Kim’s interview with sean hepburn ferrer2

...about his mother, Audrey
Hepburn

Black text, is Kim speaking
Purple text is Sean Hepburn Ferrer speaking

 “I’m doing fine, thank you. I just came back from
Rome, where I saw my brother. We just
launched this new exhibit. In the first week, we
had 10 000 visitors. 25% of the sales went
towards Unicef. Anyways, let’s get on with the
interview. Now, what questions are you wanting
to ask? Wait, have you read my book?”
 “Yes, I have.”
 “Okay, lets get started!”

“First of all, lets remove the words actress, and
replace in with humans. I think that
today, her legacy is not just one of her acting
career, her style (less is more), it is not just
that that makes her alive today, and her
Unicef/humanitarian work. It is a mixture of
all three that are intertwined. That is what
her legacy is about. A three sided, three
dimensional story. In the end, I think she had
a quality that she didn’t see herself as special.
She saw herself with too big feet, a bump on...

...her nose. And so, right of the
bat there is an insecurity. You
recognize your own
insecurity, and know that she is a
normal person. All of these
reasons (how her dad left, she
lived through the war, was
insecure about relationships, and
the hunger during the war), were
the things we take for granted.
All of these things that we
have, she didn’t have through
the war. This made her
real, insecure, aware, but in a
happy way. That communicated
into a simple state...she is one of
us. If she lived ...

...across the street, she would be the one
running up the thing, spending the night with
you, sitting on the windowsill telling stories. I
think that her best trait was how people could
tell that she was real. For example, if your
friends win an award, it was as if you were up
there with her. While, when the beautiful
blonde girl gets an award, it just isn’t the same.
You know?”
“I agree, as I could tell this factor about her
since I first saw her photos. Even before I read
about her! It was as if the way she looked (let
alone acted) made her seem like she was a real
person!”
“And very often people ask what she was like.
That was the purpose of my book. Is to confirm
the fact, and to show her few good choices in
her lifetime. Look at the choices, very few good
choices. You saw, she wanted to be the dancer.
She had to work hard. My grandma was
adored, but was washing stairs on her hands
and knees. [Audrey] had to go to work, so she
took up some bit parts, some modelling, and
the rest was...

...history; she got discovered. But, once she wanted to
have a family, like most Hollywood stars, they want
family, but are so addicted to fame and money. Once
they are sixty they have a lot of money in the bank, but
their kids don't know who they are, and they don’t know
who their kids are. There kids grow up with nannies, etc.
She wasn’t like that.. When she wanted a family and I got
the age where I had to go to school, I couldn’t go on a
plane with a nanny to visit her. Nowadays, movies take a
long time to make, back then, six to eight weeks. Then
add a week of rehearsals before and touring after; that’s
long time to be away from your kids.”
“I couldn’t believe how she was such an amazing
actress, but when it was time for her to have a
family, she was 100% committed. She seemed to always
put her family first.”
“The day that you grow up, get knocked on the head a
few times, you will know. You will know even better
what it feels like...just ask your parents. Of course, there
is all kinds: parent’s that are in the army, at sea, and
working in different countries. But, she could do
something about it, so, she sucked all the Hollywood
away. She had enough money, lived a normal life by the
countryside, and that was what was enough for her. She
was happy with that.”

(Laugh) “I noticed them all. They weren’t really
characteristics. I think that she was a friend. When I
look back at my childhood, I think that she was more
like a friend than a mother. She never told us exactly
what to do, but she gave us her advice and opinion.
She always left decisions up to us, but she would
recommend one side. Once you get to a place where a
discussion can happen. She always taught by example.
She was there. She got up with a sleepy head. She
would help me with my homework, pick me up from
school. She baked birthday cakes, went to buy socks
and books. Regular mom, but obviously we had a
rather nice life. I say regular, but there are people
living in Sudan and that is not the regular. I guess
there is always a more or less somewhere.”
“That is true, but I think that with each day that passes
the number of days that pass, the ‘less’ side decreases.
Just think of what the Audrey Hepburn Children’s Fund
is working towards!”
“Exactly.”

“I think that love is something inside
of us when we wake up in the
morning-it’s a state of being. I also
think that she was very close with her
own disappointments: losing her dad
when she was a little girl. Again, the
hardships and feelings of need, of the
war. When she got to the other end of
her life, she perceived this as a great
opportunity. Nowadays, celebrities
help out all the time, but in the sixties
it wasn't so common. And she as a
single woman, who made a career and
a living, and that was a way of saying
thank you. She never forgot the
feeling of what it was like to be a
kid, receiving food from Unicef. Those
were the early triggers that helped her
achieve great heights with Unicef.
When she was offered the job, she
knew it was the right thing to do, so
she took it in a heartbeat.”

“Probably herself, as she never thought
that she was good enough, so she would
always stay late practicing. It was the
same with Unicef. She didn't want to be
just another celebrity that showed up, she
wanted to really educate herself about
what she was doing. She really became an
airdate, she wrote all her own
speeches, and knew all her facts. But, in
her career she didn’t feel like she was good
enough, so she worked extra hard. She
though that someday, someone would
realize that she wasn’t that good, and she
would be screwed. And, so I think that
those are sort of the building blocks for
that.”
“What do you mean when you say the
building blocks for that?”
“I mean, all of these different aspects of
her life helped create and define who she
was.

