Audrey Hepburn Quotes

Photo of Audrey Hepburn, actor and humanitarian

Audrey Hepburn Quotes

An Academy Award and Tony Award winning film and stage actress, Audrey Hepburn was also a humanitarian. In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked her as the third greatest female star of all time. Hepburn was born a ‘blueblood’, a descendant of King Edward III of England and Mary Queen of Scots’ consort, James Hepburn. This made Hepburn a distant cousin of Diana Princess of Wales, who thought of her as her favorite actress. She was also related to other notable distant cousins including Humphrey Bogart and Prince Rainier III of Monaco.

Image: Photo of Audrey Hepburn, actor and humanitarian

“The best thing to hold onto in life is each other.

“As a child, I was taught that it was bad manners to bring attention to yourself, and to never, ever make a spectacle of yourself… All of which I’ve earned a living doing.”

“I decided, very early on, just to accept life unconditionally; I never expected it to do anything special for me, yet I seemed to accomplish far more than I had ever hoped. Most of the time it just happened to me without my ever seeking it.”

“I love people who make me laugh. I honestly think it’s the thing I like most, to laugh. It cures a multitude of ills. It’s probably the most important thing in a person.”

“How shall I sum up my life? I think I’ve been particularly lucky. Does that have something to do with faith also? I know my mother always used to say, ‘Good things aren’t supposed to just fall in your lap. God is very generous, but he expects you to do your part first.’  So you have to make that effort. But at the end of a bad time or a huge effort, I’ve always had – how shall I say it? – the prize at the end. My whole life shows that.”

“I never think of myself as an icon. What is in other people’s minds is not in my mind. I just do my thing.”

“It’s that wonderful old-fashioned idea that others come first and you come second. This was the whole ethic by which I was brought up. Others matter more than you do, so don’t fuss, dear; get on with it.”“Pick the day. Enjoy it – to the hilt. The day as it comes. People as they come… The past, I think, has helped me appreciate the present – and I don’t want to spoil any of it by fretting about the future.”

“I auditioned for this job for forty-five years and I finally got it. I always felt very powerless when I would see the terrible pictures on TV. But I was offered a wonderful opportunity to do something [and it] is a marvelous therapy to the anguish I feel.”

“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.”

“Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, it’s at the end of your arm, as you get older, remember you have another hand: The first is to help yourself, the second is to help others.”

“People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed; never throw out anyone.”

For beautiful eyes, look for the good in others: for beautiful lips, speak only words of kindness; and for poise, walk with the knowledge that you are never alone.”

– Audrey Hepburn  (1929-1993)

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