Audrey Hepburn at her Beverly Hills Apartment (1953)

In 1953 while filming the movie Sabrina, Audrey Hepburn rented an apartment on Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills.

During the filming, fashion photographer Mark Shaw was assigned to photograph the young actress.

Evasive at first, Hepburn became comfortable with Shaw’s presence over a two-week period and allowed him to record many of her casual and private moments.

Life published several of these photos in the December 7, 1953 issue, which also carried a Shaw cover of Hepburn.

Audrey Hepburn, with purse in hand, reaches for the fence door knob at her Beverly Hills apartment in Los Angeles, 1953 via

Audrey Hepburn greets photographer Mark Shaw at her rented Beverly Hills apartment during the production of Sabrina, 1953 via

Audrey Hepburn on the phone at her rented Beverly Hills apartment during the production of Sabrina, 1953 via

Audrey Hepburn on the phone at her rented Beverly Hills apartment during the production of Sabrina, 1953 via

Audrey Hepburn writing a letter during the production of Sabrina at her rented Beverly Hills apartment in Los Angeles, 1953 via

Audrey Hepburn photographed at her Los Angeles apartment listening to one of her jazz albums, 1953 via

Audrey Hepburn photographed by Mark Shaw at her Beverly Hills apartment, 1953 via

Audrey Hepburn reading at her Beverly Hills apartment, 1953 via

Audrey Hepburn reading at her Beverly Hills apartment, 1953 via

Audrey Hepburn in “Ondine” (1954)

Ondine is a play written in 1938 by French dramatist Jean Giraudoux, based on the 1811 novella Undine by the German RomanticFriedrich de la Motte Fouqué that tells the story of Hans and Ondine. Hans is a knight-errant who has been sent off on a quest by his betrothed. In the forest he meets and falls in love with Ondine, a water-sprite who is attracted to the world of mortal man. The subsequent marriage of people from different worlds is, of course, folly. By turns comic, enchanting, and tragic, Ondine is considered by some to be Giraudoux’s finest work.

The play was adapted by Maurice Valency, opening on Broadway in 1954 in a production by Alfred Lunt with a cast including Mel Ferrer, John Alexander, Peter Brandon, Alan Hewitt, Edith King, Robert Middleton, William Podmore, Marian Seldes, and Audrey Hepburn in the role that made her a star.

Ondine won the 1954 New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award for Best Play. This production also garnered the 1954 Tony awards for Best Director (Lunt) and Best Actress in a Play (Hepburn).

Audrey Hepburn photographed on stage during a performance of Ondine, New York, 1954 via

Audrey Hepburn during the theatre production of “Ondine” by Philippe Halsman via

Audrey Hepburn photographed by Milton H. Greene on stage during a performance of Ondine, New York, 1954 via

Audrey Hepburn photographed by Milton H. Greene on stage during a performance of Ondine, New York, 1954 via

Audrey Hepburn and Mel Ferrer Wedding (1954)

The marriage of Audrey Hepburn and Mel Ferrer took place in Burgenstock, Switzerland, where they made their home.They married at a private civil ceremony on 24 September 1954 attended by close friends and family, followed by a service at the local Protestant chapel the following day.

The couple had been introduced at a party hosted by Hepburn’s co-star in Roman Holiday, Gregory Peck.

Her next role in Sabrina, released shortly after her wedding in October 1954, established a life-long working relationship and close friendship with Hubert de Givenchy, who designed the vast majority of her wardrobe from then on. However, on the occasion of this, her first marriage, Hepburn wore a gown of white organdie by French couturier and costume designer, Pierre Balmain.

Hepburn and Ferrer had a son, Sean, and divorced, at Hepburn’s instigation, in December 1968 (source).

Audrey Hepburn and Mel Ferrer on their wedding day on Sept 25th, 1954 © Bettmann/CORBIS via

Audrey Hepburn and Mel Ferrer on their wedding day on Sept 25th, 1954

Foto: © Cordon Press / Gtres Online / Getty Images via

Audrey Hepburn and Mel Ferrer on their wedding day on Sept 25th, 1954 by Ernst Haas via

Audrey Hepburn and Mel Ferrer on their wedding day on Sept 25th, 1954 by Ernst Haas via

Audrey Hepburn and Mel Ferrer on their wedding day on Sept 25th, 1954 via

Audrey while making The Unforgiven. Photos by Inge Morath (1959)

The Unforgiven is a 1960 American western film filmed in Durango, Mexico. It was directed by John Huston and has the unusual casting of Audrey Hepburn.

Magnum Photos Agency photographer Inge Morath had met director John Huston while she was living in London, Morath worked on several of his films.

The Unforgiven, uncommonly for its time, spotlights the issue of racism against Native Americans and people believed to have Native American blood in the Old West.

Aside from this the film is most notable for its behind-the-scenes problems. Production was suspended for several months in 1959 after Hepburn broke her back when she fell off a horse while rehearsing a scene. Although she eventually recovered, the accident was blamed for a subsequent miscarriage Hepburn suffered.