“I think she liked the friendships.
Some people ask me what was her
favourite film, it wasn’t about the film
to her; it was about the friendships
she made. You know, once the film
was over, the friendships always lived
on. Like I said before, she was her
biggest tumbling block, her fear that
it would always be taken away from
her. Her dad left, all her belonging in
the war. She was always really
nice, knew her lines, was prepared
because of this feeling, and that is
why people liked her. They wanted to
become friends with someone like
her.”

“I don’t think that she would ever
...um...I think that she thought that life
was what you were handed. It is like
the great cook. It is easy to be good
when everything is handed to you, and
when you have enough money to go
to any market and buy whatever you
need. The brilliance of the chef, is
someone that has half of the
ingredients, and can still make
something magnificent. How many
people are in your family?”
“There are 4 of us: my
brother, mom, dad, and myself.”
“Okay, well I am sure that when you
go out to a movie, or stay out
late, your mother comes back and
works in the kitchen, or whoever the
chef in the family is. They probably
talk to you while making dinner, and
you remember that, not the food. I
don't think that Audrey would have
gone...

...back and changed anything.
Instead, she would have thought as if
she could have had five more minutes.
She would hug, make sure everyone is
okay, and then talk about our need for
a collective responsibility. That is
what she would have talked about.
She would talked about
responsibility, not guilt. Like I said in
my book, she was living a second
chance. The war, the whooping
cough, she had so many times where
she could not have made it...but she
did. So her whole life, she was living
a second chance. Like the Chinese
say, ‘live each day like it’s your
last’, and she came pretty close to
that. She appreciated everything, and
dealt with everything that was thrown
at her. If I could change anything for
her, I would...well I don’t think I
would. She did have two...

...unhappy marriages. The men that
she chose were very trapped in their
own ways and life. Maybe it was
because she was very insecure and
never spoke up. Well, that might be
something to change, but If we
changed that, we would have to
change her. We wouldn’t want to do
that. She had strength, courage, and
where there wasn’t...what makes a
flower so beautiful? If you make the
flower steel, it then becomes not as
beautiful as the flower that is dainty
and delicate.”

“Do you think that Audrey
was working towards any
larger goals in her life?”
“I think she had very simple goals, and
achieved most of them. Maybe if she
had more time, to work with
Unicef, improve her garden, and to see
the world at a different age.”

“I think she would be respectful with
what we have done. She would catch up
with what has been done, and talk
about how to get rid of this phantom-
mouthed vicious circle that we are
trapped in. Yes, we have reduced the
child mortality from forty-one thousand
to twenty-two thousand today. So
half, but we still haven't created a social
responsible system, where these people
are able to stand on their two feet. They
can’t stand when there is a drought, or
when their government falls apart. We...

...have yet to give these people the
shovels to dig their own lands, not just
giving them the food that they need.
This is what needs to change. Buy
sharing her story, you are helping too.
People who are going to listen to it, it
is a puzzle that is going to grow inside
of them forever. “
“Since I am writing about her, do
you think there is anything about
her life that (in your opinion) is
necessary to mention?”
“I think that, it is not what you say, but
how you say it. Audrey always lived by
that. You tell them about what you
learned. You can look on YouTube to
see how she acted, talked, and
behaved. Maybe, first tell them about
everything that you learned about
her, the essence, and then dive
deeper. Try to go on YouTube, to go
see her. Do it the way she would
have, the audience will then
connect., or take words out of her
mouth. This weekend, take...

...the time to really get to know
her, get absorbed in who she is. Learn
the story, and watch her.
Remember, you want to connect with
the audience. You are now carrying
the baton for Audrey and sharing it
with your class. You have the whole
class in the palm of your hand. How
old are you?”
“I am fourteen years old.”
“Wow, good for you. She often spoke
about the power of children, because
they are uncorrupted, innocent, and
sometimes don’t know everything.
Right now, you have one foot in adult
life, and one foot in child life. You are
in the perfect position to grasp this.
When you get home this
weekend, listen to her and read about
her. You want to understand her. You
are going to speak on her behalf. Take
the time to really get to know her. It is
almost like you should make out a
speech, do not memorize it. You will
then kill the connection. It is your ...

... own words, know your key points and
it doesn’t matter what order they come
out in. I never knew what you were
going to ask me, I was unprepared.
Yet, I think that when you hang up, you
will still remember the words that I said.
Just like the book tells a story. It is not
important that you give facts and
figures; it is about the feeling. The
people in the class, will know you know
what you are talking about. Show
them, don’t tell them exactly what you
learned. Think about what Audrey
would have wanted you to say in your
five minutes. If you make it
enjoyable, they can tell. Have faith in
yourself.”
“Thank you so much, for everything.
The window into your mother’s life, as
well as advice on how to give my
speech.”
“You’re very welcome. Break a leg! I
will be thinking about you on
Monday, and if you have any additional
questions or want to talk again, I am
around this weekend!”
“Thanks again, and I will be sure to talk
to you again about how it went. I
cannot thank you enough. Bye!”
“No problem. Bye.”

Kim’s interview with sean hepburn ferrer2

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