Happy Birthday!

It's Audrey Day again! Yes, it's Audrey Hepburn's 83rd birthday today, and while she is not with us physically, her spirit is as strong as ever. She still influences millions of people with her grace, style, class, and humanitarian works, and it's still as heartwarming to hear about her influences now as it was when I first started this old thing 9 years ago.

I thought it would be a nice celebration to share what others are saying and doing in honor of Audrey. The cake to the left wasn't made for Audrey's birthday, but rather a fan's birthday. Still, isn't it just gorgeous? I'd almost feel bad eating it. Almost! It was made by The Cocoa Cakery, and they were kind enough to share photos of all their lovely works on Flickr.

Celebuzz remembers Audrey by putting together a slideshow of celebrities who are inspired by Audrey's fashion, ranging from Lady Gaga to Ashley Greene, which you can view here. (The photo of Liv Tyler in the slideshow is actually from the Timeless Audrey exhibit! And Liv was also a Givenchy spokesmodel a few years ago.)

There was also a special 10th anniversary ceremony at the Audrey Hepburn Children's House in New Jersey today, and Natalie Portman was there, along with Audrey's older son, Sean Hepburn Ferrer. Natalie is a godmother to the Children's House and was onhand for the opening, so it's only appropriate that she celebrates the hospital's continuing success. PopSugar has some photos and more information on what Natalie's been doing lately.

Jezebel gave Audrey a little shout out as well, with a funny clip from Breakfast at Tiffany's thrown in for fun.

And Politicus USA has a really lovely, well-written article on Audrey's humanitarian past and humbleness. It seems only fitting to close the post with something that reminds us of Audrey's troubled past, and how it only served to make her into a better person that used her experiences to help others.

The important thing is to enjoy your life - to be happy - it's all that matters.

Audrey Hepburn: Still The Fairest Lady

Time Magazine wrote their own tribute to our lovely Audrey on the 14th anniversary of her death. At first, I was wishing I had just posted their story instead of writing my own awkwardly expressed tribute, but the more I read, the more I was disgusted that this article was printed by no less than Time. While starting out as a lovely remembrance for one of the few top-notch celebrities who lived their life drama-free and managed to turn their life into something meaningful, it quickly degenerates into a crass article that you'd think was talking about Lindsay Lohan or some other tartlet that isn't held very high in anyone's esteem. To give you some lowlights of this "serious piece," author Richard Corliss accuses Audrey of having anorexia during her UNICEF work to make the starving children she was visiting feel better about themselves, and gives a very crass image of Albert Finney's attraction to Audrey during filming of Two For the Road. I understand the idea behind not whitewashing the past and being wary of putting anyone on too high a pedestal, but why is making up drama considered an okay thing to do? In journalism, no less! Audrey faced this even in her own life, and she said, "If you lead a simple life, and that story is written, then that story will not satisfy. It needs an angle. Suppose there is no angle?" I guess Time's answer is, "Make something up." If you'd like, you can read the story for yourself (note that there are two pages), and then click on the author's name to write him a letter.

Seemingly in answer to the work mentioned above comes another article called "What Ever Became of Class?" Though it's not particularly an Audrey-heavy article, it does draw heavily on her image and that aura she and a few others had of real grace and style. Audrey's name was evoked a lot in recap articles about the Golden Globes, and it seems that people are finally realizing that Hollywood has lost its class. "Where's Audrey Hepburn when you need her?" columnists wailed, and in today's article, Audrey, Grace Kelly and Jacky Kennedy are invoked to remind women of a more subtle femininity. Girls today are taught how to be women by buying toy stripper poles and wearing tube tops. Has subtlety died when we weren't looking? The article ends on a cautiously optimistic note, and invokes a line from the aforementioned Sam Levenson poem Audrey loved, talking about a women's charm:

". . . The beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the figure that she carries, or the way she combs her hair. The beauty of a woman must be seen from in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart, the place where love resides."

Audrey Hepburn May 4, 1929 - January 20, 1993

14 years ago today, Audrey left us. It's hard to believe, really, especially when you see her nearly every day in some way, shape, or form. It's nearly impossible to get away from her, when you get right down to it. From seeing her unique face stenciled on a sidewalk or mailbox to passing a girl on the street in ballet flats and capri pants, Audrey Hepburn is everywhere.

It's hard to believe that someone who spent her whole life trying to live her life privately and quietly could end up permeating society so thoroughly, but there you have it. Life is funny like that. It's "what happens to you while you're making other plans," as John Lennon once sang. How could this have happened, though? How does one start life as a distinctively average girl in a small European country and end up being one of the most beloved people in history?

By not trying, of course. We'll never know how much was in her nature and how much was brought about by her difficult childhood, but Audrey saw things differently than most. She had been through more in a few short years than most would go through in ten lifetimes, and she was wise enough to see how sacred life was, and that we should be grateful to wake every morning. Her life was spent in the pursuit of simple happiness, the kind that can actually be achieved: surrounding yourself with the people you love. Material possessions meant nothing, and can be taken away at any time. While she was always dressed in the very best, the clothes were but a physical armor against the harshness of the world. She had learned that what really mattered was loving and being loved, and she shared this wherever she went. She had the world at her feet and an enviable career that most people strive vainly for, and walked away from it all in a second because it didn't mean as much as being there for her children and her family. And while we don't have quite so many films to enjoy her in now, I'm sure her children are grateful they actually had a mother growing up, and she passed on at peace, knowing that she had done the best she could for them.

During her last Christmas with her family, Audrey read her favourite poem, one that is often erroneously credited to her, written by Sam Levenson. Here is the entire poem, since it sums up her life's aspirations so well:

Time-Tested Beauty Tips

For attractive lips, speak words of kindness.
For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people.
For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry.
For beautiful hair, let a child run his fingers through it once a day.
For poise, walk with the knowlege you'll never walk alone . . .

People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed and redeemed and redeemed . . .
Never throw out anybody.

Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, you'll find one at the end of your arm. As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands. One for helping yourself, the other for helping others.

The beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the figure that she carries, or the way she combs her hair. The beauty of a woman must be seen from in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart, the place where love resides.

The beauty of a woman is not in a facial mole, but true beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul. It is the caring that she lovingly gives, the passion that she shows, and the beauty of a woman with passing years only grows!

Beautiful poem, isn't it? And so very Audrey. So while she has been gone for 14 years now, we know that she is still very much alive in many aspects. What we can't forget, though, is the humanitarian side. It's wonderful to remember her beauty, her sense of style, and her lovely films, but to forget the hard work of the last years of her life would be to render her two-dimensional. To live a good life is a great deed, but to make another's life good is an even greater deed. Remember all her hard work for UNICEF, and keep alive that side of the many-faceted Audrey Hepburn. Remember, we all have two hands.

I'll leave you with a video clip. This is Audrey's last ever film role in Always as, appropriately, an angel. What a perfect memory to leave for us.