She came for discretion: Audrey Hepburn’s Swiss villa is for sale

For generations, Switzerland has built a reputation as a haven for celebrities seeking to escape the pressures of fame. The sale of a Swiss villa once owned by actress Audrey Hepburn is a reminder of that special status. 

The 18th-century farmhouse in the village of Tolochenaz near Lausanne belonged to Audrey Hepburn from 1963 until her death in 1993. The villa, with twelve bedrooms and eight bathrooms, is now being offered for sale by its current owners for a whopping 19 million Swiss francs. 

“When Audrey Hepburn turned 60, she had 60 white rose bushes sent to her and had a rose garden planted, half of which still exists,” saleswoman Katharina Beaujolin told Bloomberg news agency. 

The British actress gained worldwide fame through her roles in the films “Roman Holiday” (1953), “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” (1961) and “My Fair Lady” (1964). 

After a series of film successes and awards, she took a break from filming to raise her children in semi-retirement and later to devote herself to her work as a special ambassador for the children’s charity Unicef. 

After she died of cancer in 1993, Hepburn was buried in the village cemetery of Tolochenaz. 

Over the years, several actors, writers, and athletes have visited Switzerland because of its scenery, generous tax system, and easy access to the rest of Europe. 

For celebrities, Switzerland has become famous as an exclusive luxury playground with mountains, magnificent accommodations, and winter sports opportunities. 

But Switzerland offers other priceless advantages for global celebrities: peace and discretion. These offered Hepburn refuge from the cameras and newspaper headlines that dogged every major Hollywood star. 

Unstable childhood 

The tranquility of Switzerland stood in stark contrast to the instability of the film star’s early life. Hepburn grew up in the Netherlands during World War II, where she reportedly carried messages for the resistance, despite her parents’ alleged sympathies for the Nazi cause. 

Audrey Hepburn’s father, Joseph Hepburn-Ruston, left the family when Audrey was six years old, which had a profound and shocking impact on her. 

Hepburn’s son, film producer Sean Hepburn Ferrer, described his mother as a modest woman who appreciated the peace and security that Switzerland offered, a place where she could lead a normal life. 

She was able to raise her sons away from Hollywood’s show business lifestyle, go shopping without being harassed by photographers, and converse with the locals in French – one of the five languages ​​she spoke. 

From the Protestant Huguenots fleeing religious persecution in France in the 16th century to comedian and filmmaker Charlie Chaplin fleeing the anti-communist witch hunt in the United States in the 1950s, Switzerland has always offered a neutral refuge. 

“It was life in Europe, away from the pressures of Hollywood. For the last 25 years of his life, he had a family life and a routine and was emotionally stable.

Celebrity magnet

In her 2014 memoir about her move to Geneva in the 1980s, Italian acting icon Sophia Loren revealed that she wanted to find a place where she and her family could “feel safer and live more peacefully.” 

“In Geneva, I find joy in small things. I spend my time thinking, reading, and writing.” 

Switzerland also offered rock star Tina Turner a refuge from her turbulent past. Turner moved to Switzerland in 1994 and lived in an exclusive area near Zurich until her death in 2023. “Switzerland immediately felt like home. It’s just perfect. People here respect each other’s privacy and look after each other,” Turner said in 2014. 

International stars have also left their mark in their adopted home, from Chaplin’s World Museum on the shores of Lake Geneva to the bronze statue of former Queen singer Freddie Mercury in Montreux. 

“If you want peace of mind, come to Montreux,” Mercury once said about the picturesque town where he spent the last years of his life. 

This a mantra that countless celebrities have taken to heart over the years, from actors like David Niven and Roger Moore to sports stars like Formula 1 legends Michael Schumacher and Alain Prost. 

Original article: swissinfo.ch