Sean Hepburn Ferrer - Little Audreys Daydream: The Life of Audrey Hepburn

For the child in all of us

In loving memory of Dominique Corbasson
(19582018)

I was born on May 4, 1929, in Brussels, Belgium,
a charming town famous for its chocolates, cookies, and cartoons
heaven. Two funny-looking people were smiling down at me.

Within a few days of my birth, I awoke
with a terrible coughadults called it whooping cough.
It got worse and worse until I stopped breathing
and started to turn blue. My mother desperately started
slapping me on the bottom. I let out a loud cry
and started to breathe again.

This became my favorite story.

I often asked my mother to tell me about the time
when I stopped breathing and turned blue. I especially loved
the part about the spanking having saved my life.
Spanking is really bad. But in this case, it was really good.

My family soon moved to Holland.
Holland is a small country next to Belgium, famous for its windmills.
Today its called the Netherlands. In the winters everything froze,
and I loved skating on the rivers to get to school.
Skating is like dancing, and it was my dream to become a ballerina.

One day a huge war broke out and soldiers
invaded Holland. Their leader was a horrible little man
with a tiny mustache who screamed all the time.

Living in a country at war means there are soldiers
everywhere who ask you who you
are, what you are doing, and where you are going. Grown-ups called it
the Occupation. I saw fear in their eyes.

Every night planes flew over and dropped bombs.
So we hid in our cellars, which most families turned into
living rooms with sofas and radios. A little dust would fall from
the ceiling every time a bomb exploded close to home.

Sometimes friends of the family would let me ride
their bicycle to take little notes across town.
These notes were so secret that I had to hide them in my shoes.
I thought they must have been secret love letters.
It turned out they were notes for our allies and the Resistance.

I was able to dance in theaters, sometimes for
large audiences. When the performances were finished
nobody clapped their hands. It wasnt because they
didnt like itthey simply didnt want to attract the attention
of the enemy soldiers. So they just smiled in the dark.

There was little to eat because the soldiers
took all our food. So we ate green-pea bread,
dog cookies, and tulip bulbs.
Holland is famous for its beautiful tulips.

Now I spend a lot of time in bed since there is little food and
no fuel for heat. My parents say that it helps preserve our calories.
Sometimes I read in bed for hours.

I miss my life before the war.
I miss playing outside with my friends and skating
to school. So I lie in bed and daydream.

On this particular day I begin to dream about
my life once the war is over...

I find the best ballet school so that I can become
a prima ballerina. I am the best dancer in the class...
although I know it isnt very polite to be
the center of attention.

I dance, sing, and act. I run up to the attic,
dig through that ancient trunk filled with elegant clothes
and hats, dress up, and perform.

I perform in little plays and musicals,
and soon I am discovered and given a part in a film.
I love the few films I saw before the war.
The movie palace is a wonderful place to smile in the dark.

I play a princess who escapes from her castle,
a poor flower girl who becomes a lady, a librarianI so love books
who becomes a fashion model, and a regular country girl
who moves to a big city and becomes quite a stylish dresser.
I finally get to sing and dance.

Now I am famous. Famous means everyone knows
you, or thinks they do, and likes you a lot.

When I grow up, I decide to have a family of my own.
I love babies. I always try to pick them up out of their prams
to hug them. My mother scolds me when I do.