Originally published on 5/22/25

Actress Audrey Hepburn shone on the big screen in the 1960s thanks to her work in films like Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961) and My Fair Lady (1964). Where she remained a bit reclusive, though, was in the media. Despite being one of the biggest stars at the time, Hepburn often opted to keep her private life, well, private. Still, that didn’t stop papers, magazines and authors from writing about her, and now Woman’s World has sat down with one of the actress’s biographers, Christopher Longé, to discover some never-before-released secrets about Hepburn that he learned from her son Luca Dotti. From things like relationships to her health, Longé shares it all below. 

Christopher Longé opens up about his Audrey Hepburn biography 

Longé is a French cartoonist and illustrator who recently worked with writer Eileen Hofer and Dotti to create the newly released Audrey Hepburn: An Illustrated Biography, which showcases the actress’s life, acting career, relationships, humanitarian work and death. 

“While I was doing the book, I was really impressed by all the kindness and goodwill that Audrey had during her life, and especially during the War and after with UNICEF,” he told Woman’s World. “There is a lot of false information about her in different books. So I felt very lucky that I got to work with Luca, Audrey’s son. He learned a few things about his mother, and he was quite happy.” 

Throughout the entire journey, though, the illustrator said that one of the things that surprised him most about Hepburn was “how strong she was in her mind.” 

“I think she always did what she wanted to do in a movie career. When she decided to stop, she stopped. And when she decided to go on with UNICEF, she put 100% of her life into helping children all around the world. She always tried to focus on what she felt.” 

A look at Audrey Hepburn’s relationships on and off screen 

One of the things everyone wants to know about Hepburn is details about her relationships with people like her sons and co-stars. 

“She was very friendly. All that mattered during her life were having kids and taking care of her family,” Longé said. “She was a very simple woman.  Luca told me that when he grew up in Switzerland, his mother wanted him to go to the public school, and when they came home, Audrey made cookies.” 

Longé also discussed the actress’s romantic relationships, saying, “There are some that we knew were true, but we didn’t feel it was interesting to include in that book.” 

Also important to Hepburn were her friendships with Sean Connery, Cary Grant, George Peppard and others. 

According to Longé, one of her most significant friendships was with Julie Andrews, whom many people thought the actress hated. 

“Julie Andrews came very often to the house,” the illustrator clarified. “Cary Grant was a very close friend of hers. When I was talking to Luca, it’s like every day a new star comes along and says hi to Audrey.” 

Audrey Hepburn’s health: How war and Hollywood took a toll 

Throughout her acting career, Hepburn was always super skinny, which, according to Longé, caused her many health problems. 

“Well, she was very thin, and that was because of the Second World War. And she smoked a lot, I think, between two or three packs of cigarettes a day,” he said. “Her health was not very good, so she had to take very good care of herself. Whenever she finished a movie, she would return to Switzerland just to rest and be quiet in the mountains. That was where she always said that she felt at home, because she could rest easily and was not always being interviewed and photographed [like she was] in the United States.” 

The ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’ casting controversy: Marilyn vs. Audrey

One of Hepburn’s most well-known roles was in the 1961 film Breakfast at Tiffany’s, based on the bestselling novel by Truman Capote. Despite her being internationally praised for her role, Hepburn wasn’t the author’s first choice as he preferred Marilyn Monroe, whom Longé said she knew of. 

“It’s true that Capote really wanted Marilyn, but at the end of the movie, Audrey was the winner. She did very well,” Longé said. “At the end of the movie, everybody said, ‘Okay, Audrey was the best.’” 

Link to original: https://www.womansworld.com/entertainment/celebrities/audrey-hepburn-biographer-reveals-rare-details-from-inner-circle