In pictures: Audrey Hepburn

Renowned as an actress, fashion icon and humanitarian, Audrey Hepburn's legacy continues to be celebrated today. In 2015-16, a number of iconic and rarely seen photographs of the star went on display at the National Portrait Gallery...

June 30, 2015 at 8:03 am

Coinciding with the 65th anniversary of Hepburn’s career-changing performance at the West End’s Ciro nightclub – where she was noticed by talent scouts – Audrey Hepburn: Portraits of an Icon followed the actress’s rise to fame.

Tracing her early years working in Holland and her time as a dancer and chorus girl in the West End, the exhibition demonstrated how Hepburn built up her career to become the iconic film actress we recognise her as today.

Among the collection are portraits taken by the likes of Cecil Beaton, Richard Avedon, Angus McBean, Norman Parkinson and Irving Penn. A variety of private, rarely seen family photographs were also on display, including some showing Hepburn practising ballet and others from her early career as a model.

Here, we take a sneak peek at some of the pieces on show at the exhibition…

_{Audrey Hepburn by Erwin Blumenfeld, 1952 ©The Estate of Erwin Blumenfeld}

_{Audrey Hepburn dressed in Givenchy with sunglasses by Oliver Goldsmith by Douglas Kirkland, 1966 © Iconic Images/Douglas Kirkland}

_{Audrey Hepburn in Rome by Cecil Beaton, 1960 ©The Cecil Beaton Studio Archive at Sotheby’s}

_{Audrey Hepburn as Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Howell Conant, published on the cover of Jours de France, 27 January 1962}

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_{Audrey Hepburn by Antony Beauchamp, 1955 © Reserved}

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_{Unpublished photograph of Audrey Hepburn in Richmond Park by Bert Hardy, 30 April 1950 ©Bert Hardy/Getty Images}

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_{Audrey Hepburn by Philippe Halsman for LIFE magazine, 1954 ©Philipe Halsman/Magnum Photos}

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_{Dance recital photograph by Manon van Suchtelen, 1942 ©Reserved}

Audrey Hepburn: Portraits of an Icon was open to the public at the National Portrait Gallery in London from 2 July to 18 October 2015. To find out more about the exhibition, click here.