Audrey Hepburn Interview - 1988

Why is she so tired in war-torn Holland to finally go to Hollywood and star in some of the most memorable films ever made? Her career as a movie star has spanned some 40 years and she has recently emerged in a very important new role as a special ambassador. for UNICEF and I'm delighted to welcome Oscar-winning actress Audrey Hepburn this Sunday to say it right away: it's quite surprising, you know, from the '50s and '60s and all those movies that you've barely changed, you haven't won Not an ounce, listen, no. Okay, what can I say, friend, when I look back at that period when Marilyn Monroe had made curves fashionable?

You know, you really eliminated the breasts and curves on your own. Really, I just wasn't blessed with them, but. You know, I came to this beautiful

interview

, however, years later, even though I didn't have Curtis at the time, there was something you especially wanted to change, did you want to look different? Yeah, I mean, always when I was a kid and then. and even now, except I relaxed a little bit, you know, I accepted myself as I am but of course I wanted to be more fit and I don't want to be stuck like I was, especially I wanted to be a dancer and like I have pretty big feet once I got up at 100, you can imagine, I was afraid to dance, so I had complexes about all those things, you know, but anyway I've had so much good luck that I've learned to live with myself, so here.

We are all envious of you and the image you created, but I want to capture the family, bring it up today. You have two sons? Quite big phrases, one of 28, the one of 18, do they fit into the film? Good in the business, yes, my oldest son is in production and works very hard and hopes to one day be a producer or director. My youngest son is in art school. Did you leave movies because of family? Yes, I do. I mean, I kind of stopped loving it. travel because that didn't mean leaving my kids, so I stayed home to enjoy them, you know, I would have hated doing movies all over the world and never having met my kids and now they're alone and So now I have time to travel the world with other children.

Yeah, it's interesting, isn't it that you left children's movies and here you are again working harder than ever for children? So, what exactly does a UNICEF Special Ambassador do? It involves, as I just said, it means traveling a lot, so I really am a messenger, if you will, for UNICEF. I take field trips to I've been to Africa, I just came back from that in America to see what the needs are. I know them, but it's good to watch them and then I fly around the world so people know them. Did you know how huge the job will be when you took it on?

Probably not, it's like I'm snowboarding too. You know there are so many things. involved, but seeing and knowing the media and talking to people and generally speaking, it's advocating for a child's needs and there are so many children, so presumably there's a lot to do when you accumulate information like this, then you have to speak with the people. In power in high places you have a test for the world and you talk to him gradually, yes, but why did you adapt to that side of having to convince people well? I was received by the president of Ecuador, who I believe is very committed to children, in fact in his inauguration speech he said that the only privileged people under my government will be the children and something beautiful has happened and I was there for the launch of something called the pro-Andes project, these are five and in countries that have the United States. for a common good for the education of children for poverty against poverty if you want and this is a big and very interesting project and UNICEF is organizing and providing knowledge and raising funds for child care immunization is very, very little the immunization does all this type of work, all the travel, everything it entails, it is a very exhausting schedule, is all that easy for you?

The part of loving a child is easy for us, everything that is not easy for us easy for me, others, all the planes, jet lag and that kind of thing I usually go with a pretty heavy heart because I know what I want to see. I don't have to go there to see it because I know what I'm going to see, but I have to, but somehow I always get out. much happier than when I go because well you can really be optimistic when you see what is being done and that is wonderful, you know that it takes a lot, but in a country like South America they have to do to their children what we do.

Children must be the priority. We have to stop thinking that the economy or weapons or whatever comes first must be a child, but the child is the most fragile and the most honorable and cannot wait for an economic crisis to pass. . You're not here anymore, can't you see? Obviously you are devastated at times when you see a child suffering and yet, if I go back to your own life, I mean that you suffer similarly during the war in a different way, in a very different way, no. not at all comfortable, I mean, yes, I will. I lived through five years of war, all the children, and in England I had the difference that we were occupied, we had a German occupation, this was in Holland, in Harland and little by little.

