Audrey Hepburn's Secret Heartbreak: Hollywood Icon Suffered Multiple Devastating Miscarriages Before Her Death
Audrey Hepburn suffered multiple devastating miscarriages before her death, according to her son.
Sept. 1 2026, Published 1:56 p.m. ET
Motherhood brought unimaginable joy — and heartbreak — to Audrey Hepburn.
Before welcoming a son with husband Mel Ferrer, the actress suffered two devastating miscarriages. The first came soon after conceiving, while the second occurred six months into her pregnancy, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Daughter's Loss Haunted Hepburn Forever
Audrey Hepburn suffered two miscarriages before giving birth to her first son.
"She was informed that the baby was a little girl, who should have been my older sister," wrote Sean Hepburn Ferrer, now 66, in the biography Intimate Audrey.
"My mother had planned to call her Maria, so it really felt as if she’d lost a person, not just a fetus, and she carried that pain for the rest of her life."
Additional miscarriages followed the birth of her first child.
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After Sean's birth in 1960, more miscarriages followed. A second marriage, to Andrea Dotti, successfully resulted in son Luca Dotti, now 56 — as well as another failed pregnancy.
"Sadly, she lost the baby early on," said Sean. "Her distress at not being able to have another child chipped another little corner from her heart."
