// BBC ENTERTAINMENT & ARTS — MODA & SOCIETÀ
The Kent village that helped shape Audrey Hepburn
Hollywood actress Audrey Hepburn spent part of her childhood in Elham, near Canterbury, before the outbreak of World War Two
Long before she became one of Hollywood's most celebrated stars, Audrey Hepburn was learning music and dance at a small village school in the Kent countryside.
The future Breakfast at Tiffany's and My Fair Lady actress spent part of her childhood in Elham, near Canterbury, where local historians say her love of performing was encouraged during three formative years before the outbreak of World War Two.
Today, a blue plaque on a cottage near the King's Arms pub marks the place where Hepburn lived between 1936 and 1939.
"It really was the starting point for the young Audrey Hepburn that she became," said Brian Badham, of Elham Historical Society.
Hepburn, then known as Audrey Ruston-Hepburn, arrived in the village after her parents separated.
Badham said it was decided she should continue her English education in Kent, where family friends were living.
She moved into Orchard Cottage with the Butcher family, among a number of Elham residents who offered accommodation to visitors before the war, according to local accounts.
She attended Rigden School in the centre of Elham where, Badham said, she would have had her lessons.
"One of the sisters encouraged Audrey to get involved with music and dance. That really was the starting point for the young Audrey Hepburn that she became," he said.