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The USPS Audrey Hepburn commemorative stamp

NEW YORK, 16 July 2003 – The United States Postal Service (USPS) has issued a stamp celebrating the life of late actress and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, Audrey Hepburn, as part of its Legends of Hollywood series. The $0.37 domestic letter rate stamp was designed by New York artist Michael J. Deas and is based on Ms. Hepburn’s appearance in the movie ‘Sabrina’.

The stamp was dedicated at a first day of issue ceremony on 11 June at the Research Laboratory Building of the Children's Hospital in Los Angeles in the presence of David Fineman from the USPS, Sean Ferrer, Ms. Hepburn’s son, her long-time companion, Robert Wolders and actress Jennifer Love Hewitt.

A special stamp dedication ceremony also took place in New York on 17 June. The James Grant Plaza adjoining UNICEF’s New York headquarters, UNICEF House, was designated an official US Post Office for the day and named the ‘Audrey Hepburn UNICEF House Station’.

Speakers for the occasion were UNICEF Deputy Executive Director, Kul Gautam, USPS Customer Relations Manager, Peter Fontana and actress Isabella Rosselini. The event included a performance by the Watoto Children's Choir from Uganda.

All guests present were able to purchase the commemorative stamps as well as special UNICEF commemorative envelopes, bearing a stamp cancelled on the first day of issue, that celebrated Hepburn's acting career and humanitarian work as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador.

Ms. Hepburn was appointed as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador in 1989. She travelled extensively to visit numerous UNICEF projects in countries including Ethiopia, Turkey, Venezuela, Bangladesh and Viet Nam. Ms. Hepburn worked tirelessly for UNICEF when not making field trips: testifying before the U.S. Congress, launching the UNICEF’s flagship publication, the State of the World’s Children, and giving as many as 15 interviews a day to publicize UNICEF’s work.

In gracing the stamp series, Ms. Hepburn joined eight other honorees: Marilyn Monroe (1995), James Dean (1996), Humphrey Bogart (1997), Alfred Hitchcock (1998), James Cagney (1999), Edward G. Robinson (2000), Lucille Ball (2001) and Cary Grant (2002).