Obviously there was very little food and the winters were long and all the children started to suffer from malnutrition, so God knows I know the value of food and I was suffering from a fairly high degree of malnutrition when the war ended, but my life was never in danger. . my health Mike could have been affected if this had continued, wasn't it a UNICEF type organization? Yes, it was Raagh, which was the precursor to UNICEF. It was a United Nations organization that helped children in Europe back then and once those children were taken care of. Surely they took care of the developing countries, but if you think that the war devastated Europe, you know when in reality you are just a ruin and there were something like 20 million homeless people, the number of children, so how badly affected Was your family there?

For example, his immediate family, well, my two brothers, one was more or less in hiding and the other was taken to Germany, he was a student. Obviously I lost some members of my families because they were taken hostage and shuttered in retaliation. because of something the underground had done and all that, but that happened a lot when he was young, did you get him involved in the resistance movement in any way? In reality, some stories have been exaggerated about my contribution by spreading messages occasionally because there was no one else to do it. do it you know but that a couple of times I was really very young but you know but when I was a child and considering that you had very little food like you say you were malnourished what kind of food dreams did you have or little fantasies oh we that there was a big topic of conversation of what we were going to eat during the war and and generally it had a lot to do with bread butter a lot of jam what something you know very sweet things or old boxes of chocolate you know and in fact I I think one of the first things I did was eat a whole can of condensed milk and then I got terribly sick no sweets are what they craved.

I was just thinking too, of course, they made that famous movie, a bridge too far, very grateful. the war that you have been describing well, in fact it was where I lived that bridge that I crossed for years because I used to leave home, walk one way, cross that bridge to listen to the music school where I studied ballet, so yes indeed, it was my war, we were evacuated before the battle started, but I was there when the balloons landed on everything and then we left. Of course, I must mention some of the films that came out after your ballet studies, I and I want you to get into film.

I know I'm going to sound like a tracker today, but this is genuine. I mean, Breakfast at Tiffany's is just one of my favorite movies of all time and she, Holly, was a great character, really the cookie character in that movie was not right, you know, Truman. Capote wrote him not so bad, could you really make that whistle? No, he was dead. I tried as hard as I could and got something that was more of a squeak, but the real thing was thrown out and then of course, my fair lady, how did you do it? a cockney accent when that movie was made well, you know, I worked a little bit with a lovely lady in California, she helped me a little bit, but I couldn't really speak real cockney in the movie, I don't think anyone would have ever understood it so It had to be some kind of middle ground.

Did you say that immortal phrase? Move, you are blooming. Yes, I do. That wasn't stupid. All? Do you still look at a lot of movie scripts thinking? that maybe yes, I do receive movie scripts, I must say that in the last few years I have not received them, I have rarely received one lately and I didn't mind at all, but I'm too busy with UNICEF, but they don't want me to play someone either too young, which would be ridiculous, or too old, which would be equally ridiculous, but then you have a kind of masquerade, something that you or not, it won't be me, you know, I'm my age and many parts, but would you feel tempted? do another one if the right script was fun yeah oh yeah I'd love to do something that you know doesn't have to be big, but something that's fun to do and also not that long ago that you teamed up with again.

Gregory Peck at the Oscars, yeah, he's pretty funny and I'm going to see him again in March because the American Film Institute, the AFI, is honoring him in March for Life Achievement and naturally I'm flying to Hollywood who they're honoring. My friend, does this type of life that you are leading right now seem very satisfying to you, very, very, does it satisfy a need, do you know that we all have to do something and you know, I hope that one can contribute to alleviating some? suffering and I also think it's beautiful that in your personal life you ended up with someone from your own country from home yes, Robert is totally - I'm only half Dutch, but what a blessing it is because we do this together.

I know he could never do it alone, go around the world together and he is as passionate about the children at UNICEF as I am. They know how to count on that support, isn't it really good? I must say that we are delighted that you came to see us. I know it's a very fleeting visit to London, but thank you very much, it's a pleasure talking to you, thank you, good Orion, thank you for all you're doing, oh, oh, you're children in need, that's very classy, ​​oh, thank you ladies Gentlemen, Audrey Hepburn for being with us.

Sunday Sunday next week and obviously see you then thank you very much goodbye