Audrey Hepburn was an icon, perfectly embodying old Hollywood glamour on and off the silver screen, before she died of rare ‘Jelly Belly’ cancer 30 years ago.
The actress was regarded as one of the most recognizable stars of cinema for both her skills with a script and her fashion style. The British native, born in Belgium, rose to fame in The Roman Holiday alongside Gregory Peck in 1953. Her part in the romantic comedy saw her become one of the first stars to win a Golden Globe and a BAFTA for the same role. The Breakfast at Tiffany’s star had a long career in Tinsel Town before devoting herself to charity work. Sadly, Audrey Hepburn died in 1993 from a rare form of cancer referred to as ‘Jelly Belly’.
Sparkling star in Hollywood
Hepburn, trained in ballet in Amsterdam, years before LA caught wind of her. She made her stage debut in London in 1948 before heading to Broadway three years later.
It was the 1950s that saw her career take off, with the likes of Funny Face, Breakfast at Tiffany’s My Fair Lady and The Nun’s Story.
In the next decade she opted for more sophisticated and vulnerable characters, different from the romantic comedies she was known for. In the late 1960s, she took a step back from acting after her divorce from Mel Ferrer and married a prominent Italian psychiatrist.
She didn’t return to the silver screen until 1976 in a handful of films, but in 1988 her passion turned to charity work, and she began a new career as a special goodwill ambassador for UNICEF. Hepburn devoted herself to humanitarian work, visiting Latin American, Africa and Asia.
It was after one of those trips, Somalia in 1992, where she booked tests after experiencing abdominal pain. Sadly, doctors told Audrey Hepburn had a rare form of cancer, referred to as ‘Jelly Belly’.
She soon began receiving treatment for the disease, undergoing chemotherapy.
Her health took a turn before Christmas that year, and her friend and fashion designer Hubert de Givenchy arranged a private jet so she could fly from LA to Geneva to head to Switzerland and spend it with her family.
Audrey Hepburn sadly passed away in her sleep weeks later, on January 20, 1993, from the ‘Jelly Belly’ cancer.
Audrey Hepburn kept ‘Jelly Belly’ cancer out of the public eye
Her longtime partner Robert Wolders said she was given a short diagnosis when her health deteriorated.
He said at the time: “The doctors gave her three months to live. She acknowledged being afraid of the pain, but not being afraid of dying.”
The celebrity kept details of her illness quiet at the time, but it belonged to a group of cancers (PMP), known as pseudomyxoma peritonei.
The rare tumor grows slowly over several years, and causes a jelly-like build up in the pelvis and abdomen, which is why Audrey Hepburn’s cancer was referred to as ‘Jelly Belly’.
It’s believed the movie star had been living with the condition for a while before the diagnosis was confirmed.
Hepburn was awarded humanitarian medals and honored with a statute at UNICEF headquarters in 2022, after her death.
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