Audrey Hepburn's son reveals truth about her diet and beauty routine

Audrey Hepburn's son, Sean Hepburn Ferrer, has dismissed long-standing rumours about the Hollywood icon's eating habits, revealing that the late actress enjoyed food while maintaining a balanced lifestyle.

In Intimate Audrey: An Authorized Biography, co-written with Wendy Holden, Ferrer said his mother never had an unhealthy relationship with food despite decades of speculation surrounding her famously slim figure.

According to Ferrer, Hepburn enjoyed cooking and baking and simply believed in moderation.

"Despite decades of gossip that she had an eating disorder because she was so slim, she cooked and baked and ate what she liked but was careful with portions," he wrote.

The Breakfast at Tiffany's star typically began her day with a boiled egg, toast and jam before heading out for a brisk walk.

Her lunch usually consisted of salad or soup, a sandwich and a scoop of vanilla ice cream topped with maple syrup.

Hepburn also enjoyed the occasional cold beer, followed by a square of dark chocolate after her afternoon nap, which she called her "cure for the blues."

As evening approached, she would sometimes have a small whisky before ending the day with pasta pomodoro and salad.

Ferrer added that although his mother occasionally followed a short monthly detox, she rejected fad diets and remained comfortable with the natural ageing process.

"Any suggestion of plastic surgery was anathema to her, as she honoured the history of every line on her face," he wrote.

He also recalled photographer John Isaac offering to retouch wrinkles in photos taken during one of Hepburn's UNICEF trips.

The Oscar-winning actress firmly declined, replying: "Don't you dare touch any one of those wrinkles; I earned every single one of them."

Elsewhere, Ferrer reflected on Marilyn Monroe's decision to pass on Breakfast at Tiffany's, suggesting Monroe may have felt the role of Holly Golightly was too similar to her own public image.

He believes Hepburn's unexpected casting ultimately helped make the film a timeless classic.