British actress Audrey Hepburn’s script for the 1961 drama film Breakfast at Tiffany’s fetched more than £630,000 ($844,000), seven times its pre-sale estimate, when it went under the hammer, a record-breaking amount for a script sold at auction.
It was among over 200 of the late film star’s personal treasures to go on sale at London auction house Christie’s, raising more than £4 ($5.35) million in total, The Telegraph reported.
As well as the script for Breakfast at Tiffany’s which featured her handwritten notes and deleted scenes, Hepburn’s working script from the 1963 Warner Brothers production of My Fair Lady was also sold, fetching £206,250 ($276,310).
A 1963 photograph of Hepburn as Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady, taken by the celebrated portrait photographer Cecil Beaton, went for £93,750 ($125,595), more than 30 times the estimate.
An engraved Tiffany and Co bangle, gifted to Hepburn by director Steven Spielberg, was bought for £332,750 ($445,780).
More than 12,000 people visited the public exhibition of the collection ahead of the sale, while the live auction itself drew bidders from 46 countries across six continents.
“We have been utterly delighted with the overwhelming response to the personal collection of Audrey Hepburn,” said Adrian Hume-Sayer, head of sale and director of private collections at Christie’s.
“She is one of the greatest icons in the history of film and the incredible result so far ... is a testament to her enduring appeal.”
The items were made available by Hepburn’s sons, who are selling about 500 items in total through live and online sales at Christie’s. The online sale continues until 4 October.
More of the actress’s clothes, shoes and jewelry form part of the online auction, as well as a preliminary script for the 1951 play Gigi and several publicity photographs.
Many of the lots were in flawless condition, having been kept by Hepburn in a closet in Switzerland, according to Luca Dotti, her younger son by her second husband, the psychiatrist Andrea Dotti.
Hepburn died in 1993 from cancer, aged 63, but her popularity has endured, winning her a new generation of fans.
