When it comes to classy and sophisticated fashion icons, few are more memorable than the late Audrey Hepburn (1929-1993).
Hepburn not only had extraordinary style but she was a pioneer of fashion right from the start of her career in the early 50s, through the 1960s up until her death in 1993.
Her signature look – cat’s eye eyeliner and perfectly groomed eyebrows – were highlighted by her ever changing hairstyles. Audrey Hepburn’s hair continually morphed from long and short, to bangs and a bob.
And let’s not forget that memorable scene in Roman Holiday when she chopped it all off and created a look that sparked its own fashion trend.
Here we take a walk down memory lane and look at some of Audrey Hepburn’s most iconic hairstyles…
The Bob
This mid-length bob looks like a pre-requisite to the 1970s Page Boy haircut and shows off Hepburn’s wide eyes. Her face suits most styles and she was fairly experimental with her hair.
The bob looked good on her but it wasn’t long before she was mixing it up.
Brief and Breezy
In the image above, from Wait Until Dark (1967), Hepburn is sporting short hair with a low part and swept fringe. You can clearly see her star quality.
Not even a boyish cut can detract from Hepburn’s feminine features and this brief and breezy short hair style was the order of the day in the 1960s.
Bouffant Up-do
Although Audrey Hepburn looked great with short hair, she grew her hair long to play flower seller Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady (1965).
Doolittle scrubbed up good and this elaborate up-do made her look like royalty. With a hairstyle like that it’s no wonder people thought she was an aristocrat.
Half Beehive
Spotted backstage after a performance of Funny Girl with Barbara Streisand, Hepburn’s half beehive with full fringe shows off her full hair and glossy locks.
Pixie Cut
Hepburn led the way with the pixie cut in the 50s and this was the style she was sporting in the 1956 movie War and Peace.
That was also the movie where she met her first husband Mel Ferrer.
The Sabrina
In 1954, short and slick was the name of the game, and her hair, swept to the side perfectly framed Hepburn’s heart shaped face.
In the movie Sabrina, Hepburn’s natural cowlick added a charming kick curl but here, she has it tamed and in place.
New York Beehive
This is by far the most iconic of Hepburn’s hairstyles – the classic beehive – with added auburn streaks that she wore so well in Breakfast at Tiffany’s.
Hepburn’s portrayal of Holly Golightly is still considered one of the best known characters in Hollywood.
Swept Up High Bun
In her later years, Hepburn kept it simple and was generally seen wearing her tresses in a large, stylish high bun. A look that has never gone out of fashion.
Hepburn never saw herself as an icon but her style lives on to this day.
“The beauty in 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 is seen in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart; the place where love resides. True beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul. It’s the caring and that she lovingly gives the passion that she shows and the beauty of a woman only grows with passing years.”
Audrey Hepburn
