met Audrey, I had a crush on her, and after I met her, just a day after, I felt as if we were old friends… Most men who worked with her felt both fatherly or brotherly about her, while harboring romantic feelings about her… She was the love of my life.” William Holden

“With a woman as sexy as Audrey, you sometimes get to the edge where make-believe and reality are blurred - all that staring into each other’s eyes…I won’t discuss it more because of the degree of intimacy involved. The time spent with Audrey is one of the closest I’ve ever had.” Albert Finney.

“All I want for Christmas is another picture with Audrey Hepburn.” Cary Grant

“What is needed in order to really become a star is an extra element which God gives you or doesn’t give you. You’re born with it. you cannot learn it. God kissed Audrey Hepburn on the cheek and there she was.” Billy Wilder

happy birthday, AUDREY KATHLEEN RUSTON

Greta Garbo in a Clarence Sinclair Bull photo, c.1929