Audrey Hepburn’s son sued by her charity over dresses

Audrey Hepburn: The Audrey Hepburn Children’s Fund is taking legal action
Michael Howie13 February 2017

Audrey Hepburn’s eldest son is being sued by a children’s charity set up in his mother’s name in a dispute over the exhibition of the Oscar-winner’s dresses.

The Audrey Hepburn Children’s Fund is taking action against Sean Ferrer at Los Angeles superior court, claiming he has interfered with its plans to put the Breakfast At Tiffany’s star’s dresses on show in South Korea and China.

Exhibitions are the primary source of income for the charity, which supports children’s centres at hospitals in Los Angeles, New Orleans and in New Jersey.

Mr Ferrer and his half-brother Luca Dotti set up the fund after their mother’s death aged 63 in 1993, along with her long-time companion, Dutch actor Robert Wolders.

The siblings are embroiled in a separate court dispute over jewellery, property and other items left to them by their mother, who won an Academy Award in 1954 for Roman Holiday.

The LA lawsuit says that while only one brother has to give permission to display the items, Mr Ferrer has threatened litigation over the planned display of some of Hepburn’s Givenchy dresses in South Korea and China and also restricted the charity’s access to its website.

It claims Mr Ferrer’s actions may force it to stop operations and could “irreparably damage the sterling reputation of the late Audrey Hepburn”.

Its lawyer, Steven Young, said: “The fund is seeking to continue to raise funds in the same way it has done for more than two decades.”

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