My fascination with Audrey Hepburn formed at an early age. My mother used to regale me with stories about taking trips to her local theater to watch My Fair Lady or seeing models at mall fashion shows sporting Audrey’s mod-inspired hairstyle from How to Steal a Million. Hearing these memories made Audrey feel familiar, like a distant relative and not an untouchable Hollywood movie star. As a child, I watched her movies, and over time, I began collecting books, vintage magazines, and photographs. In 2010, I created my website, Rare Audrey Hepburn, with the intention of sharing my discoveries with fellow Audrey fans.
The names Audrey Hepburn and Hubert de Givenchy are inextricably linked. Their union transformed the bond between two industries: fashion and film. This book wasn’t just a reference source for me; it has been a point of inspiration since it first arrived in my library many years ago.
I am a longstanding admirer of Givenchy and his timeless creations. His legacy is a testament to his dedication to quality construction, clean lines, and unique details. This book is an intimate look into Hubert’s life narrated in his own words and told through stunning photos showcasing his beautiful clothes and his ornately decorated homes. Each page makes it more evident why Audrey and Hubert weren’t just friends but fashion soulmates.
The private life of this famous Parisian stylist is presented through newly published photos of Givenchy's homes, along with a review of his painting, art, and furniture collections, and examines how his private life has influenced his fashion design.
When I was brainstorming the outline for my book, I knew from the outset that I wanted to explore Audrey’s noteworthy friendships, including the larger-than-life luminary Diana Vreeland. Diana transformed the way the general public saw fashion. During her time at Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue her influence was seen on every page, from the creative backdrops, to the imaginative themes, to her vibrant use of color.
This book by Eleanor Dwight beautifully captures the true essence of Vreeland. Dwight navigates Vreeland’s journey with glamorous photos that are grounded by her elegant narrative. It goes without saying that Diana was more than a footnote in Audrey’s life. She was a friend, an admirer, and a collaborator.
Diana Vreeland has been called the fashion editor of the twentieth century. An epic self-mythologizer, she had an incredible aura of glamour, a great eye, and a genius for life. Diana Vreeland reveals the growth of her professional prowess and gives an account of her personal history, at the same time as it brings to life Mrs. Vreeland's pizzazz, humour, and flamboyant personality. A dynamic cast of characters accompanies Diana Vreeland's story. There are more than 300 illustrations, photographs, and drawings, many by the best fashion photographers of her time such as Louise Dahl Wolfe, Irving Penn, Cecil Beaton, and…
Audrey filmed seven movies in Paris, three of which were directed by the multi-talented Stanley Donen. When they first worked on Funny Face, Audrey was twenty-seven, and Donen was thirty-two.
Their five-year age gap allowed for an ease between the two colleagues, which would manifest into a friendship spanning over 30 years. In fact, Audrey wrote a touching introduction to Dancing on the Ceiling. Silverman wonderfully chronicles Donen’s life in films during the golden age of Hollywood at a time when movie musicals were still box office hits. Best of all, the book covers all three of Audrey and Donen’s collaborations: Funny Face, Charade, and Two for the Road.
This book is mouthwatering! Readers might be surprised to learn that Audrey met Avedon at the very start of her career. After she was discovered by Colette in 1951, Audrey sailed to New York to begin rehearsals for Gigi. In New York, donning her Gigi costume, Audrey was photographed by Avedon for the first time. Their friendship in front and behind the camera would blossom over the years, and in 1956, Audrey would star in the movie musical Funny Face, loosely based on Avedon’s life at Harper’s Bazaar.
Avedon’s genius is brilliantly highlighted in this visual biography. Avedon Fashion chronicles Avedon’s career with stunning fashion photographs and celebrity portraits, including memorable black and white shots of Audrey. This book grabs you from the moment you set eyes on the brightly colored cover.
Avedon Fashion 1944-2000 encompasses seven decades of extraordinary images by Richard Avedon, the most influential fashion photographer of the 20th century.This comprehensive volume offers a definitive survey, from Avedon's groundbreaking early photographs for Harper's Bazaar through his constantly inventive contributions to Vogue, Egoiste, and The New Yorker. Each carefully selected image represents an artistic collaboration with significant models, stylists, and designers. Avedon Fashion accompanies the first major exhibition to survey this body of work, at the International Center of Photography in May 2009. With critical essays by Carol Squiers, curator at the ICP, and photography critic Vince Aletti, as well…
In many ways, this book is a precursor to Audrey Hepburn in Paris. Both books were conceived by Audrey’s son, Luca Dotti. I used Audrey at Home as a guide while writing my book. I was moved by Luca’s personal anecdotes and the private photos from his family albums.
Although the two books differ in subject—one is about Audrey’s home life, and the other is about her fashionable career—one concept I borrowed was the exploration of the woman behind the actress. Luca’s book changed the field for Audrey biographies. By inviting us into the intimate setting of his mother’s kitchen, we are given access to a rarely-shown side of Audrey. This book tenderly examines the actress, the mother, the wife, and the friend.
New York Times Bestseller Enter Audrey Hepburn's private world in this unique New York Times bestselling biography compiled by her son that combines recollections, anecdotes, excerpts from her personal correspondence, drawings, and recipes for her favorite dishes written in her own hand, and more than 250 previously unpublished personal family photographs. Audrey at Home offers fans an unprecedented look at the legendary star, bringing together the varied aspects of her life through the food she loved-from her childhood in Holland during World War II, to her time in Hollywood as an actress and in Rome as a wife and mother,…
My book is an intimate voyage into Audrey’s fashionable life in the City of Light. Four years ago, Audrey’s son, Luca Dotti, approached me to write a book about his mother. He communicated to me that he wanted the book to read as if I were a journalist recording Audrey’s every movement in Paris. Although this book focuses heavily on her career in fashion—her friendships with Givenchy, Vreeland, and Avedon—it also examines the woman behind the icon.
This book chronicles her life from the first time she visited Colette at the Palais Royale in 1951 to Givenchy’s 40th Anniversary Retrospective in 1991. This book is filled with unseen photographs that stylishly navigate the reader in Audrey’s favorite city.
I’m an OB/GYN, passionate about adventuring beyond what’s expected. This has led me to pivot multiple times in my career, now focusing on writing. I’ve written a play, The Post-Roe Monologues, to elevate women’s stories. I cherish the curiosity that drives outer and inner exploration, and I love memoirs that skillfully weave the two. The books on this list feature extraordinary women who took risks, left comfort and safety, and battled vulnerability to step into the unknown. These authors moved beyond the stories they’d believed about themselves–or that others told about them. They invite you to think about living fuller and bigger lives.
Tap Dancing on Everest, part coming-of-age memoir, part true-survival adventure story, is about a young medical student, the daughter of a Holocaust survivor raised in N.Y.C., who battles self-doubt to serve as the doctor—and only woman—on a remote Everest climb in Tibet.
The team attempts a new route up the East Face without the use of supplemental oxygen, Sherpa support, or chance for rescue. When three climbers disappear during their summit attempt, Zieman reaches the knife edge of her limits and digs deeply to fight for the climbers’ lives and to find her voice.
The plan was outrageous: A small team of four climbers would attempt a new route on the East Face of Mt. Everest, considered the most remote and dangerous side of the mountain, which had only been successfully climbed once before. Unlike the first large team, Mimi Zieman and her team would climb without using supplemental oxygen or porter support. While the unpredictable weather and high altitude of 29,035 feet make climbing Everest perilous in any condition, attempting a new route, with no idea of what obstacles lay ahead, was especially audacious. Team members were expected to push themselves to their…
