Collar City Brownstone: actress

Audrey Kathleen Ruston was born on May 4, 19296 in Belgium. Audrey spent her children between Belgium, England and the Netherlands. Although Audrey was born in Belgium through her father she also was a British citizen. Her father was Joseph Victory Anthony Ruston and later on he tagged on the name Hepburn to make his surname to become Hepburn-Ruston. Audrey's father mistakenly believed that he was descended from James Hepburn who was the third husband of Mary, Queen of Scots. Audrey's mother was Baroness Ella Van Heemstra. Audrey's father became a Nazi sympathizer. After Audrey's mother found her father in bed with the children's nanny Joseph Ruston left the family.

While in school in the Netherlands Audrey began studying ballet and took lessons for several years. All was not all sunshine though in Audrey's life. In 1940 Germany invaded the Netherlands. During wartime Audrey suffered from malnutrition and anemia. After the war ended in 1945 Audrey and her mother moved to Amsterdam where she continued studying ballet with Sonia Gaskell. In 1948 Audrey moved to London with her mother so that she could study ballet with Marie Rambert. During this time Audrey worked part time to help support the household.

Audrey decided to change her focus to acting when Marie Rambert told her that being 5'7" tall and suffering from the effects of poor nutrition during the war would prevent her from becoming a prima ballerina.

Audrey worked part time as a model while pursuing an acting career.

Audrey's fresh face look was very attractive and appealing.

Audrey Hepburn became known as one the best dressed woman in the world.

Audrey with Salvatore Ferragamo.

Audrey Hepburn left us in Switzerland on January 20, 1993. Audrey was only 63 years old.

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The Look

One of my absolute favorite style icons is actress Lauren Bacall. I became fascinated with Miss Bacall when I read her autobiography By Myself in 1978. Lauren Bacall was born Betty Joan Perske on September 16, 1924 in Bronc, New York. Betty's parents divorced when she was only five years old and she never saw her father again. Betty decided to take her mother's maiden name which is Bacal when she was older. However, Betty added an extra L at the end. As Betty Bacall she work part time as a model. The wife of movie director Howard Hawks saw Betty on the cover of Harpers Bazaar and urged her husband to bring her to Hollywood for a screen test.

Lauren Bacall as a teenager working part time as a model.

Howard Hawks took his wife's advice and brought Betty Bacall out to Hollywood to screen test for The Have and Have Not. Betty was nervous during the screen test, so to mask her nervousness Betty lowered her head so that her chin rested on her chest. Then she moved her eyes upward to look into the camera. The effect was what came to be known as "The Look". It was mesmerizing and "The Look" became Lauren Bacall's trademark.

Young Lauren Bacall and director Howard Hawks.

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Obviously Betty, who now also changed her name to Lauren got the female lead part in To Have and Have not starring Humphrey Bogart.

Bogart and Bacall wedding day.

Humphrey Bogart, who was married at the time to Mayo Methot took a liking to Lauren while filming To Have and Have Not and initiated a relationship with her. Bogart divorced Mayo Methot and on May 21 1945, married Lauren Bacall. Lauren was 20 and Bogart was 45. Their marriage lasted until Bogart death in 1957. It was a happy marriage and they had two children together.

Lauren Bacall turned down many scripts because she did not find them interesting, however she did go on to star in many successful movies such as The Big Sleep, Dark Passage, Key Largo, Young Man with a Horn, How to Marry a Millionaire, Petrified Forest and many others. Lauren Bacall also worked successfully on the Broadway stage in New York City.

More of "The Look".