Doris Brynner, Best Friend of Audrey Hepburn, Dies at 93

Doris Brynner has died at the age of 93. Born Doris Kleiner, she was best friends with Audrey Hepburn and was married to Russian actor Yul Brynner for seven years.

Dior, where she was head of the Home division for 30 years, shared the news of her death on Instagram on Feb. 3. The brand wrote in one post, “It is with immense sorrow that we have learned of the passing of Doris Brynner, an emblematic Dior figure, decorated with the Order of Arts and Letters in 2012, and head of our Home department for almost 30 years. Doris will be greatly missed, leaving an enduring legacy within the Dior family.”

WWD was the first to report the news of her death on Feb. 1.

Doris was born in 1931 in the former Yugoslavia. She grew up in Chile, but in the ‘50s landed in France where she worked at Pierre Cardin. In 1960, she married Yul while he was filming The Magnificent Seven. They were together until their 1967 divorce.

Doris met Hepburn shortly after the actress finished filming 1961's Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Doris told Audrey Hepburn in Paris author Meghan Friedlander, according to the author's Feb. 3 Instagram post. Doris didn’t know many people in the movie industry, but began chatting with Hepburn. Doris complimented her beauty, and Audrey said, “Don’t believe everything you see. It’s all makeup. Wait until you see me without makeup.” They became fast friends.

Related: 'I Didn't Know My Mother Was Audrey Hepburn': Her Son Reveals the Star's Private Side

Doris and Yul welcomed daughter Victoria in 1962. Hepburn was named one of her godmothers, and the two families lives near each other in Switzerland.

Brynner told Barry Paris in his 2001 biography Audrey Hepburn, “[Audrey] wasn't a social person. Her biggest joy was being at home with her children or in the garden. That was where she wanted to be most. She was a great cook and loved her food. Yul didn't like pasta, so whenever he went on trips, Audrey would come to my house and we'd have pasta and vanilla ice cream and fudge sauce. That was our great treat. We lived more than 20 years within sight distance, just above her. She'd come up or I'd go down for walks with the dogs ... The prime time was to have a plate of spaghetti and chat, just the two of us.”

Paris also wrote that Doris sometimes accompanied Hepburn to movie sets, including when she was filming 1964's My Fair Lady. She also, according to W magazine, introduced Hepburn to Valentino.

Hepburn died in 1993; Variety reported that Doris was at her side. Doris remained close to Hepburn’s youngest son Luca Dotti, and some of her photos of Audrey appeared in Dotti’s 2022 memoir Audrey at Home.

Related: Audrey Hepburn Was a 'Battle-Hardened Badass,' Says Son Luca Dotti, Who Participated in New Biography

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Doris was also good friends with with Elizabeth Taylor, who was her daughter Victoria’s other godmother. Doris appeared in the 2024 documentary Elizabeth Taylor: The Lost Tapes. She was also friends with stars like Karl Lagerfeld, Frank Sinatra, Oscar de la Renta, Lee Radziwill and Alain Delon.

Doris began working for Valentino in the early '70s, running the couture house’s special client relations, per WWD. In 1997, she was brought on at Dior to overhaul the brand’s home furnishings and gift department.

Doris is survived by her daughter Victoria and her grandchildren Isabella Brynner-Sullivan and Eugene Joseph Sullivan IV. 

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