The Birthplace of Audrey Hepburn

One of the strangest things which has happened to be since I've lived in Brussels has been discovering after seven months that one of the legends of American cinema who I admire so much was born here, in Brussels, and more specifically in the neighbourhood I live in, Ixelles.

Of course, when I found out, the first idea I had was to find out the house's address and go there at least to look at the outside of it, since at the end of the day's, it's part of history, even more so for admirers of Audrey Hepburn and cinema lovers.

Audrey Hepburn was born May 4th 1929 at no. 48 Rue Keyenveld, and spent the first five years of her life there until the family left Belgium. She died only 20 years ago. The Belgian actress and philanthropist was one of Hollywood's biggest stars in the 50s and 60s. However, very few Belgians know that she was born in the country, and many cinema lovers still believe her to have been American or British in origin.

Her father was of British-Irish decent and her mother Dutch. Her father was head of a British insurance company which operated in Brussels, and it is for this reason that the young girl spent the first few years of her life in the Belgian capital, as well as in England and Holland. A city historian, Marc Danval, has told how her father was able to rent this house for a very good price. Audrey Hepburn is particularly well-known for her roles in 'Roman Holiday' (1953), 'Breakfast at Tiffany's' (1961), and 'My Fair Lady' (1964).

The building is located very close to Louise and to Place de Stephanie, this being the closest place to stop nearby and observe the house. It's a narrow street where there are no shops or bars in sight, making it hard to imagine that it was here the actress first saw the light of day. The house is now occupied by new tenants, making it impossible to visit the inside. From the outside, the house's facade is white and made of stone, with three floors and a large black balcony on the first. The building is one of the narrowest on the street.

A golden plaque can be seen next to the door of no. 48 which commemorates the actress with the following words: 'Cercle d'histoire locale d'Ixelles. Ici naquit le 4 Mai 1929 la comedienne Audrey Hepburn. ' (Ixelles Historical Society. The actress Audrey Hepburn was born in this house on May 4th 1929. )

The current inhabitants of the house were interviewed by a Japanese newspaper about their feelings on living there, and they confessed to how fortunate they feel living in a house with so much history: "We've been living here for seven years now. We love this excellent actress, and have covered the walls of the house with photos of her. "

Opposite the commemorative plaque, an impressive and original mural from 2013 could be seen on the wall as part of a project named 'redesign Ixelles', which involved community participation. The mural was dedicated to Audrey Hepburn and called 'Breakfast at Ixelles', taken from her most famous film, 'Breakfast at Tiffany's'. The three pictures of the mural in addition to several photo collages were placed on a background of the Belgian national flag. However, the mural, designed by the French artist Franck Duval who called it 'a great opportunity to honour her, especially since my latest character is inspired by her', has sadly now been removed by the Ixelles community.

This is definitely one of the most impressive things my neighbourhood has surprised me with since I arrived here. Brussels will definitely keep on taking my breath away.