在银幕上，她是《罗马假日》里高贵可爱的公主，《蒂凡尼的早餐》中追逐名利的虚荣女子，《窈窕淑女》里身份卑微的卖花女，是好莱坞各路导演争相邀约的明星；在现实生活中，她被称为“落入人间的天使”，姣好的面容、优雅的气质，连同她对冥冥众生的悲悯情怀，征服了万千影迷。她就是影迷心中永远的窈窕淑女——奥黛丽·赫本。本文原文发表于1993年赫本去世后不久，在21年后的今天我们再来重温赫本曾经的一颦一笑，感怀斯人已逝，风采犹存。

most of our images of her came out of Africa where， as a shirtsleeved1） ambassador for UNICEF2）， she walked in a ravaged Somalia， giving solace with that radiant smile—and focusing the worlds attention on a starving land. Last September she asked to be taken to the famines epicenter， a feeding camp in the town of Baidoa. As she arrived， she saw hundreds of small lifeless bodies being loaded onto trucks. The worst of it， she would later say， eyes welling with tears， was “the terrible silence.”

Life was a brave journey for Audrey Hepburn. She was， after all， a woman who spent much of her girlhood in Nazi-occupied Holland， subsisting for a time on flour made from tulip bulbs. Along with her starving grandparents， she received food from a relief agency—UNICEFs precursor. “Your soul is nourished by all your experiences，” she once said. “It gives you baggage for the future—and ammunition3）， if you like.”

Hepburns journey ended last Wednesday in Tolochenaz， Switzerland， where， at 63， she succumbed to the colon4） cancer that had been diagnosed just two months before. Death found her in a merciful setting： on a mild springlike night at her beloved 18th-century stone farmhouse on Lake Geneva. “She was able to make only one trip in the last days，” says journalist Henry Gris， one of her oldest friends. “She went out into the garden. Its very gray this time of year， but she wanted to see her flowers.” At the end she was surrounded by those she cherished most， including her companion of 12 years， Robert Wolders， 55. “He was very dedicated to her，” says Gris. Also at Hepburns bedside were her sons， Sean Ferrer， 33， and Luca Dotti， 22， and her beloved Jack Russell terriers.

For a time last week， as people recalled the luminous images of Hepburn in her 25 films， it seemed as if the whole world were in mourning. “You looked at her， and all you could think was that nothing bad should ever happen to her，” said actress Arlene Dahl. “If there was a cross between the salt of the earth5） and a regal queen.” said Shirley MacLaine， her costar in The Childrens Hour （1961）， “then she was it.”

Hepburn saw herself a bit differently. “I was born with an enormous need for affection，” she once said， “and a terrible need to give it.” Born Audrey Kathleen van Heemstra Hepburn-Ruston to an English-Irish banker father and a Dutch baroness6）， she had a near idyllic early childhood in Brussels. But her parents divorced when she was 9. Then came the war， and the baroness， seeking safe haven， moved with her daughter to her parents home in Arnhem. During Hollands Nazi occupation， Hepburn carried messages for the Resistance in her ballet shoes. In time， as she would later recall， “the rationing started， and then， little by little， the reprisals7） began.” An uncle and cousin were shot； her elder half brother， Alexander， was conscripted to work in a Berlin factory. The once chubby girl became gaunt and frail. Certainly the memory of those years never left her： More than a decade later she would turn down director George Stevens offer to make The Diary of Anne Frank because， she explained， “I could not deal with it.”

In 1948 the resilient teenager left for England to study ballet and landed a chorus girls part in a London production of High Button Shoes. Three years later， in Monte Carlo for a movie bit8）， she was spotted9） by the novelist Colette， who instantly realized that she had found the girl to play her Gigi10） on Broadway. That role won Hepburn a Theatre World Award in 1952， and then-after she kept a photo of Colette on her dressing table， inscribed， “To Audrey Hepburn， the treasure I found on the beach.”

After seeing her screen test， director William Wyler cast Hepburn in his 1953 film， Roman Holiday. “Shes not beautiful，” said the crusty11） Wyler after Audrey picked up an Oscar for the part， “but she gets to12） you.”

