It's Audrey Hepburn's birthday

It’s Audrey Hepburn’s birthday

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Belgian-born actor Audrey Hepburn (1929-1993) in a red jacket with a poodle applique, circa 1955. (Hulton Archive / Getty Images)

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Hepburn rehearsing at the barre, circa 1950. (Silver Screen Collection / Getty Images)

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Audrey Hepburn writing a letter in a palm grove, circa 1955. (Silver Screen Collection / Getty Images)

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Audrey Hepburn is surrounded by reporters as she holds the Oscar she won in the lead actress category for “Roman Holiday” at the 1954 Academy Awards. (Hulton Archive / Getty Images)

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Audrey Hepburn in a black pantsuit in a promotional shot for the 1954 film “Sabrina.” (Paramount Pictures / Getty Images)

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Audrey Hepburn stars as Holly Golightly the 1961 film “Breakfast at Tiffany’s.” (Paramount Pictures / Getty Images)

By Susan Denley

May 4, 2014 6 AM PT

Lovers of fashion and style should join in celebrating actress Audrey Hepburn’s birthday on Sunday.

Hepburn, born on May 4, 1929, in Belgium, died in 1993, but she is still cited as an icon of midcentury elegance.

An Academy Award winner for 1953’s “Roman Holiday,” she made an indelible impression in that and other film roles -- “ My Fair Lady,” “Charade,” “Wait Until Dark,” “Sabrina” and many more.

Her awards are almost too numerous to mention, including a Tony, a Grammy, an Emmy and three BAFTA Awards. In her post-acting career, she won acclaim and a Presidential Medal of Freedom for her work as a goodwill ambassador for UNICEF.

The look we’ll never forget is Hepburn in a little black dress, tiara tucked into a bun atop her head, cigarette holder between her fingers as she became Holly Golightly in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s.”

It’s one for the ages, indeed.

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Susan Denley

Susan Denley is a former contributor to the All the Rage blog, associate features editor and editor of the Image section, which covers fashion, style, beauty – and their intersection with Hollywood and California culture. Over a career spanning four newspapers and two coasts, she’s been responsible for a wide variety of features and hard news beats as a reporter, editor or department manager. Denley left The Times in 2015.

It’s Audrey Hepburn’s birthday

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