Originally published on 4/9/26
During the later years of her life, Audrey Hepburn stepped away from acting to focus on her work with United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF). She often said it was the most rewarding part of her entire life, and now—over 30 years after her death—Audrey’s son, Sean Hepburn Ferrer, is reflecting on his mother’s time in the organization, and also sharing how she would feel about the current state of the world. Read on for more.
Sean Hepburn Ferrer reflects on his mom’s volunteer work
From 1988 to 1993 Audrey served as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, centering her work around helping children in Africa, South America and Asia.
“Once you’ve taken care of your family, you can step back, look at people around you and then ultimately do something good for society,” Sean says. “She always talked about her UNICEF years as her second and most important career. I think all of it was very meaningful to her in the sense that she really took it seriously. She wasn’t just a celebrity that showed up and was given a memo. She really studied, took it seriously and prepared for her role as an ambassador the same way she prepared for her roles in film.”
“She always used to say when she went to Vietnam, you would go to a village, and there was the outline of the school that had been bombed out. But when there’s an outline, you can rebuild. There’s a soul there that you have to put back into the life of the village,” he continues. “What was very, very hard for her was places like Somalia and Sudan—there was nothing there to rebuild, so you have to start from scratch. It’s all imagination, but it will happen.”
Another way UNICEF impacted Audrey? Her speeches now serve as a way for her grandchildren to connect with her.
“They’ve all listened to her UNICEF speeches and they’ve all been involved in one way or another,” Sean said. “In a way, she’s alive because she is in society much more than other grandmothers. And so it’s wonderful for them in a way.”
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Sean Hepburn Ferrer reveals how his mother would have felt about the world today
Since Audrey was heavily involved in giving back and helping out, many movie fans have been wondering how she would have felt about the state of the world today, especially given all of the wars, controversy and political turmoil virtually everywhere.
“I think she’d be crushed. She always spoke about how we study war, but we never study peace,” Sean says. “She really hoped that children and women would be the center of our society. When a ship is sinking, it’s women and children first. Well, the ship is sinking, people. We seem to have forgotten that saying.”
“A perfect example is what’s happening in the world of AI,” he continues. “AI is going to be very useful, but it’s going to disrupt things. And if you disrupt the circular economy, these people are going to be billionaires of what? Who’s going to buy their services if people are in the streets and don’t have enough food to eat. We have the technology. We had it 30 years ago and we could have eradicated all of it and we still can. We still can. There’s plenty for everyone. Free food and healthcare are not a joke. Those basics are all you need. Because in the end, we’ve been made to believe that happiness is a yacht and millions of dollars in the bank. But no, that’s not what people look for. People want to get up in the morning and have those basics, and if they have those basics, then they don’t need the millions. It’s pretty simple.”
Order Sean Hepburn Ferrer’s newest book Intimate Audrey: An Authorized Biography now wherever books are sold.
Link to original: https://www.womansworld.com/entertainment/celebrities/audrey-hepburns-son-sean-hepburn-ferrer-reflects-on-her-unicef-work
Carissa Mosness 