Audrey Hepburn was a secret World War II hero who harboured a British ...

Princess of Hollywood Audrey Hepburn was secretly a war hero who risked her life harbouring a British paratrooper in Nazi-occupied Holland, a new book has claimed.

The actress kept her war years private, offering only small glimpses into her past during interviews before she died from cancer in 1993 aged 63.

But her heroics were revealed in the new book, Dutch Girl: Audrey Hepburn and World War II.

US writer Robert Matzen detailed how the icon risked being shot to hide the British soldier in her cellar before becoming a heroine of the Dutch Resistance.

Audrey Hepburn (pictured in 1952) risked her life hiding a British paratrooper in her cellar

Audrey Hepburn (pictured in 1952) risked her life hiding a British paratrooper in her cellar 

Hepburn and her mother Dutch Baroness Ella van Heemstra (together in 1935) gave the soldier food and shelter for a week before he was smuggled to safety

Hepburn and her mother Dutch Baroness Ella van Heemstra (together in 1935) gave the soldier food and shelter for a week before he was smuggled to safety

She was the princess of Hollywood thanks to such hits as Roman Holiday, Sabrina and Breakfast At Tiffany's (pictured) after surviving the war, yet kept her war time stories secret

But her heroics were detailed in the new book Dutch Girl: Audrey Hepburn And World War II

But her heroics were detailed in the new book Dutch Girl: Audrey Hepburn And World War II

From the age of 12 to 15, Hepburn lived in the village of Velp with her Dutch mother, Baroness Ella van Heemstra, between 1942 and 1945.  

A paratrooper was placed with the family after the battle of Arnhem in September 1944 by a prominent leader of the Dutch Resistance, according to Matzen.

He was hidden in the family's cellar for around a week and sent a bottle of champagne by Hepburn's mother on the night before he was smuggled out.

Hepburn's mother (pictured with the icon in 1946) gave the paratrooper a bottle of champagne the night before he was smuggled out, and attached a note that was addressed to 'the poor British officer who is so thin'

Hepburn's mother (pictured with the icon in 1946) gave the paratrooper a bottle of champagne the night before he was smuggled out, and attached a note that was addressed to 'the poor British officer who is so thin'

The star (circa 1950) would dance at secretive events to raise money for the Resistance during the war

The star (circa 1950) would dance at secretive events to raise money for the Resistance during the war

The actress kept her war years private, offering only small glimpses into her past during interviews before she died from cancer in 1993 aged 63

The actress kept her war years private, offering only small glimpses into her past during interviews before she died from cancer in 1993 aged 63 

Her mother is said to have sent the soldier a note that read: '[To] the poor

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