Quote Of The Day By Audrey Hepburn: 'I Had To Make A Choice At One Point In My Life, Of Missing Films Or...'

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Audrey Hepburn's performances in films like "Breakfast at Tiffany's" and "My Fair Lady" make her impact across popular culture impossible to deny. She was one of the few actors to earn EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony) status, and as a multi-hyphenate performer, she commanded the screen and the stage with her acting skills, angelic vocals, and dance technique. 

After starting her career in ballet, she shifted to acting shortly after finding success on Broadway in the early 1950s. Hepburn went on to win accolades for playing Princess Ann in the 1953 rom-com classic "Roman Holiday" and went on to play the lead in 16 more films during her lifetime.

Even though her star continues to shine brightly more than three decades after her death (a biopic about her starring "Emily in Paris" alum Lily Collins is reportedly in development), fame wasn't Hepburn's end-all and be-all. The quote of the day shows how she prioritized motherhood and caring for those in need.

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"I had to make a choice at one point in my life, of missing films or missing my children."

The quote above comes from a statement that Audrey Hepburn made in March of 1988, in which she discussed her decision to step out of the spotlight after having her two sons, Sean Hepburn Ferrer and Luca Dotti. As previously mentioned, the actor's filmography wasn't as extensive as it likely could have been because Hepburn focused on being a present mother.

She added: "I withdrew to stay home with my children. I was very happy. It is not as if I was sitting at home, frustrated, biting my nails. Like all mothers, I am crazy about my two boys."

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Audrey Hepburn's fame and success are impossible to replicate, but she never let others dictate her life trajectory. Even when she had the chance to continue leading award-winning films, the actor prioritized what she valued most. 

Hepburn also stepped away from the screen to dedicate herself to her humanitarian efforts. During an interview she did with Global News in March of 1988, she shared more about her trip with UNICEF to Ethiopia and gave an update on her life outside the spotlight. Although her "idea of heaven" was always to settle down in the countryside, her determination to give back to children in need drove her out of retirement and back to traveling the world for a good cause. "For children I would go to the moon," she said. 

With a childhood and adolescence marked by warfare, Hepburn knew what it was like to deal with hunger and despair. Through her humanitarian efforts with UNICEF, she was able to use her influence for good.

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"I'd rather give the energy that I still have left to children. That's all part of the same being I was then. You know, then I expressed my feelings in pictures or expressed my feelings with my children. Now, I'm expressing a longing to do something about the needs of children, which I've seen and which, in some small way, I can help with." — from a 1989 interview with Terry Wogan

"My life changed for the better, but you always have that undercurrent of your neighbor next door who might be suffering or somebody in another country or a friend. That never goes away." — from a 1989 interview with Margaret Throsby

"Wouldn't anyone want to do what I'm doing? The very thought that you can, even however little, help a child is irresistible." — from a 1991 interview with WFAA