Sean Hepburn Ferrer's Authorized Biography Reveals Audrey Hepburn's Childhood Through Personal Artifacts

Sean Hepburn Ferrer has published 'Intimate Audrey: An Authorized Biography' through Grand Central Publishing, offering a definitive account of his mother's life. The book features previously unseen childhood mementos, including early photographs and delicate drawings created during World War II. These artifacts reveal Hepburn's childhood in Brussels before her father's abrupt departure when she was six, which she described as her most traumatic experience. The biography covers her life from the Second World War through her work as a UNICEF ambassador, focusing on personal struggles rather than her film career. Co-written with former war correspondent Wendy Holden, the volume includes images of Hepburn with French writer Colette, at her Swiss home La Paisible, and during the filming of 'Love in the Afternoon' with director William Wyler and Gary Cooper. Ferrer explains that he wanted to ground the legendary figure by revealing intimate details about her austere wartime experiences and imaginative resilience. The drawings from 1944 depict children watching puppet shows and Christmas scenes that represented hope during scarcity. Ferrer's previous book, 'Audrey Hepburn: An Elegant Spirit' from 1999, served as an emotional biography, while this new work aims to provide comprehensive documentation of her real-life story.