Let us pay tribute to just a few of our favorite idols from years dead and gone (no pun intended), but with some fun facts! Did you know…
….that Audrey Hepburn was originally trained as a dental assistant? Sure, most of us know that Hepburn was a British actress and humanitarian, but she did not start out that way! Best known from her role as Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Hepburn found that her hardest task to fulfill the role was to eat! She made a vow with herself to never exceed 103 pounds (with the exception of her pregnancies, she succeeded) AND she absolutely hated Danish pastries! This made the opening scene of the movie very hard for Hepburn to film. Hepburn also felt awkward in this role because she knew that the book’s author, Truman Capote, originally wanted Marilyn Monroe to star in the film.
…that Shirley Temple exploited her ability to cry on cue? Shirley Temple Black taught herself to cry on a dime from an early age. Instead of thinking of anything sad, she would instead make her mind blank, which was so emotional to her that she could not help but to cry. The only time she had trouble crying was after lunch, because she said she was too content to be sad. Her ability to cry on cue came in handy when she was pulled over for speeding in a red convertible near Malibu. Instead of giving her a ticket, the officer was so moved by his tears that he ended up escorting her home!
…that Princess Diana was friends with Elton John, Bryan Adams, and Gianni Versace? Diana was more than just a(n incredibly) pretty face; she was also very social! In fact, because of her fame, when she tragically died in 1997, her funeral was viewed by over 2.5 billion people in over eighty countries. Her influence did not pass with her, however. Two months after her death a charity that she was an avid supporter of won a Nobel Peace Prize for its campaign to ban landmines.
…that Elizabeth Taylor died twice? That is right, Taylor died in 1960 and again in 2011. During the filming of Butterfield 8, she contracted a rare pneumonia strain which she succumbed to, but was later revived. Taylor also holds the record for the most times any person has broken their back. She broke it the first time while filming National Velvet when she fell off of her horse. Taylor did not feel that once was not enough, however. It took four more times for her to decide that breaking her back was not actually that enjoyable.
…that Maya Angelou was once a stripper and a prostitute? Before her career as a writer and poet (as well as Oprah’s mentor), Angelou took on a great many positions in order to support her son. These positions included streetcar conductor, fry cook, nightclub performer, actress, journalist, coordinator, and yes, even stripper and prostitute. With that many titles, she had a very interesting life story, which inclined her to right six autobiographies. Her travels to tell her stories to the world resulted in her becoming fluent in English, French, Spanish, Italian, Arabic, and West African Fanti.
The world will forever be influenced by these lovely ladies and their contributions to education, fashion, humanitarianism, film, and nobility alike. As we strive to adopt just a sliver of their attributes into our character, it is important to remember what these ladies have taught us: no matter what our beginning, no matter where we came from, greatness can be achieved through hard work and striving to be the best that we can be.