Text by Tricia Oliveira

The National Portrait Gallery in London will stage its first major photo exhibition of Audrey Hepburn (1929 - 1993) on the site of her career-changing nightclub appearances some 65 years ago.

The showcase is set to be held on the same site as one of her earliest performances in show business, at the London nightclub Ciro's on the West End which is now occupied by the National Portrait Gallery's public archive and study room. This was where a young Hepburn in her early 20s excelled early in her career, with roles in Cecil Landeau's late-night production Petite Sauce Tartare in 1949 and Summer Nights in 1950.

It was here she was talent-spotted and got her big break into British film.

The exhibition will illustrate the life of the actress and fashion icon featuring rarely-seen photographs from her family album. From her early years as a chorus girl through to her philanthropic work in later life, Portraits of an Icon will celebrate one of the world's most photographed and recognisable stars.

A selection of more than sixty images will define Hepburn's iconography, including classic and rarely seen prints from leading twentieth-century photographers such as Richard Avedon, Cecil Beaton, Angus McBean, Norman Parkinson and Irving Penn.

Alongside these, an array of vintage magazine covers, film stills, and extraordinary archival material will complete her captivating story.

For more information, go to //www.npg.org.uk/whatson/hepburn/