Actress, humanitarian, campaigner, and timeless Hollywood beauty –Audrey Hepburn is considered to be one of history’s most beautiful women. Even with the passage of time she has had an ever-changing impression on attitudes toward the standards of beauty in the modern world. Her classic style and compassion for others, amongst many other qualities, are what make Audrey a truly beautiful human being. She found the secret to attaining real beauty: elegance and grace that radiate from the inside and out. Here are seven of her most inspiring quotes about what it means to be a truly beautiful woman:
1. “You can tell more about a person by what [s]he says about others than you can by what others say about [her].”
Audrey Hepburn spoke as classically and eloquently as her clothing style. Never speaking ill of others and always bringing people up in her words, Audrey reflected her inner beauty through the way she treated those around her. Regardless of what someone might say of you, we are all a work in progress. The way we treat others and the way in which we speak is the clearest representation of how we feel and think about ourselves. Be kind to others, and be kind to yourself.
2. “There is more to feminine charm than just measurements… I can convey just as much femininity picking apples off a tree or standing in the rain.”
Your beauty and femininity are not limited to your sexual appeal, how much time you spend on your figure, or your physical measurements. Although these things can be a strong facet of beauty, what makes you physically attractive and beautiful is not just how you present your outer-self. True beauty and femininity come from your confidence and innate sense of who you are as a woman. Audrey taught us that you don’t need to put yourself on display to “feel pretty”; it’s something that comes from your soul.
3. “I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls.”
One of the most misinterpreted quotes by Audrey Hepburn, this statement is not implying that in order to be looked at as a beautiful woman you must be smiling 24/7, or that you must be gorgeous in order to be happy. Rather, Audrey is encouraging us that those who have found peace with their innermost beings and are happy with themselves are truly the most beautiful women. Confidence is the best thing you can wear, and radiates from within!
4. “Why change? Everyone has [their] own style. When you have found it, you should stick to it.”
With the passage of time comes a transformation in the standard of beauty and the respective attitudes toward it. Audrey Hepburn is still considered to be one of the most classic and timeless women in Hollywood, and in history for that matter. Never feeling that she needed to change herself to meet the standard of beauty at the time, Audrey’s confidence in who she was is a fabulous example of how staying true to yourself will exude more beauty than constantly “changing with the times”. Stay true to who you are, and stick to what you know!
5. “Make-up can only make you look pretty on the outside, it doesn’t help if you are ugly on the inside. Unless you eat the makeup.”
Make-up is looked at by the world as something that is designed to make your features appear flawless, and enhance outer beauty. This is not to say that wearing make-up on a daily basis is a bad thing; I myself wear makeup six out of seven days in a week. What Audrey is trying to stress is that make-up cannot make the woman wearing it a “prettier” or more perfect human because it cannot sink below your skin. Possessing true beauty is something that no amount of cosmetics could ever create, for it has to come from within.
6. “The most important thing is to enjoy your life – to be happy – it’s all that matters.”
Finding that inner confidence and happiness with who you are is a daunting, difficult task at times. In our lowest valleys of self-image struggles, it may be hard to find what is good in life and stay strong when things get rough. But despite these temporary judgements, enjoying the life you were given and being happy in that area of your life trumps all the negative thoughts you may feel about yourself. True beauty is being comfortable in your own skin, and embracing what life has to offer you.
7. “… The true beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul. It is the caring she lovingly gives, the passion that she shows, and the beauty of a woman only grows with passing years.”
This lesson speaks volumes in regards to the definition of “real beauty”. Inner beauty is not something that leaks in from what is on the outside. It is not something that is found in the latest clothing trends or in the words of others. Innermost beauty and elegance are the positive traits and quirky qualities that you share with the world. Your compassion for others, the kindness you show, and your devotion to what really matters in life is what real beauty means. If Audrey Hepburn taught us anything, it would be that true beauty is found from within your soul, and no one can ever take that away from you.
Audrey Hepburn found the secret to attaining real beauty and elegance, and wasn’t afraid to share it with the world. She has taught us that beauty is not defined by the world’s standards, should be seen through your own eyes, and will never change with the passage of time. Beauty is found from within, and can be seen each and every time you smile. So keep smiling, darling.