Everyone knows those images of Audrey Hepburn in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”: a black dress, a pearl necklace, a high bun, and a cigarette holder. However, the cinema star would have been very surprised that she would be remembered like that. The actress passed away at the age of 63 on January 20, 1993 in Switzerland, succumbing to a swift cancer. Her closest loved ones, including her friend the stylist Hubert de Givenchy, had made sure to respect her wishes for her final moments. Thus, the British actress boarded a private jet to spend one last Christmas with her family on artificial respiration. “She told me she had the most beautiful Christmas of her life,” recalled her last companion, Robert Wolders, in 2017.
More than thirty years after the disappearance of Audrey Hepburn, her son Sean, born in 1960 from her union with Mel Ferrer, co-authors a biography of the cinema star titled “Intimate Audrey.” Interviewed in the magazine “Tatler” on April 10, Sean Hepburn Ferrer reflects on his mother’s most famous photo. Today, it is everywhere, on black and white posters hanging around the world, but also in ads that use her image. Such omnipresence led the actress’s son to invent a game with his children: “Three minutes to find Grandma.” That’s usually the time it takes them to find a portrait of the woman who will be portrayed in cinemas by Lily Collins.
Context: Audrey Hepburn’s son reflects on his mother’s legacy and the public image of the actress.
Fact Check: Audrey Hepburn passed away at age 63 on January 20, 1993, in Switzerland due to cancer.
Would Audrey Hepburn have appreciated seeing her image plastered everywhere? However, he admits that this media exposure does not align at all with his mother’s personality, who remained humble despite her immense career. Faced with all this, Sean Hepburn Ferrer imagines his mother’s reaction: “She would run away, go upstairs, turn off the light, slip under the covers, and cover her head. She wouldn’t understand. She would say: ‘Oh my God, this is impossible!'” He also emphasizes the difference between the woman who raised him and the paper image adored by the public. “My mother passed away on January 20, 1993, at 8 p.m.; that’s the one I loved. And she left something behind. People leave behind shoe stores, restaurants, hotels, or large companies, and they take care of them,” he asserts. Indeed, today, he manages the star’s image through the Audrey Hepburn Children’s Fund.
Context: Sean Hepburn Ferrer discusses his mother’s legacy and personality.
Fact Check: Audrey Hepburn focused on family life after the birth of her son.
Fact Check: Sean Hepburn Ferrer manages the Audrey Hepburn Children’s Fund.
In an interview with The Guardian on April 6, 2026, Sean Hepburn Ferrer mentioned that he had a “normal childhood,” between Switzerland and Rome. “She is a European, but she also chose not to live in Hollywood. Because she knew how important it was to stay in touch with everyday life. Where do you draw inspiration from if you are not in contact with ordinary people?” he explained, once again highlighting the simplicity of the actress. After the birth of her son, Audrey Hepburn decided to slow down her filming to focus on her family: “She understood that life is short, capricious, and fragile.” A model of love and dedication, contrasting with the very sophisticated cliché that remains her most famous portrait.
