As she arrived at the Georgian-style villa in Hollywood designed by noted architect Paul Williams, Audrey Hepburn had good reason to be nervous.
Inside was not just her boyfriend who she was madly in love with - his wife was there waiting to meet her too.
Bill Holden, her co-star in the 1954 romantic comedy Sabrina, had asked her round to meet Ardis as he had done with many of his previous mistresses.
The mother of his three children, Ardis had long learned to look the other way so long as Holden came home to her each night.
But with Hepburn, Ardis sensed something different – and she was scared.Chemistry: A publicity still from Sabrina which was intended to emphasize their on-screen chemistry. But what those watching the movie did not know was how deeply Audrey Hepburn and William Holden had fallen in love
Love: As their on-screen relationship sizzled, so too did their off-screen romance. It was intense, and Holden's wife knew that this time she had a fight on her hands for her husband, who had strayed before
Couple: William Holden and his wife Ardis pictured together. Hepburn was a 'wife's worst nightmare' – a cultured beauty who was well spoken and had completely entranced her husband.
Triangle: The posters promoted the love triangle at the center of Sabrina. Behind the scenes was Audrey Hepburn's greatest love
According to a new book about their affair, Hepburn was a 'wife's worst nightmare' – a cultured beauty who was well spoken and had completely entranced her husband.
It didn't take Ardis long to realize what she had to do; as soon as they closed the front door and waved her goodbye 'the gloves came off and (she) went into attack mode', author Edward Epstein writes.
In no uncertain terms she gave him an ultimatum and 'demanded that Bill stop seeing that woman'.
It was a demand he would ignore, but the relationship would come to an end weeks later for a reason that would break Hepburn's heart - and leave her feeling utterly betrayed.
Epstein recounts the episode in 'Audrey and Bill' which describes in detail her little-told affair with Holden for the first time.
He explains how they fell in love despite disapproval from Hepburn's mother and having come from completely different backgrounds.
He was the son of a schoolteacher and an industrial chemist from small town Illinois who had only just found fame a few years earlier with his roles in Sunset Boulevard and Stalag 17.
At the time filming of Sabrina was due to start, Hepburn, who grew up in England, had recently broken off her engagement to James Hanson, the wealthy British industrialist and a member of the House of Lords, a parting which Epstein describes as 'unpleasant'.
She had moved to Los Angeles where she became the toast of the dinner party circuit where media mogul Jules Stein threw a party for her at his mansion, an unheard of honor for a newcomer.
Holden was 'obsessive' about meeting Hepburn, Epstein writes, and he rightly pegged her as someone who wanted the man to make the first move – which he duly did.
Things progressed quickly and blossomed into 'all-out passion' and their on-screen chemistry spilled over into the dressing room.
Hepburn saw Holden as her 'guardian angel' and a 'red blooded American male'.
Irony: Sabrina saw Audrey Hepburn play the woman at the center of a love triangle with Humphrey Bogart (left) and William Holden (right). In fact, Holden was the center of the real-life triangle between her and his wife
Golden age: Audrey Hepburn rose to the heights at the peak of Hollywood's power and glamor.
Reunited: Paris When It Sizzles in 1964 put the couple back together but it was a flop - the fireworks between them were long gone and the critics cruelly dubbed it 'Paris When It Fizzles'
Holden saw Hepburn as his 'ultimate prima ballerina' – she had studied the dance in her youth and her posture showed she had been classically trained.
He took her out for dinner most evenings after filming or to out of the way spots where they shared romantic walks. Holden would later call her 'the love of my life'.
Epstein writes: 'The couple shared an emotional intimacy that precluded words. One smile from him and she knew she was understood'.
Miraculously they managed to keep their affair out of the tabloid newspapers, even though they were caught in an intimate moment when a member of the Sabrina crew barged into Holden's dressing room without knocking.
Had it become public it would have been catastrophic for Hepburn – her Cinderella image would have been ruined and she would have been labelled a home wrecker.
But that did not mean she would avoid meeting Ardis, a former actress whose stage name was Brenda Marshall and who was close friends with Nancy Reagan.
Holden set up the meeting and when Hepburn laid eyes on her rival she was 'impressed', Epstein writes.
Facade: William Holden and his wife Ardis Ankerson. She knew that he strayed but had passed off previous mistresses as un-threatening - until she met Hepburn
lacking magic: Paris When It Sizzles was supposed to capture the same romantic fervor as Sabrina, but it flopped as the chemistry was gone
Memory: Publicity stills of Paris When It Sizzles showed Audrey Hepburn and William Holden together and hinted at the passion between them
Marriage: Unable to contemplate a childless union with Holden, Hepburn married Mel Ferrer. The couple are seen together in 1961
In Hepburn's eyes Ardis was 'beautiful; the role of injured wife did not suit her.'
