Two Hollywood stars connected with Kent!

This Hollywood superstar was a fan of Faversham! When we (those of us of a certain age!) think of Marlon Brando we think of Don Corleone … the big gangster boss Marlon played in 1972 film The Godfather. He won an Oscar for the role. Marlon lived in Los Angeles but came to stay at Selling near Faversham in 1986 for a weekend – he loved it so much he stayed for six months! It’s also noted that he spent several months here in 1997.

His former Personal Assistant, Caroline Barrett, told reporters, from her home in LA … “He loved the beauty and tranquillity of Selling and Sheldwich and in particular Owens Court Lane”. She later added, “a few days before he died in July 2004, he said "If only I could see Faversham and the charming country lanes again".

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Nine miles south of Canterbury is the village of Elham where Audrey Hepburn (then Audrey Ruston) lived and was schooled for some of her childhood. She was later known to millions for her award-winning roles in Hollywood hits including ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’ and ‘My Fair Lady.’

Audrey was born in Brussels in 1929. Her English father Joseph Hepburn-Ruston was a banker, and her Dutch mother was Baroness Ella van Heemstra. Her parents divorced in 1935 and Audrey was brought to Elham by her mother where she lived in Orchard Cottage, Duck Street.

During the war, in May 1940 Audrey was taken to Gatwick Airport to be flown back to her family in Holland but on that day the plane skidded off the runway and got stuck in mud - Audrey was then taken back to Elham. On her 11th birthday, a couple of days later, she was taken to Shoreham Airport and flown to Holland from there. She was fondly known to the villagers of the small community of Elham as “little Audrey” - they next saw her again as a star of the silver screen.