A Servant Leader’s Courage to Turn Compassion into Action
By Finbarr Jewell
Source: Wikimedia Commons
“She believed very much that there is a struggle between good and evil and you have to take sides.”
— Luca Dotti, Audrey Hepburn’s son
Early Life: The Roots of Empathy
Audrey Hepburn was born Audrey Kathleen Ruston in Brussels, Belgium, on May 4, 1929. When she was six years old, her parents were divorced, causing Hepburn to spend most of her childhood traveling between England, Belgium, and the Netherlands. In 1939, after the outbreak of World War II, Audrey and her mother moved back to the Netherlands. On May 10, 1940, the Netherlands was invaded by the Germans, and her entire family would be forced to live under occupation for the next five years.
Service Under Occupation: Courage, Listening, and Community in Action
Hepburn’s mother was initially a supporter of the Nazi party until Hepburn’s half-brother was sent to a work camp outside Berlin, and her uncle was executed for his role in the Dutch resistance. Additionally, Hepburn consistently witnessed children her own age being loaded into cattle cars and innocent civilians being gunned down in the street. These early experiences would stay with Hepburn for life, shaping her desire to serve others and use her position for the betterment of society.
Hepburn began working for a local doctor who was a member of the Dutch resistance and decided to use her ballet skills in the service of her community. She performed secret ballet shows called “black evenings” to raise money for the resistance, with windows covered and often dancing to candlelight. During the winter of 1944, the Netherlands experienced a devastating famine, leaving Hepburn malnourished and too weak to dance. Once again, the 15-year-old never stopped thinking about others and decided to start teaching dance lessons to distract others from the hardships of the occupation.
Occasionally, Hepburn used her youth and English skills to deliver messages to downed British paratroopers, helping them evade capture. Despite the risks, Hepburn consistently risked her life to support others, never seeking recognition or reward. Reflecting on her experiences during the war, she said, “Every loyal Dutch schoolgirl and boy did their little bit to help…many were much more courageous than I was.”
From Personal Talent to Public Influence
After the war, Hepburn continued to study ballet in Amsterdam and London, but because of chronic malnutrition during the war, she never developed the stamina to become a professional ballerina. In her 20s, she decided to start acting. Eventually, she would land a lead role in the movie Roman Holiday. Following Roman Holiday, Hepburn experienced a meteoric rise to fame.
Despite her rise to fame, Hepburn never turned her back on those in need, feeling a moral obligation to help others as she had been helped by government aid during World War II. In the 1950s, Hepburn narrated two radio programs for the United Nations International Childhood Emergency Fund that retold stories of children during the war. Eventually, in 1989, she was appointed a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador. Audrey Hepburn was not the first UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, but she became a pioneer for the modern era by using her fame to visit children in need, speak for those often ignored, and encourage the world to care. Over the course of the next three years, Hepburn would make trips to UNICEF projects in Asia, Africa, and Central and South America, using her position to raise awareness for underserved communities worldwide.
Her never-ending kindness and devotion toward those around her were palpable. She used her position to advocate consistently, giving speeches before the United States Congress to lobby for increased humanitarian aid and helping give a voice to those normally excluded from political decisions. Hepburn constantly tried to bridge connections between people worldwide by stressing the universal nature of humanity.
After she passed away in 1993, United States President George H. W. Bush honored Hepburn’s lifetime of service with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. In 2002, UNICEF honored Hepburn’s legacy by unveiling a statue called “The Spirit of Audrey.”
Picture credit and qoute from the UN “© UNICEF/Betty Press Audrey Hepburn, one of UNICEF’s most beloved Goodwill Ambassadors, holds a child at a feeding centre in Baidoa, Somalia, in 1992.”
Servant Leadership as a Repeated Choice
Ultimately, Audrey Hepburn’s life provides a model that inspires us to act. At every point in her life, she could have chosen inaction. During World War II, her privileged position as a child of Dutch nobility meant she could have remained hidden, and as a famous movie star, she could have easily ignored the suffering of those around her. Instead, she repeatedly chose to use her position to help others, demonstrating that leadership isn’t defined by status but by the repeated decision to prioritize the needs of others. Audrey Hepburn’s life shows us that every day, every single person can choose to serve others in some small way.
About the Author
Finbarr Jewell is currently a third-year student at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), pursuing a double major in Microbiology and Religious Studies. He has served as an intern with the Dehkhoda Educational Foundation since Fall 2025.
References
“Audrey Hepburn – Movies, Quotes & Death.” Biography, 31 Mar. 2021,
https://www.biography.com/actors/audrey-hepburn.
“Audrey Hepburn in World War Two.” History Is Now Magazine, Podcasts, Blog and Books | Modern International and American History, 10 Apr. 2025,
http://www.historyisnowmagazine.com/blog/2025/4/10/audrey-hepburn-in-world-war-two.
“Audrey Hepburn.” New Netherland Institute,
https://www.newnetherlandinstitute.org/history-and-heritage/dutch_americans/audrey-hepburn.
“Audrey Hepburn | Biography, Movies, Sabrina, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, & Facts.” Britannica,
www.britannica.com/biography/Audrey-Hepburn.
Matzen, Robert. “‘Those Are Things You Don’t Forget.’ How a Young Audrey Hepburn Helped the Dutch Resistance during World War II.” TIME, 3 May 2019,
https://time.com/5582729/audrey-hepburn-world-war-ii/.