Over the years， of course， she didnt get to everyone. Humphrey Bogart， perhaps nettled13） by her romance with their costar William Holden in 1954s Sabrina， said she was “OK if you like doing 36 takes.” And a film magazine she long outlasted called her “this weird hybrid with butchered14） hair.” But the movie-going public worshiped her， and eventually even Bogie recanted. “You take the Monroes and the Terry Moores，” he said， “and you know just what youre going to get every time. With Audrey its kind of unpredictable. Shes like a good tennis player—she varies her shots.”

That she did—through a career that spanned divergent roles in which she somehow always maintained her ineffable15） aura of class. Though she had doubts about herself （“Oh， Id like to be not so flat-chested，” she once said； “Id like not to have such angular16） shoulders， such big feet， such a big nose”）， few other women saw these as flaws. A rail-thin gamine during the zaftig17） Zeitgeist18） of the 1950s， she created a new ideal of beauty and with the help of her friend designer Hubert de Givenchy， established an impeccable—and frenetically imitated—look predicated on simplicity.

Hepburn was chronically， hopelessly civilized. On locations the world over， she made it a priority to establish a sense of home， especially after her 1954 marriage to actor Mel Ferrer， whom she had met when they costarred in Broadways Ondine， a play that won her a Tony. Hepburn would clear hotel suites of standard-issue items and replace them with silver candlesticks， matching salt-and-pepper shakers， her own sheets.

The couples eventual split in 1968 was one of her lifes great disappointments， but she found it easier to bear than the five miscarriages she suffered. It was while on location in the Congo for The Nuns Story in 1958 that her depression over her childlessness suddenly seemed to lift. “After looking inside an insane asylum， visiting a leper19） colony， talking to missionary workers and watching operations， I developed a new kind of inner peacefulness，” she said. In July 1960， her first child， Sean， was born. Ten years later， during a 13-year marriage to Italian psychiatrist Andrea Dotti， she gave birth， at 40， to another son， Luca.

Always she made it clear that family took precedence over her career. “The fact that Ive made movies doesnt mean breakfast gets made or that my child does better in his homework，” she said in 1980， explaining an eight-year screen hiatus20） that ended in 1976 with Robin and Marian. “I still have to function as a woman in a household.”

Yet in later years， with her children grown， she found a new purpose. In 1988 she became special ambassador for UNICEF and immediately set off for Ethiopia to minister21） to famine victims. Grueling trips to the Sudan， El Salvador， Guatemala and Ecuador followed. “I do my best，” she said simply. “I wish I could do more.”

It was after her return from Somalia last fall that Hepburn began suffering stomach pain. Doctors at first suspected she had contracted an amoebic22） infection， but surgery in November found a graver cause. “Rob [Wolders] told me she never complained once，” says a friend. “Its not that bad，” she would say.

But it was. Toward the end， says Gris， “she was in such terrible pain. She could only speak in a whisper. She could not talk to all of the people who called.”

Hepburn seemed to sense that she was destined to play a special role not just in movies but also in peoples lives. “People associate me with a time when movies were pleasant，” she said， “when women wore pretty dresses in films and you heard beautiful music. I always love it when people write me and say， ‘I was having a rotten time， and I walked into a cinema and saw one of your movies， and it made such a difference. ”

Audrey Hepburn did， in the end， make a difference. “In a cruel and imperfect world，” says critic Rex Reed， “she was living proof that God could still create perfection.”

我们对她最深刻的印象来自非洲。作为联合国儿童基金会一位穿着随意的大使，她走在备受蹂躏的索马里，以她那灿烂明媚的笑容给人们带去抚慰——同时将全世界的注意力聚集到这片饥饿的土地上。去年9月，她申请被派往饥荒的中心，一个位于拜多阿的救济营。抵达时，她看到成百上千失去生命的小尸体正被运上卡车。最可怕的是“那死一般的沉寂”，此后她一提起此事就止不住流泪。

