Audrey Hepburn’s copy of the script for Breakfast At Tiffany’s has sold at Christie’s for more than $840,000.
The script was part of a major sale of Hepburn’s private collection, which included couture fashion, jewelry, photographs, personal items and memorabilia from throughout her career.
The shooting script was used on set by Hepburn during filming, and contained several pages of her own handwritten notes.
It also contained deleted scenes which never made it into the final cut of the classic 1961 film.
The script was originally expected to sell for £60,000 – £90,000, but sparked a fierce bidding war that ended with a final price of £632,750 ($846,619) – the highest ever paid for a film script at auction.
The sale also included Hepburn’s script for another of her iconic screen performances, in the 1964 musical My Fair Lady.
This script also included her annotations, along with notes on how to "cocknify the dialogue" of her character Eliza Doolittle, and sold for £206,250 ($275,962), far beyond its original estimate of £30,000 – £50,000.
Further top lots included a gold Tiffany bangle gifted to Hepburn by the director Steven Spielberg, inscribed "You are my inspiration", which sold for a stunning £332,750 ($446,785) – more than 100 times its original estimate of £3,000.
There were also impressive results for Hepburn’sown still-life painting ‘My Garden Flowers’ which fetched £224,740 ($300,715), almost ten times its top estimate; and a cecil Beaton photograph of Hepburn as Eliza Doolittle, which sold for £93,750 ($125,880) against an estimate of £2,000 – £3,000.
It total, the sale achieved a result of £4,635,500 ($6,202,299), with sell-through rates of 100% by lot and value.
"We have been utterly delighted with the overwhelming response to the personal collection of Audrey Hepburn," said Adrian Hume-Sayer, Head of Sale and Director of Private Collections.
"She is one of the greatest icons in the history of film and the incredible result so far, for Part I of the collection, is a testament to her enduring appeal. Thank you to everyone who made the sale such a resounding success."
