This week, the world got to know the granddaughter of Audrey Hepburn, the legendary (and our personal favourite) actress who epitomized the Hollywood chic of the 1950’s and 60’s. Emma Ferrer, who is only 20 years old, made her modelling debut on the cover of American Harper’s Bazaar’s September issue and and immediately became the centre of attention.
Ferrer is the daughter of Sean Hepburn Ferrer, the first son of Audrey Hepburn and actor Mel Ferrer. Being a granddaughter of an iconic doe-eyed beauty and the start of world’s all-time favourite movies, Emma cannot really escape the comparison with her famous ancestor. Instead, an newfound model and also an aspiring ballet dancer decided to fully embrace the iconic style of her grandmother and channel Audrey’s best fashion moments for the magazine. And while the media will debate over the extent of their similarity, what it is really about is the posture and the grace, the qualities that Emma definitely possesses, partly through their shared family passion for ballet and arts.
To think about it, Ferrer never even got a chance to meet Hepburn: the actress died the year before Emma was born. “The first images I have of her are, interestingly enough, when she was quite young,” she revealed. “I remember seeing a photo of her jumping on a trampoline – I believe this was before I understood that she was famous. But I remember thinking that she looked like a friend I wish I could have had.”
Interestingly enough, the star grandchild posed for Michael Avedon, a grandson of the legendary fashion photographer Richard Avedon, who Audrey played muse to. Richard photographed Audrey Hepburn endless times in the 50s, also for cover stories of Harper’s Bazaar. Their work interaction was memorably fictionalized in the 1957 movie Funny Face, so there is definitely something heartwarming about this collaboration being recreated by their grand-kids.
For the spread in Harper’s Bazaar, Emma emulated Audrey’s looks by posing in Lanvin, Carolina Herrera, Ralph Lauren, Tods and Maxmara with jewellery from Tiffany & Co. In her ordinary life, Emma also wears some of the actual Audrey’s styles. For example, she admitted she really likes putting on the iconic cashmere turtlenecks in the wintertime.
Reflecting on her experience, Emma revealed it took her some time to grasp the idea of a having a famous grandmother. She also admitted that rewatching some of the old films and seeing Hepburn in her youth made her realize that she “does, in fact, carries her spirit along with her”. “Sometimes when I was younger, I felt confused toward what having a grandmother like her could mean in my life,” she said. “But I am now understanding.”