对奥黛丽·赫本来说，生命就是一场勇敢的旅行。毕竟，她童年的大多数时光都是在纳粹占领下的荷兰度过的，一度靠着郁金香花茎磨成的粉艰难度日。她与饱受饥饿的外祖父母一起，接受过救济机构（联合国儿童基金会的前身）提供的食物。“你所有的经历都会为灵魂提供滋养，”她曾经说过，“它为你的未来提供行囊——如果需要的话，还有弹药。”

赫本的人生旅程在上周三结束于瑞士的特洛什纳，享年63岁，两个月前刚刚诊断出的结肠癌夺去了她的生命。死神还算仁慈，让她在一个舒心的环境里离世：一个春天般和煦的夜晚，在她心爱的、坐落于日内瓦湖畔的18世纪石头农舍。“在最后的日子里，她还能够外出一次，”她认识最早的一位老朋友、新闻记者亨利·格里斯说，“她去了花园里。在一年中的这个时候，天气很是阴沉，但是她想去看看她种的那些花儿。”在生命的尽头，围在她身边的都是她最珍爱的人，包括陪伴了她12年的人生伴侣、55岁的罗伯特·沃尔德斯。“他对她十分专一。”格里斯说。同在赫本床边的还有她的两个儿子——33岁的肖恩·费勒和22岁的卢卡·多蒂，还有她喜爱的杰克·拉塞尔犬。

上周有段时间，人们纷纷追忆起赫本在25部电影里那光彩照人的形象，整个世界似乎都沉浸在悲恸中。“你看着她，心里就会想，任何不好的事都不应该发生在她身上。”女演员阿琳·达尔说道。“如果说有一种人是社会精英和女王的重合体，那就是赫本。”与赫本联袂出演了《双姝怨》（1961）的雪莉·麦克莱恩说。

赫本本人看待自己则有些不同。“我天生对感情就有一种强烈的需求，”她曾经说，“同时也有一种强烈的施予感情的需求。”赫本全名奥黛丽·凯瑟琳·范海姆斯特拉·赫本-拉斯顿，父亲是一位英国-爱尔兰银行家，母亲是一位拥有男爵头衔的荷兰人。赫本在布鲁塞尔度过了一段几乎是田园牧歌式的早期童年生活。但在她九岁那年，父母离婚了，紧接着战争爆发了。为了寻求庇护之所，身为男爵的母亲带着女儿搬到了位于阿纳姆的父母家中。在纳粹占领荷兰期间，赫本利用芭蕾舞鞋为抵抗军传递消息。据她后来回忆，荷兰很快就“开始限额供应物品，随后，渐渐地，复仇行动开始了”。她的一个叔叔和堂兄被枪杀了；她同母异父的哥哥亚历山大被强征去柏林一家工厂工作。曾经丰满圆润的女孩儿已变得虚弱憔悴。当然，那些年的记忆从未离开过她：十几年过去了，她还是拒绝了乔治·史蒂文斯导演邀她出演《安妮日记》的请求，因为，她解释说，“我办不到”。

1948年，这个适应性强的少女前往英格兰学习芭蕾舞，还在伦敦版的《高跟纽扣鞋》里扮演了合唱队的一名女孩。三年后，她在蒙特卡洛扮演电影里一个小角色时，被小说家科莱特发现。科莱特立刻意识到，她已经找到了在百老汇扮演吉吉角色的女孩。这一角色在1952年为赫本赢得了戏剧世界奖。此后，在梳妆台上，她一直保留着科莱特的一张相片，上面题写着：“赠奥黛丽·赫本，我在海滩上发现的珍宝。”

在看过赫本的银幕试镜之后，导演威廉·怀勒让她在他执导的1953年电影《罗马假日》里担当主角。“她并不漂亮，”在奥黛丽因这一角色拿到一项奥斯卡奖之后，脾气暴躁的怀勒说，“但她就是能打动你。”

当然，这么多年来，并非每一个人她都能打动。男演员汉弗莱·博加特就说过，“如果一个镜头你愿意重复36次”，她就算是“好样的”。或许这是因为在1954年由他与赫本和威廉·霍尔登联袂主演的电影《龙凤配》中，赫本与威廉·霍尔登之间的艳闻惹怒了他吧。还有一部电影杂志骂她是“怪异的杂种，长着一头乱蓬蓬的头发”，不过，赫本的艺术生命要比这部杂志长久多了。尽管如此，喜欢看电影的公众却崇拜她，最后甚至连博吉（编注：博加特的昵称）都公开认错。“和梦露与特里·摩尔之类的演员搭档，”他说，“你每次都能清楚地知道你会得到什么。但和奥黛丽在一起就有点难以预测了。她就像个出色的网球手——每次击球都变化多端。”

