Never-before-seen images of the beautiful Audrey Hepburn.

Award-winning actress, human rights activist and enduring style icon Audrey Hepburn had thousands of photos taken of her during her 63 years. Most of them you’ll have seen: the classic Breakfast at Tiffany’s poster, or Hepburn’s doe-eyed features atop a chic black skivvy.

But little has been seen of her personal collection of images. Until now.

With support of her two son’s Sean Hepburn Ferrer, 54, and Luca Dotti, 45, 35 intimate images of Ms Hepburn will go on show at the National Portrait Gallery in London on July 2.

The images trace the My Fair Lady star’s rise to fame, some dating back to ballet classes in 1942 when she was just 13.

The exhibition, Audrey Hepburn: Portrait's of an Icon, also features behind the scene's images of Hepburn on several movie sets, including the 1954 hit Sabrina. Most of the images are unseen, but some you would have seen.

Hepburn's youngest son Luca told the National Portrait gallery: "We are thrilled to be able to support this comprehensive and beautifully curated exhibition dedicated to our mother as it allows me and my brother Sean to grasp fragments of an otherwise unreachable past."

"The experience is all the more rewarding as the exhibition strives to go behind the scenes and give us rare insights into the making of Audrey Hepburn, from her London debut and her rise to stardom in the 50s and 60s, to the last season of her life.

"She would be honoured to have an exhibition dedicated to her at the National Portrait Gallery. And glad to be back home."

Hepburn was born in Belgium in 1929. Her parents, a Dutch Baroness and British father, travelled between the Netherlands, England and Belgium for most of her early childhood.

After studying ballet in Amsterdam during the Second World War, Hepburn moved to London in 1948, at the age of 19, to continue her ballet training.

However the training didn't last long. The same year she became a West End chorus girl ("I needed the money; it paid ?3 more than ballet jobs" she told journalist Mark Nichols in 1956).

In 1953, Hepburn got her first leading role in Roman Holiday with Gregory Peck, and the rest is history. 

Her performance in Roman Holiday made Hepburn the first female actress to win an Academy Award, a BAFTA and a Golden Globe for a single performance.

During the 50's and 60's Audrey Hepburn went on to star in more than 20 hit films. She was married twice, had two sons, and went on to campaign for human rights, working as a UNICEF ambassador from 1988 until her death in 1993.

Audrey Hepburn: Portraits of an Icon will run 2 July – 18 October at the National Portrait Gallery. For more information click here.

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