I and several others have been asked the same question: Did Audrey Hepburn have anorexia? The answer? Yes. 

People tend to believe  that anorexia is something that you force upon yourself, and though in some cases that may be true, Audrey first suffered from anemia during the war which is a byproduct of anorexia. Many people do not know the truth behind the sad story that was Audrey’s eating disorder. She truly did have a mindset that created this and with some extensive research it is clear how all of this began.

First let me begin by saying, we all have flaws, and Audrey would be the first to admit her’s. She has spoken openly about her problems and this can be seen in several of the books published, biographies, and interviews alike. 

Sources: 
http://www.edreferral.com/Celebrities_who_died_or_have_Eating_Disorders.htm
http://www.elegantwoman.org/audrey-hepburn-anorexia.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Otyvm1FJ8Gk

Books:
Audrey Hepburn: An Intimate Portrait by Diana Maychick
ENCHANTMENT: The life of Audrey Hepburn by Donald Spoto 
AUDREY: Her Real Story by Alexander Walker  

Diana Maychick explores Audrey’s anorexia with an interesting outlook. 

For most of her life, Audrey had a love-hate relationship with food.
During her childhood Audrey was chubby and absolutely adored chocolate! 
Audrey was a chubby baby, with fat cheeks and roly-poly thighs (An Intimate Portrait). When Audrey was a toddler, she enjoyed Belgium chocolate so much that her mother told the kitchen help to hide the chocolate to prevent her daughter from eating far too much.

”Chocolate was my one true love as a child. It wouldn’t betray me. I’ve always said it was either chocolate or my nails in those years. There was a lot of anxiety.” This anxiety that Audrey speaks of was not only from the war, but also from the pending separation and divorce of her mother and father. Having survived near starvation during the war at her childhood, however, food became a luxury to her. She would simply stop eating during periods of stress and anxiety.  

Many argue that Audrey Hepburn’s Anorexia could have taken root due to the impact of war. In her own words Audrey says: 

“I guess I began to resent food around this time. That’s a strange thing to say about food - ‘I resent it.’ You eat it, don’t eat it, like it, dislike it. But resent it? I actually got angry with it for being so difficult to come by and tasting so awful. I decided to master food; I told myself I didn’t need it. I could sense it caused my mother great pain not to provide my brothers and me with the well-balanced and beautifully served meals she was used to, so I felt I could eliminate her problem by denying I missed the good things we used to eat. Of course, I took it to an extreme. I forced myself to eliminate the need for food. I closed my eyes to the fact that I was starving…Jan was the most hungry. That was clear. He’d sometimes hold his stomach and cry for food. I couldn’t stand another minute of it. I suppose Mother was hungry too but she was too sad to notice. I, on the other hand, was sure I wasn’t hungry. I had that one beaten. The only thing I knew was that I had to take care of them, so I devised this outlandish plan to make money.”

During the war, Audrey survived on a bit of lettuce and the occasional potato and “awful” bread as she called it. Later on, she simply lived on tulip bulbs and water. She was extremely, painfully thin. 

“I was saving this red ball of Edam cheese for a real emergency…just a small piece revived me; I tried some more but became sick to my stomach. My body chemistry changed during the years of deprivation, but my mind was also playing tricks. If there is no food, I said to myself, then I’m not going to need what I can’t have. It was one of my first attempts at mind over matter, and at the time, I thought I was doing a great job.“ 

After the war, she received an entire cache of milk chocolate bars and she ate them all in one sitting and became very ill.  

Though the war developed her anemia, respiratory problems and edema…

(At a remote Sudanese refugee camp, Audrey saw a 14-year old boy lying on a dirt floor with acute anemia, respiratory problems and edema, due to malnutrition. Audrey later said, “That was exactly the same way I finished the war, with those three things. I thought, how strange to hear those same three things.”) 

…the war was not the only factor or influence on her eating.

Other influences included: her mother, her work and her memories.  
(Source: An Intimate Portrait by Diana Maychick) 

Her Mother: 

(excerpt from An Intimate Portrait) “Then there was her mother’s tendency to be overweight. As controlling as the Baroness was in most areas of her life, trying to hide twenty-five excess pounds. She blamed her size for a host of problems, including her husbands roving eye. Audrey noted how unhappy her mother was and, at least subconsciously, also attributed it to her weight. She made a vow never to exceed 103 pounds.” 

Her Memories: (in her own words) 

“I associate food with happy times, primarily because those times when I was unable to eat were so miserable. I guess in some convoluted way, I’m afraid if I eat when I’m sad, I’ll be feeding the sadness.” 

Her Work:

When she had her first big break as lead role in ‘Gigi’ the Broadway show, Gilbert Miller, her producer suggested she take a leisurely sail from London to New York and learn her lines on the way. She travelled that way for 18 days straight. 

 She gorged herself on chocolates during the entire passage. When she arrived, she was 15 pounds heavier and Gilbert noticed. He said to her, “Put a little meat on your bones eh? Don’t forget we hired you for your bones.” (She was barely 116 pounds).
 

Being by nature vulnerable and sensitive, she vowed to never put on weight again.”And in my mind, I decided to also lose a few extra pounds as insurance“ 

  Audrey’s anorexic tendencies were reignited during grueling rehearsals for Gigi.

(article used as reference: http://www.elegantwoman.org/audrey-hepburn-anorexia.html)  

True, she exercised regularly, loved the outdoors, was a fabulous and reknowned ballet dancer and on occasion ate healthily, it is still not clearly known for how long she struggled with her eating disorder. What is known was how frail she was near the end of her days as the cancer developed. 

What is also known is the legacy she left behind. She always wanted to influence young women, whether thin, curvy, “over-weight”, she wanted to them to love themselves for who they were.

“My look is attainable. Women can look like Audrey Hepburn by flipping out their hair, buying the large sunglasses, and the little sleeveless dresses.”