Epstein says: 'But the beautiful Ardis brought out the competitive spirit in Audrey. Hepburn held her head high, gave out one of her killer smiles and said: 'Oh, I'm so happy to meet you'.
'Ardis' heart must have frozen at the sight of her – here was this radiant creature, fifteen years younger than she, who wasn't merely beautiful but had unique qualities of class and an almost spiritual grace.
'The others Bill had brought home were beautiful, but not like this; this she was not prepared for.
'Unlike many Hollywood beauties away from the camera Audrey even had a beautiful speaking voice! There was nothing strident or uncultured in this package. She was a wife's worst nightmare, and to compound matters, she seemed like a nice person.'
Over the evening Ardis saw that 'there was much more going on' that with her husband's previous liaisons – a realization that made her demand they stop seeing each other.
Holden and Hepburn's affair did end, but it was over the issue of children, not his wife's wishes.
Epstein writes that during their time together Hepburn spoke 'often' of having children and that she wanted three or four babies so that she could retire from acting to raise them.
He writes: 'Once while chatting brightly about the names of their future children, suddenly an embarrassed smile, tinged with fear, crept into Bill's face.
'He told her that the one thing, the only thing they could not have together, was children. He would recall the fixed expression in her eyes; how she stood looking at him like a hurt, bewildered child.'
Unforgettable: The role that came to define Audrey Hepburn was Breakfast At Tiffany's but it came many years after her romance with Holden, which she was to say was the greatest of her life
Hollywood couple: Nancy and Ronald Regan with Bill and Ardis Holden, on left, after the Reagan's wedding at the Holden's house in Toluca Lake, California, 1952.
Epstein writes how Hepburn's eyes 'searched his face' as he explained that he had undergone a vasectomy some years earlier at his wife's urging.
Hepburn's reaction was one of shock. She could not believe he had waited until now to tell her this.
Holden hoped she would not hate him but the 'trusting, simple part of their relationship' was gone.
Epstein writes that Hepburn 'ended their affair on the spot' – she felt that she had no other choice.
At that point Mel Ferrer re-entered her life.
Hepburn was pleased to see the troubled actor and director because his 'attentiveness and sense of romantic urgency' was the perfect tonic to Holden.
Ferrer already had four children from previous relationships but he convinced Hepburn she would be the focus of his life.
He was from a better background than Holden as well and his father was a well known Cuban American surgeon.
Hepburn knew she was at a weak point in her life but went along with it anyway, and accepted when he proposed.
But before the wedding she faced one final indignity.
To put any rumors to bed about her and Holden, Paramount, the studio to which she was signed, decided to stage an evening at Holden's house during which Hepburn would announce her engagement to Ferrer.
Beauty: Hepburn was known for her looks but it was her personality which made Holden's wife fear her
Scene: The love triangle movie Sabrina was publicized with pictures of Hepburn and Holden together
Style: The immaculately dressed and tailored Hollywood couple epitomized its golden era - but behind the scenes an affair was playing out, ultimately doomed by his inability to have children with her
With Holden and his wife present, what clearer sign could there be that nothing had been going on?
Epstein writes that, as one would imagine, conversation was somewhat 'forced'.
He writes: 'A synthetic cordiality filled the room. Audrey's eyes avoided Bill's. His bloodshot eyes underscored his angst. He was clearly a man carrying a torch'.
In later years Hepburn and Holden would look back on their time together by marveling at the innocence of it all, and how unencumbered by life's burdens they were.
Hepburn had a son with Ferrer, her first of her two husbands. He sacrificed his own career for hers but became her tormentor because he was so jealous about her success.
Hepburn became a screen legend thanks to her iconic role in Breakfast at Tiffany's, but suffered a huge backlash after being cast in the title role for My Fair Lady because many felt it belonged to Julie Andrews.
Holden eventually did divorce Ardis and dated French actress Capucine before she ended their relationship due to his long-standing alcohol problem.
He also saw tragedy too and killed another driver with Ferrari in Tuscany, a scandal for which he was given an eight month suspended prison sentence.
Holden and Hepburn were reunited on screen in Paris When it Sizzles which was released in 1964 after spending years on the cutting room floor.
But critics dubbed it 'Paris when it fizzles' because by then the magic between the two of them was gone – even on the silver screen
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