Audrey Hepburn: Super Spy?

Audrey Hepburn is most commonly known for her timeless wardrobe and Hollywood fame. Did you know that in her early years she aided in resistance against the Nazis? 

Born in 1929, Audrey Hepburn grew up in an originally pro-Germany family (this seems to change, given that her mother sheltered a wounded allied paratrooper during the war). After spending her early life in a British boarding school, she did not share these sentiments. 

By 1940, her home country of the Netherlands was toppled by the Nazis. Seeing trains of Jews being shipped away, the execution of her uncle, and another family member being forced into a labor camp sparked something inside of the young Audrey Hepburn.

As a teenager, she was a skilled ballerina. She often danced in performances that Nazis attended. They were none the wiser to the fact that she was operating in a resistance network the whole time. Dr. Hendrick Visser’t Hooft, the local resistance leader, took her on as an assistant. As a waifish teenage girl, she was the last person that anyone would suspect as being a messenger. She would deliver messages by bicycle, stuffing them down her socks. Fluent in English from her time at boarding school, Hepburn was perfect for communicating with the allied forces. She also raised money for the resistance by putting on illegal dance performances.

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The war took a toll on Hepburn. When the Netherlands were finally liberated by the allies, she was severely malnourished. She moved back to England to become a prima ballerina and take up a modeling career. 

The consequences of malnutrition impeded her ability to perform as a prima ballerina, so she took up acting, eventually rising to fame. After a wildly successful Hollywood career, Audrey Hepburn spent her later years doing humanitarian aid work. She worked as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, visiting war-torn areas including Somalia. Her son has referred to her as a “battle-hardened badass”.