Top 10 Greatest Audrey Hepburn Performances
#10: Susy Hendrix “Wait Until Dark” (1967)
After her husband unwittingly brings a doll filled with heroin into their home, a blind woman is terrorized by three men who will do anything to get it back. “Wait Until Dark” currently holds a 95% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a big reason why it’s critically acclaimed is Audrey Hepburn’s performance. She approaches the character of Susy Hendrix with a sort of gentle naivety but ramps things up in the film’s third act, turning the tables on her assailants by giving them a taste of their own medicine. The performance earned Hepburn her fifth and final Academy Award nomination.
#9: Joanna “Jo” Wallace “Two for the Road” (1967)
Told in non-linear fashion, “Two for the Road” is the story of Joanna and Mark Wallace, a disillusioned married couple who embark on a road trip through the south of France. As the film bounces from past to present viewers are treated to a bold – and at the time innovative – tale of love on the brink; brought to life thanks to a couple of incredible performances from Hepburn and her on-screen husband Albert Finney. Audrey Hepburn picked up her, get this…eighth Golden Globe nomination for her work on “Two for the Road”. Not too shabby if you ask us.
#8: Regina "Reggie" Lampert “Charade” (1963)
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A rom-com that masquerades as a spy thriller, “Charade” has enough twists and turns to keep fans of both genres entertained from start to finish. Hepburn stars opposite the dashing Cary Grant and despite an age gap of 25 years there is no shortage of romantic chemistry between the two actors. Featuring a plot of Hitchcockian proportions, “Charade” is, for lack of a better word: fun. The writing is top-notch, the acting is on point and Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant dazzle as two people caught in the crosshairs of a group of men hell-bent on recovering a lost fortune.
#7: Karen Wright “The Children’s Hour” (1961)
“The Children’s Hour” is the story of two teachers whose lives are turned upside down after a student accuses them of being in a lesbian relationship. Audrey Hepburn plays Karen Wright, one of the aforementioned women; and she does a fantastic job of imparting on viewers a sense of total confusion, unsure of how to handle the complex situation at hand. “The Children’s Hour” was a box office disappointment but did fairly well with critics, with one going so far as to remark that, “Hepburn's soft sensitivity, marvelous projection and emotional understatement result in a memorable portrayal.”
#6: Jo Stockton “Funny Face” (1957)
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A romantic musical starring Audrey Hepburn and Fred Astaire…what’s not to like? The plot of “Funny Face” is classic 50’s cinema: a shy bookshop owner who loves philosophy and dreams of visiting Paris is persuaded to become a model by a fashion publisher and her plucky photographer. Along the way Hepburn and Astaire fall in love and it’s all very lovely – with the exception of that one scene where she spurns the advances of an unwanted lover by bashing him on the head with a vase. Like we said, classic 50’s cinema.
#5: Eliza Doolittle “My Fair Lady” (1964)
“My Fair Lady” cleaned up at the 37th Academy Awards, winning 8 of the 12 categories it was nominated in. And while Hepburn failed to garner a nomination for her performance one could argue that her portrayal of the cockney-voiced Eliza Doolittle was one of the finest of her career. It’s a well-known fact that she didn’t sing her own songs, but that was common practice back then for actresses with less-than-stellar singing voices. To quote the late, great Roger Ebert: “That Hepburn did not do her own singing obscures her triumph, which is that she did her own acting.” We couldn’t agree more!
#4: Sabrina Fairchild “Sabrina” (1954)
Up against a couple of Hollywood heavyweights in Humphrey Bogart and William Holden Audrey Hepburn does not disappoint. In fact, one could argue that the presence of other equally gifted actors only served to elevate her game. In this film Hepburn plays the eponymous Sabrina, a young woman who falls in love with the soon-to-be-married David, something that causes considerable tension between him and his older brother Linus. The film earned Hepburn her second Oscar nomination, but Grace Kelly’s performance in “The Country Girl” bested her.
#3: Sister Luke “The Nun’s Story” (1959)
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Based on a novel of the same name, “The Nun’s Story” stars Hepburn as Sister Luke, a Belgian nun who dreams of visiting the Congo to work with the native population. The film is in a word: harrowing. Sister Luke rarely (if ever) catches a break and the convent system and the world as a whole appear to be working against her from the get go. With that being said, Hepburn’s performance is on par with the best efforts of her career. She earned yet another Academy Award nomination for her work and Bosley Crowther of the New York Times called her performance both “fluent and luminous.”
#2: Princess Ann “Roman Holiday” (1953)
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The film that turned Audrey Hepburn into a household name, “Roman Holiday” is one of those rare cinematic treats that has not only stood the test of time, but has actually gotten better with age! The plot revolves around a beautiful young princess played by Hepburn, that grows tired of her regimented schedule and decides to sneak off on her own while visiting Rome…only to fall for an expat reporter played by Gregory Peck. A critical and commercial success, “Roman Holiday” won Hepburn an Oscar and catapulted her to the top of Hollywood’s A-list. Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions: Ariane Chavasse “Love in the Afternoon” (1957) Nicole Bonnet “How To Steal a Million” (1966) Maid Marian “Robin & Marian” (1976)
#1: Holly Golightly “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” (1961)
Arguably her most well known role, Audrey Hepburn’s take on the fictional New York socialite Holly Golightly is without a doubt one of cinematic history's most iconic. Her character’s style would prove to be incredibly influential and Hepburn herself would see her star rise considerably in the wake of the film’s tremendous success. While she was unable to take home the Oscar for Best Actress, many critics were quick to shower her with praise and the film has since become a must-see for any true Audrey Hepburn fan; of which there are no doubt plenty!
