Audrey Hepburn once said, "I never think of myself as an icon. What is in other people's minds is not in my mind. I just do my thing." The Academy-Award-winning actress will certainly be on our minds next week when her storied film,Breakfast at Tiffany's, celebrates its 55th anniversary. The legendary ode to New York helped secure Hepburn's position as a veritable style star-and the look has continued to be replicated, emulated, and celebrated ever since. "My look is attainable," Hepburn told Barbara Walters in 1989. "Women can look like Audrey Hepburn by flipping out their hair, buying the large glasses, and the little sleeveless dresses." In honor of her contributions to fashion and film, here are five things you may not have known about Hollywood's most famous Tiffany & Co. customer.
1. Audrey Hepburn was discovered at age 22 on the French Riviera by Colette, the renowned author who penned the 1944 novella Gigi. At the time, Hepburn had a small part in the film, Nous irons à Monte-Carlo. During production, she was spotted across a hotel lobby and was immediately pegged for the lead in the upcoming Broadway musical adaption. "I'd only said a few lines in my whole acting career," Hepburn later recalled. Upon first sight, Colette reportedly whispered, "Voilà, c'est Gigi."
2. Roman Holiday costar Gregory Peck insisted that Hepburn receive the same top billing on the film, a project that she was almost overlooked for entirely. Producers initially imagined Elizabeth Taylor in the role. But the director, William Wyler, was so impressed by Hepburn's screen test that he opted to cast the relatively unknown actress in the lead instead. As part of Peck's contract, the film was originally set to feature his name above the title, with "Introducing Audrey Hepburn" to follow beneath in smaller font. Soon after filming began, Peck made a phone call to his agent and requested otherwise. "The real star of the picture is Audrey Hepburn," Peck said. "We all knew that this was going to be an important star and we began to talk off-camera about the chance that she might win an Academy Award in her first film." (She did in 1954.) The moment was also in part thanks to her legendary screen test. When the actress performed a scene from the film, the cameraman were told to keep things rolling after the director said, "Cut." Several minutes of unscripted Hepburn was captured on film and the end result won her the part. "She was absolutely delightful," Wyler said when he saw the test. "Acting, looks, and personality."