Sean Hepburn Ferrer
Born (1960-06-17) June 17, 1960
Lucerne, Switzerland[1]
CitizenshipUnited States
Occupations
  • Film producer
  • author
SpouseKarin Hepburn Ferrer
Children3, including Emma Ferrer
Parents

Sean Hepburn Ferrer (born June 17, 1960)[1] is an American film producer and author.[2] He is the son of Audrey Hepburn and Mel Ferrer.

Early life

Sean Hepburn Ferrer is the son of Audrey Hepburn and her first husband Mel Ferrer.[3][4] Ferrer was born in Lucerne, Switzerland,[1] and has spent periods of his life in Italy and Spain.[2] He has a half-brother, Luca Dotti, from Hepburn's second marriage to Italian psychiatrist Andrea Dotti.[1][3]

Career

He worked in the film industry for several years in the development, production and marketing of films. He has also been an assistant director on several film projects.[2] In 2001, he filmed the documentary Racehoss about Albert Race Sample, who, as a convicted criminal in prison, turned to writing and later helped other inmates to return to normal living. Ferrer directed and produced the film. In 2003, he published a biography of his mother, Audrey Hepburn, an Elegant Spirit. In 2020, he and his wife, Karin, published Little Audrey's Daydream, a children's book about Hepburn's childhood in Europe. Proceeds from the book benefit the European Organisation for Rare Diseases.[5][6] Ferrer and his daughter, Emma, contributed to Audrey (2020), a documentary about his mother directed by Helena Coan.[7]

Charity work

Audrey Hepburn Children's Fund

A year after his mother's death in 1993, Ferrer founded the Audrey Hepburn Children's Fund (originally named Hollywood for Children Inc.),[8] a charity funded by exhibitions of Audrey Hepburn memorabilia. He directed the charity in cooperation with his half-brother Luca Dotti, and Robert Wolders, his mother's partner, which aimed to continue the humanitarian work of Audrey Hepburn.[9] Ferrer brought the exhibition "Timeless Audrey" on a world tour to raise money for the foundation.[10] He served as chairman of the fund before resigning in 2012, turning over the position to Dotti.[11] In 2017, Ferrer was sued by the fund for alleged self-serving conduct.[11] In October 2017, Ferrer responded by suing the fund for trademark infringement, claiming that the fund no longer had the right to use Hepburn's name or likeness.[8] Ferrer's suit against the fund was dismissed in March 2018 due to the complaint's failure to include Dotti as a defendant.[12] In 2019, the court sided with Ferrer, with the judge ruling there was no merit to the charity's claims it had the independent right to use Audrey Hepburn's name and likeness, or to enter into contracts with third parties without Ferrer's consent.[13][14]

Other ventures

From 2014 to 2018, Ferrer was ambassador of the annual Rare Disease Days.[15]

Personal life

Ferrer is married to Karin Hepburn Ferrer (formerly Karin Hofer).[3][5]

Selected filmography

  • 1981: Inchon (Assistant Director)
  • 1982: One Shoe Makes It Murder (Second Assistant Director)
  • 1983: Strangers Kiss (Associate Producer, First Assistant Director)
  • 1984: Growing Pains (Second Assistant Director)
  • 1986: Good to Go (Producer)
  • 1987: Treasure of the Moon Goddess (Assistant Director)
  • 1987: Ironweed (Associate Producer)
  • 1991: Eye of the Widow (Executive Producer, First Assistant Director)
  • 1991: Pretty Hattie's Baby (Producer)
  • 1993: Blood In Blood Out (Bound by Honor, First Assistant Director)
  • 2001: Racehoss (Producer, Director)
  • 2010: Living the Blues (Short, Executive Producer)
  • 2011: Cloudstreet (3-episode miniseries, Executive Producer)

