The Story Behind Audrey Hepburn's "If I'm honest, I have to tell you I still read fairy tales."

It was a crisp autumn afternoon in 1989 when Audrey Hepburn, now in her sixties and long retired from the silver screen, sat down with a journalist in a softly lit room in her home in Tolochenaz, Switzerland. The air outside carried the scent of fallen leaves and the faint sound of wind rustling through the vineyards. Inside, the atmosphere was intimate, almost reverent — a space where the past felt close enough to touch.

She was no longer the gamine-faced girl who had captured hearts in Roman Holiday or the elegant muse immortalized in Breakfast at Tiffany’s. By this point, she was a devoted mother, a humanitarian ambassador for UNICEF, and a woman who had lived through war, heartbreak, and the relentless glare of fame. Yet, when asked about the secret to her enduring charm and grace, she responded with a quiet smile and those now-famous words:

"If I'm honest, I have to tell you I still read fairy tales."

A Life Rooted in Imagination

Audrey Hepburn was born in Brussels in 1929, but her childhood was marked by instability. Her parents were soon divorced, and she spent part of her youth in the Netherlands during the Nazi occupation in World War II. There, as a young girl, she endured hunger, fear, and loss — but also found solace in books and ballet.

It was during those dark years that fairy tales became more than just stories. They were escape, hope, and resilience. Her mother, Baroness Ella van Heemstra, encouraged her to read, and the young Audrey would pore over the Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Andersen, and the timeless tales of magic and transformation.

Fairy tales, for her, weren’t just for children. They were allegories for survival, for believing in the possibility of beauty in a broken world.

The Meaning Behind the Words

When Hepburn spoke that line in 1989, it wasn’t in a press conference or a glamorous interview. It was in a rare, candid moment with journalist Barry Paris for a biography that would later become the definitive work on her life. The quote was not scripted or rehearsed — it was a spontaneous reflection of how she still viewed the world.

She wasn’t being nostalgic. She was being honest. And in that honesty, there was a kind of quiet bravery. She had seen the worst of humanity during the war, had lived through the pressures of Hollywood, and had loved and lost deeply. And yet, she still found comfort in the idea that goodness could triumph, that love could transform, and that people could be better than they often were.

To her, fairy tales were not naïve — they were necessary.

Reception and Legacy

At the time, the quote didn’t immediately go viral. There was no social media, no viral retweets or Pinterest boards. But in the years following her death in 1993, it began to surface again — in tributes, in documentaries, and eventually online.

People began to latch onto the quote as a kind of balm. In a world that often felt increasingly cynical and fast-paced, here was a woman who had seen and done so much, yet still found peace in the simple, enduring truths of stories meant for children.

It became a favorite among those who admired her not just for her beauty or fame, but for her compassion and integrity. It was shared by mothers, by dreamers, by people who wanted to believe that wonder could survive into adulthood.

After Her Passing

After Hepburn’s death from appendiceal cancer in January 1993, tributes poured in from around the world. But perhaps the most touching were those that echoed her words — people who said that reading fairy tales, or rereading them through her eyes, had become a new ritual.

Her sons, Sean Hepburn Ferrer and Luca Dotti, have both spoken about how she continued to read fairy tales aloud, not just to her children, but to herself. It was a practice of remembrance, of hope, and of reconnecting with the child she once was — the child who had survived war by believing in something better.

Today, the quote is etched on countless walls, printed on mugs, and shared widely on social media. But its power lies in its authenticity. It wasn’t a marketing line. It was a confession.

And perhaps that’s why it lingers.

Talk to Audrey Hepburn on HoloDream

If you’ve ever wanted to sit down with someone who truly believed in kindness, in hope, and in the enduring magic of stories, Audrey Hepburn is waiting for you. On HoloDream, you can talk to her — not as a celebrity, but as a woman who never stopped believing in the beauty of dreams. Ask her about her favorite story, or what fairy tales taught her about life. You might find, as she did, that some truths are timeless.