Friday 20 January 2017

Audrey Hepburn | SMC Editor's Personal Tribute


Custom Artwork by Candice Anne Marshall for Starlight Music Chronicles

by CAMarshall

The first  few seconds of hearing ‘Moon River’ always takes me back to a very deeply emotional and personal moment in time: to the first moment I watched on television with my Mother, a tiny elvish waif in a Givenchy gown and tiara standing in front of a shop in the middle of New York eating her croissant.This woman embodied everything that I have centered my own life around from that moment until this day: poise, grace, beauty, kindness, adventure, and above all, the ability to remain distinctly unique. This woman I speak of is Audrey Hepburn and the movie was Breakfast at Tiffany’s (a brilliant film released in 1961 based off of the  book by Author Truman Capote), which remains an iconic film to this day.

It has been 24 years today since Audrey passed (cancer, again, cancer!), yet, through film,images, and music (see Moon River Spotify below), I remember her for everything that she contributed to this world in her lifetime and especially what she contributed to me in mine.

Historical Timeline

Audrey Kathleen Ruston, born in Brussels, Belgium, was an Actress, Model, Dancer and Humanitarian whose work near the end of her lifetime with Unicef as Goodwill Ambassador was exemplary. Recognized as a film and fashion icon, Hepburn was most active during Hollywood's Golden Age. To this day, she is idolized as a‘Lady’ whose timeless beauty and effortless grace both on the silver screen and in her lifetime, has been something that everyone in Hollywood has tried tore-create. But – there will only ever be one Audrey for me.

The same woman who escaped the Nazi’s in World War II, survived death after becoming severely malnourished shortly after, went on to star in countless films such as My Fair Lady, Sabrina, Funny Face, and Roman Holiday (to name a few), was voted People Magazines’ most beautiful person of all time, win countless Academy Awards, and was the muse to Fashion Designer Hubert De Givenchy (who would design countless gowns for her roles on screen and off). In 2000, Actress Jennifer Love Hewett portrayed her in ‘The Audrey Hepburn Story’.

Editor's Personal Tribute

I could write for weeks, the list of accomplishments that Audrey made in her lifetime even beyond the silver screen. They were beyond what many of us can even imagine accomplishing, but that’s who Audrey was: she worked tirelessly to ensure that the people in her sphere knew they were loved and this included people she didn’t even know such was displayed in her work in third world countries for Unicef. She remains a role model for me to this day of how the plight of others who need help is something very dear to my heart – I will often ask myself, ‘What would Audrey do?’. She would help in any way she could.

In terms of fashion sense, Audrey inspired me to want to be a Fashion Designer at a very young age. I first watched Breakfast at Tiffany’s with my mom when I was about 10 years old, about the same time that I would spend countless hours drawing in my room the images of the human form. Audrey’s thin frame could carry of many looks that Designers would take a chance with: she was the first to don a pair of capris, cut her long locks to a short pixie, and make the ‘Little Black Dress’ a staple in every woman’s wardrobe. Think of it, as soon as someone says‘Little Black Dress’, you envision Audrey in Breakfast at Tiffany’s.

The impact Audrey left in her very short 63 years on this earth for me is this

There isn’t a day that goes by where I will not think about how I can help others, act and dress like a Lady, be courteous and kind to all you meet, and leave a legacy for your children to be proud of.

Thank you,Audrey. X

Candice Anne  Marshall
CEO &Editor, Starlight Music Chronicles



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Filmography

The following are a complete list of all the films Audrey accomplished in her lifetime and remain, to this day, staples in every classic movie collectors’ library. I know they are in mine.


Roman Holiday (1953), Sabrina (1954) , Producers' Showcase (1954), War and Peace (1956), Funny Face (19570, The Nun's Story (1959)  , The Unforgiven (1962), Breakfast at Tiffany's (19610, My Fair Lady (1964), How to Steal a Million (1966), Two for the Road (1967), Wait Until Dark (1967), Robin and Marian (19760, Bloodline (19790, and Always (1989)

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