She just blew me away with her final work- I want to live in her illustrations. I knew instantly that she was the perfect person for the manuscript. Our incredible editor, Alessandra Balzer at Balzer + Bray found Julia and sent me her website. How did you find the right illustrator for your work? Will Julia Denos be illustrating the rest of the series? We are working on revealing the next subject very soon! The pictures in your book work so perfectly with the words. The second in the series is Jackie Kennedy, and it will be out in Spring 2018. Who else are you planning to feature in the series? And that’s exactly what I hope the books will do for young readers. But I take a piece of their lives with me after I read about them. Some are very well known to the public, and some have hidden gem stories. I think that is one of the great things about this series is that I am exploring so many amazing women’s lives. My grandmother was so much of what I aspire to be: lovely, kind, smart, fun, full of life until the very last moment, and an exceptional cook.Īs for role models that are strangers to me, honestly too many. My father is all around one of the greatest people ever on earth. My mom is one of the strongest women I know.

People who are always with me are my parents, and my paternal grandmother (who is also my namesake). I call on all kinds of people at any different moment in a given day. I honestly don’t have room to list all of my role models. Apart from Audrey, who are your role models? And at a time when that sort of a role model is at a premium, I just saw the book coming together. She really used her fame for all the right reasons. And I loved the idea of introducing a new generation of, in particular, girls to Audrey. I knew enough about her life to know that it was inspiring. Years later I was an associate editor in children’s publishing and I was walking down the street in Manhattan and saw a picture of her in a shop window.

I tease my mom that she was so lucky that Audrey had become my role model instead of some, as she liked to call them “flash in the pan.” I wanted to dress and act and even talk like Audrey. I had never heard of her so we spent the day watching Roman Holiday and Breakfast at Tiffanys. I interviewed the author to find out more… Why Audrey?įor my 6th grade character parade I had to choose an historical figure to dress up as and do a biographical report on. It is written for children and exquisitely illustrated by Julia Denos in images that perfectly capture the elegance and charm of Ms Hepburn. As an avid reader and collector of filmstar biographies, I was delighted by Margaret Cardillo’s 2011 biography of Audrey Hepburn, Just Being Audrey.

Just Being Audrey by Margaret Cardillo