Selena Robins, Author

I’ve always been a huge Audrey Hepburn fan. Her style, her acting, her outer and inner beauty and her charitable work. She epitomizes class and humility in ever sense of the word (Lindsay Lohan, are you listening?).

The main character in my first novel (Sabrina’s Destiny) is named after Audrey’s movie, Sabrina (look at me, using her first name as if I knew her in person. . .I wish).

My favorite Audrey Hepburn character is Holly Golightly in the movie Breakfast at Tiffany’s.

I recently re-watched Breakfast at Tiffany’s and saw the similarities between Holly Golightly’s personality and Maddie Saunder’s (the heroine in my current release, What A Girl Wants).

Maddie and Holly don’t look-alike, talk alike nor do they have similar interests nor the same profession. However, they do possess comparable traits which I admire in women and especially in heroine’s in a novel.

They both have had to deal with great disappointment in their lives and in doing so, they didn’t allow the tragedies in their lives to consume them or alter their goals. They both have fears and insecurities, but again, they didn’t allow these fears to take over their life, instead they tried to conquer them by facing them head on, or bury them deep and live their life as if it didn’t bother them…you know, like the old saying...”fake it, till you make it.” (The disappointments in life that is, not the other faking it. I doubt either Holly or Maddie  would fake THAT, because they’d have no problem telling the guy, “dude, not happening“).

Maddie and Holly have a huge capacity to love, even though they do their best to not go there with their emotions (they are not perfect women, they still do have hang-ups, they just choose to live their life a certain way and stick to their principles about it).

Both characters are a mixture of naiveté, class, impulsivity and both posses a unique and wicked brand of humor, that at times is hard to understand, but one can’t help but embrace and love them for it.

Holly and Maddie have no problem putting their quirks on display and they really don’t care what other people think.

In this age of paparazzi, social media, camera phones, and online bullying, it’s admirable these two ladies use the philosophy of not giving a damn and really meaning it.

They have the ability to truly forgive, “get over it” (which is Maddie’s attitude) and get on with the business of living life.

Along the way though, they have broken hearts, made a ton of mistakes, even made fools of themselves, because, as I said, they’re not perfect characters, but it is how they remain true to who they are as women in the face of adversity, criticism and unresolved pain that they will have to live with the rest of their lives that endear us to characters like these.

My Favorite Audrey Hepburn Quotes

“For beautiful eyes, look for the good in others; for beautiful lips, speak only words of kindness; and for poise, walk with the knowledge that you are never alone.”

“I love people who make me laugh. I honestly think it’s the thing I like most, to laugh. It cures a multitude of ills. It’s probably the most important thing in a person.”

“There is more to sex appeal than just measurements. I don’t need a bedroom to prove my womanliness. I can convey just as much sex appeal, picking apples off a tree or standing in the rain.”

“The best thing to hold onto in life is each other.”

“True friends are families which you can select.” 

My Favorite Holly Golightly Quotes

 “I’ve got to do something about the way I look. I mean a girl just can’t go to Sing Sing with a green face.”

“You could always tell what kind of a person a man thinks you are by the earrings he gives you. I must say, the mind reels.”

 “It’s better to look at the sky than live there. Such an empty place; so vague. Just a country where the thunder goes and things disappear.”

“I’m not Holly. I’m not Lula Mae, either. I don’t know who I am! I’m like cat here, a couple of no-name slobs. We belong to nobody and nobody belongs to us. We don’t even belong to each other.”

Do you have a favorite character or person who has inspired you?