Audrey Hepburn would have been a prima ballerina and not an actor, had it not been for her nutritional status and her height-5'7", tad tall for a ballet dancer. Here`s what happened.
A five year old Hepburn started training in ballet in England, in 1934. The World War II started in 1939, with Germany attacking Poland and later, England declaring war on Germany. Audrey, then all of ten, was sent to live in a neutral nation-Holland, with her mother Ella. Peace was short lived as Germany attacked Holland in 1940 and from then on started Audrey`s and her family`s struggle to cope with meager food supplies.
Remember my post on Scorched Earth policy, where food crops are destroyed by the defending country, in an attempt to starve the attacking enemy army? Well, the enemy too can starve a country they have chosen to attack. And, this is done by laying a siege, which includes stopping movement of all essential commodities like food, into the target nation. By 1944, Germans obstructed food imports to Holland, causing it to reel under the 'Hunger Winter'. People starved to death and Hepburn and her mother were amongst those who survived eating bread made of tulip flour.
The war ended in 1945, but it left sixteen year old Hepburn anemic, asthmatic and malnourished. Hepburn quoted in an interview with Jessica Seigel of the Chicago Tribune, that when relief trucks brought in food at the end of the war, she fell sick by just putting more sugar on her oatmeal.
To continue, post-war Hepburn trained for three years in ballet, under a famous teacher in Amsterdam. She then left for London, under a dance scholarship to study under one of the worlds best ballet teachers, Marie Rambert. Audrey and her mother hoped that Rambert would be the one to give form to her dream of becoming a prima ballerina, but this was not to be. A nineteen year old Hepburn was told that she will never be a prima ballerina because of her war resulted poor state of nutrition.
Ballet is a strenuous dance form and many professional dancers fade out at a young age owing to chronic injuries. What was it about Audreys nutritional status which was poor, is not recorded anywhere. Was it chronic anemia leading to premature fatigue while dancing? Was it poor bone health, which prevented her from maintaining en pointe for prolonged time periods. All are my non-evidence based guesses.
Post this disappointment, Hepburn experimented with cabaret and Broadway, the latter leading to her debut as Princess Anne in Roman Holiday (1953).
The deprivation which war brings is terrible and in this case, it also affected an individuals career outcome. So what if Hepburn had an immensely successful run at Hollywood? Being an actor was not her first choice. It was an alternative career path and alternatives can never be a first choice. And, nutrition played a part in this career-destiny game of Audrey Hepburns life. Amazing.
Till date, I have seen only two of Hepburns films and that too in grade three. She didnt impact me as much as Julie Andrews did after watching The Sound of Music (1965). But now, I really dont care about Audrey Hepburns talent as an actor or her legendary charm. I know here was a lady who endured hunger, pain and fear, and survived, and that attracts me. Audrey Hepburn passed away on 20th Jan 1993, at a young age of sixty three, after suffering from colon cancer. A life lived gracefully.
If you liked this post, you might also like Nutrition Is A Wartime Weapon-Scorched Earth Policy
This post was chosen by Guy Kawasaki, Ex-Chief Evangelist, Apple, for his international online paper called "Guy`s Daily Paper". Know more about it on my other blog Raksha-Media or go to Guy`s Daily Paper
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