While photographing the making of The Unforgiven, Inge Morath accompanied Huston and his friends duck hunting on a mountain lake outside Durango. Photographing the excursion, Morath saw through her telephoto lens that actor Audie Murphy and his companion had capsized their boat 350 feet from shore. She could see that Murphy, stunned, was nearly drowning. A skilled swimmer, Morath stripped to her underwear and hauled the two men ashore by her bra strap while the hunt continued uninterrupted

Audrey Hepburn during the production of The Unforgiven, Durango, Mexico, 1959. Photograph by Inge Morath via

Audrey Hepburn during the production of The Unforgiven, Durango, Mexico, 1959. Photograph by Inge Morath via

Audrey Hepburn during the production of The Unforgiven, Durango, Mexico, 1959. Photograph by Inge Morath via

Audrey Hepburn during the production of The Unforgiven, Durango, Mexico, 1959. Photograph by Inge Morath via

Audrey Hepburn & Dove (St. Tropez 1967)

Audrey on the set of ‘Two for the Road‘ St. Tropez 1967 by © Terry O’Neill via

Audrey on the set of ‘Two for the Road‘ St. Tropez 1967 by © Terry O’Neill via

Vintage Photographs of Amazing Movie Wedding Dresses

Claudette Colbert. It Happened One Night, 1934 via

Olivia de Havilland. They Died With Their Boots On, 1941 via

Joan Fontaine. Jane Eyre, 1943 via

Gene Tierney 1946. The Razor’s Edge, 1946 via

Audrey Hepburn. Funny Face, 1957 via

Marilyn Monroe. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, 1953 via

Gina Lollobrigida. Come September, 1961 via

A Collection of Photos Feat. Dresses by Edith Head

Edith Head (1897 – 1981) was an American costume designer who won a record eight Academy Awards for Best Costume Design, starting with The Heiress (1949) and ending with The Sting (1973).

Born and raised in California, Head managed to get a job as a costume sketch artist at Paramount Pictures, without any relevant training. She first acquired notability for Dorothy Lamour’s trademark sarong dress, and then became a household name after the Academy Awards created a new category of Costume Designer in 1948. Head was considered exceptional for her close working relationships with her subjects, with whom she consulted extensively, and these included virtually every top female star in Hollywood.

After 43 years she left Paramount for Universal, possibly because of her successful partnership with Alfred Hitchcock, and also adapted her skills for television.

Edith Head, 1930s via

Edith Head’s costume for Anna May Wong in Dangerous to Know directed by Robert Florey, 1938 via

Grace Kelly wearing her Oscar dress by Edith Head. Photograph by Philippe Halsman via

Edith Head’s costume for Gloria Swanson in Sunset Blvd directed by Billy Wilder, 1950 via

Audrey Hepburn (with Edith Head in the background) puts on her tiara and necklace while on the set of Roman Holiday, 1952 via

Hitchcock and Head on the set of Family Plot, 1976 via

Portraits by Photographer Inge Morath

Ingeborg Hermine “Inge” Morath (1923 – 2002) was an Austrian-born photographer. In 1953, she joined the Magnum Photos Agency, founded by top photographers in Paris, and became a full photographer with them in 1955. Along with Eve Arnold, she was among the first women members.  Magnum remains to this day a predominantly male organization.

Morath’s work was motivated by a fundamental humanism, shaped as much by her experience of war as by its lingering shadow over post-war Europe. In Morath’s mature work, she documents the endurance of the human spirit under situations of extreme duress, as well as its manifestations of ecstasy and joy.

In 1955, she published her first collection of photographs, a total of 30 monographs during her lifetime. Morath was also the third and last wife of playwright Arthur Miller; their daughter is screenwriter/director Rebecca Miller.

Self-Portrait by Inge Morath, Jerusalem, 1958 via

Inge Morath, Portrait of Anais Nin, 1959 © Inge Morath © The Inge Morath Foundation via

Inge Morath, Gloria Vanderbilt New York, 1956 ©  Fotosammlung WestLicht, Wien via

Jayne Mansfield in bed in Beverly Hills, Inge Morath 1959 via

Audrey Hepburn during the production of The Unforgiven, Durango, Mexico by Inge Morath 1959 via

Marilyn Monroe on the set of the Misfits by Inge Morath, 1960s via

A Collection of Vintage Photos of Actresses with Cigarette Holders

Audrey Hepburn

Jane Fonda

Claudia Cardinale

Ava Gardner

Silvia Sidney

Marlene Dietrich

A Collection of Photos featuring Women Wearing Masks

Lee Radziwill at the plaza hotel at Truman Capote´s black and white ball, New York, 1966 via

Frank Sinatra and Mia Farrow at Truman Capote´s black and white ball via

Edwige Feuillère via

Baroness Jean de L’espee attending masked ball, Paris, July 1946, photographed by David E. Scherman for LIFE Magazine via

 Portrait by Brassai, Lilliput, March 1947 via

The Merry Widow by Lillian Basman via

Audrey Hepburn in How to Steel a mIllion via

 A young Twiggy wearing a mask and peeking through the curtains of the Paris shop Torrente, Vogue 1967 via