Publications

  • Hepburn Ferrer, Sean (2003). Audrey Hepburn, An Elegant Spirit (1st Atria books hardcover ed.). New York: Atria Books. ISBN 0671024787.
  • Hepburn Ferrer, Sean & Karin (2020). Little Audrey's Daydream. New York: Princeton Architectural Press. ISBN 9781616899912.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Morgan Evans (16 June 2017). "A Timeline of Audrey Hepburn's Hollywood Love Stories". harpersbazaar.com. Harper's Bazaar. Retrieved 23 Feb 2023. On June 17, 1960 in Lucerne, Switzerland, Hepburn gave birth to her first child, Sean Hepburn Ferrer...On February 8, 1970 at the age of 40, Hepburn gave birth to her second child, Luca Dotti...
  2. 1 2 3 "Sean Hepburn Ferrer talks about Audrey Hepburn: the actress, the mother, the style icon and the humanitarian". Film Talk. 2016-12-08. Retrieved 2020-08-22. I used to take great pride in my American citizenship.
  3. 1 2 3 Fiori, Pamela (2014-08-12). "Emma Ferrer Opens Up". Harper's Bazaar. Archived from the original on January 3, 2015. Retrieved July 28, 2020. [Audrey Hepburn] put aside her career at its peak to raise her two sons, Sean Ferrer, whose father was Audrey's first husband, the actor Mel Ferrer, and Luca Dotti, from her second marriage (to the Italian psychiatrist Andrea Dotti). ... [Audrey Hepburn died] in January 1993.... Emma Kathleen Hepburn Ferrer, Audrey's first grandchild, was born in Switzerland in May of the following year to Sean and his then wife, Leila. Now 20, Emma is the eldest of Sean's three children. ... Sean announced that dinner was ready. At that point we'd been joined by his wife, Karin Hofer, [and] her son, Adone...{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  4. ↑ Solís, Jose (2021-01-08). "Audrey Hepburn's Son, Sean Hepburn Ferrer, Reflects on His Mother's Elegance, Authenticity, and Legacy". The Film Stage. Retrieved 2021-05-06.
  5. 1 2 Kacala, Alexander (9 October 2020). "Beyond the glamour: Audrey Hepburn's son opens up about her struggles in new interview". Today. Retrieved 30 November 2020. [Sean] Hepburn Ferrer and his wife, Karin, who co-authored the book...
  6. ↑ "Beyond the glamour: Audrey Hepburn's son opens up about her struggles". TODAY.com. Retrieved 2021-05-06.
  7. ↑ Conlon, Scarlett (29 November 2020). "Inside The New Audrey Hepburn Documentary – And The Unexpected Sadness Of Its Subject". Vogue. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
  8. 1 2 Stempel, Jonathan (2017-10-05). "Audrey Hepburn's son sues children's charity over use of mother's name". Reuters. UK. Archived from the original on July 28, 2020. Retrieved 2019-03-12.
  9. ↑ "Note from Sean Ferrer". Audrey Hepburn official website. n.d. Archived from the original on February 12, 2016.
  10. ↑ "Audrey Hepburn Arrives in Berlin" (Press release). Ileana International. March 9, 2009. Archived from the original on July 28, 2020. Retrieved July 28, 2020 – via Business Wire.
  11. 1 2 Bryant, Kenzie (February 10, 2017). "Audrey Hepburn's Oldest Son in Legal Wrangle with Her Children's Fund". Vanity Fair. Archived from the original on May 31, 2020.
  12. ↑ Sean Hepburn Ferrer v. Hollywood For Children, Inc., Court Listener. Free Law Project (District Court, Central District of California 2017-2018). Archived from the original on July 28, 2020.
  13. ↑ "Proposed Decision Favors Actress' Eldest Son in Dispute with Charity". Los Angeles, California: KNBC. 19 October 2019. Archived from the original on 28 July 2020. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  14. ↑ "Audrey Hepburn's Son Sean Hepburn Ferrer Vindicated By Court Decision" (Press release). Sean Hepburn Ferrer. December 3, 2019. Archived from the original on July 28, 2020. Retrieved July 28, 2020 – via PR Newswire.
  15. ↑ "Rare Disease Day 2018 Ambassador". Eurodis: Rare Diseases Europe. February 6, 2018. Archived from the original on February 21, 2019. Sean Hepburn Ferrer ... is Rare Disease Day 2018 Ambassador. [He] was the previous Rare Disease Day Ambassador for 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017.
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