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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Lifestyle
Pamela Hutchinson

My mother, Audrey Hepburn: the star’s son Sean on her movies, marriages, good works and fascist parents

Audrey Hepburn with her son Sean Hepburn Ferrer in New York in 1961.
Audrey Hepburn with her son Sean Hepburn Ferrer in New York in 1961. Photograph: Bettmann Archive

Growing up, Sean Hepburn Ferrer says he never felt like the son of a movie star – but he very much is. His mother was Audrey Hepburn, one of the biggest names in the golden age of Hollywood, an Oscar-winner, a screen star and a fashion icon. Hundreds of millions of people all over the world recognise her from classics such as Roman Holiday, Funny Face and My Fair Lady – besotted with the way she laughs, dances, or poses tastefully in Givenchy couture.

Audrey’s image is so ubiquitous in posters, art prints, magazines, on handbags, keyrings or T-shirts, that the family has made hunting for her likeness into a game. “I must have made this crack to my kids,” Sean says. “We were probably waiting for a train or a plane that had been delayed: ‘Three minutes to find Grandma.’ And it became a thing. Now the kids are grown-up, but they do it on their own. I do it by myself and send a snapshot to my wife and we giggle privately.”

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