事实的确如此——在演艺生涯中，她扮演过许多不同的角色，但不知怎地却总能保持一种不可名状的优雅气质。虽然她也曾怀疑过自己（“噢，我真希望自己的胸不这么平，”她曾经说过；“我真希望自己没有这么瘦削的双肩、这么大一双脚、这么大一个鼻子”），但很少有其他女人会把这些当做瑕疵。在20世纪50年代崇尚丰满的时代潮流中，一个像电线杆一般瘦削的娇小女人却开创了一套新的理想之美的标准，而且在她的朋友、设计师休伯特·德纪梵希的帮助下，她在简洁朴素的基础上树立了一个完美无瑕的形象——这一形象很快就被人们疯狂模仿。

一直以来，赫本总是那样文雅，文雅得无可救药。在世界各地拍摄外景时，她总是先要建立一种家的感觉，特别是在1954年与演员梅尔·费勒结婚之后。他们是在百老汇的《美人鱼》中联袂演出时相遇的，这出剧让她赢得了托尼奖。赫本常常会清理酒店套房配置的标准用品，替换成自己的银质烛台、与之相配的胡椒盐调味瓶，还有自己的床单。

这对夫妇最终于1968年分手，这是她一生中遭受的一次重大打击，但与她所遭受的五次流产比起来，这个还是容易承受一些。1958年，当她在刚果为《修女传》拍摄外景时，她因没有子女而产生的抑郁似乎突然消失了。“在探视过一家精神病院、访问了一家麻风病人疗养院、跟传教士义工谈过话、旁观了数次手术之后，我的内心产生了一种新的平静。”她说。1960年7月，她的第一个孩子肖恩出生了。十年之后，在与意大利精神病医生安德烈亚·多蒂13年的婚姻中，她又生了另一个儿子——卢卡，那一年她40岁。

家庭永远优先于事业，这一点她总是分得很清楚。“电影演好了并不意味着早餐就做好了，也不意味着孩子的家庭作业就完成得更好。”1980年，她在解释自己长达八年的息影经历时这样说道，这次息影最终以1976年上映的电影《罗宾汉与玛丽安》而宣告结束。“我仍然需要做一个家庭主妇。”

但在以后的岁月里，随着孩子逐渐长大成人，她有了一个新的目标。1988年，她成为联合国儿童基金会特别大使，随后即刻出发前往埃塞俄比亚，去救助那里的饥荒灾民。随后又不辞辛劳地前往苏丹、萨尔瓦多、危地马拉和厄瓜多尔。“我只是在尽力，”她轻描淡写地说，“我希望还可以做得更多。”

赫本胃部开始疼痛是在去年秋天从索马里回来之后。医生最初怀疑她是受到了变形虫感染，但11月的手术发现了更严重的原因。一个朋友说：“罗伯[·沃尔德斯]告诉我，她一次都没有抱怨过。”她总是说：“没那么严重。”

但病情确实很严重。格里斯说，到了最后，“她疼得很厉害，只能用微弱的声音说话。人们给她打电话，她也没法跟每个人都说上几句。”

赫本似乎感觉到，她注定要扮演特别的角色，不仅在电影里如此，在人们生活中也同样如此。“当电影给人们带来欢乐时，人们会想到我，”她说，“当女人们在电影里穿上漂亮的裙子，当你听到美妙的音乐，人们也会想到我。我总是喜欢人们给我写信，告诉我：‘我心情很糟的时候，走进了电影院，看了你的一部电影，结果我整个人都变了。”

最终，奥黛丽·赫本的确给人们带来了变化。“在一个残酷而充满瑕疵的世界里，”评论家雷克斯·里德说，“她的存在是一个活生生的例子，证明上帝仍然可以创造完美。”