Audrey was living in the Netherlands with her mother when World War II broke out. During five years of Nazi occupation, the family suffered greatly. “There was always a cloud of fear and repression,” said the star, who like many wartime children, suffered malnutrition.
Here is Audrey with her mother, Dutch baroness Ella Van Heemstra, in 1946.
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She headed for London, where she pursued her dance career, taking jobs in modeling, acting and films on the side. Here she is seen at the barre around 1950.
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Audrey before her career took flight, seen in a role in the 1951 film, Laughter in Paradise. She would soon get her big break with Roman Holiday.
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In 1953 William Wyler sent the young star on her Roman Holiday, the beguiling story of a lonely Princess who plays truant for 24 hours and discovers romance and herself. This carefree caper, co-starring Gregory Peck, earned her an Oscar at the age of just 24.
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Audrey's elegance, poise and charisma made her one of the era's biggest stars – one whose influence continues to set trends today, from her eyebrows to her LBDs.
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Audrey played the chauffeur’s daughter in Billy Wilder's rags-to riches tale Sabrina. Here she is looking effortlessly chic with co-star and love interest Humphrey Bogart on set. “She’s a wispy, thin little thing,” Wilder wrote, “but you’re really in the presence of somebody.”
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Kooky party girl Holly Golightly in 1961's Breakfast at Tiffany’s was just one of the roles that won Audrey the hearts of generations of movie goers and made her a style icon.
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Audrey's on- and off-screen teaming with designer Hubert de Givenchy lasted throughout her career. Here, she's seen in his creations in two of her most iconic films, Sabrina, left, and Breakfast at Tiffany's.
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Following her split with Mel Ferrer, the actress married second husband Andrea Dotti in 1969, keeping her wedding ensemble characteristically chic and simple.
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Audrey went back to a shorter cropped style in the 1970s. Here, she flashes her unforgettable smile in 1979, during a photoshoot for thriller Bloodline.
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Late in her life, Audrey worked tirelessly to raise support and awareness for UNICEF. Here she is meeting local chidren during her first-ever trip as a UN Goodwill Ambassador, traveling to Ethiopia in 1988.
Photo: Getty Images
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“Makeup can only make you look pretty on the outside, but it doesn’t help if you’re ugly on the inside. Unless you eat the makeup,’” she once quipped. Audrey was as beautiful as ever at the 1992 Oscars, the year before she died of cancer at the age of 63.
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