--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I was born with an enormous need for…" description: "\"I was born with an enormous need for affection, and a terrible need to give it.\" — Audrey Hepburn" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/799/audrey-hepburn-1706_affection_i-was-born-with-an-enormous-need-for-aff_324524.jpg" --- # I was born with an enormous need for affection, and a… ![“I was born with an enormous need for affection, and a terrible need to give it.” quote by Audrey Hepburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/799/audrey-hepburn-1706_affection_i-was-born-with-an-enormous-need-for-aff_324524.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/799/audrey-hepburn-1706_affection_i-was-born-with-an-enormous-need-for-aff_324524.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/799/audrey-hepburn-1706_affection_i-was-born-with-an-enormous-need-for-aff_324524.jpg) > “I was born with an enormous need for affection, and a terrible need to give it.” [Audrey Hepburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audrey-hepburn/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A deep yearning for love coexists with a strong drive to express love, highlighting the human need for both receiving and giving affection. **In simple terms:** Want love and need to give love. Key Takeaway Cultivate both receiving and giving affection. Themes affection needs relationships empathy psychology Mood warm intimate Type inspirational philosophical When to use this quote - family life - friendship - counseling - volunteering Key Concepts Attachment theory emotional intelligence human motivation Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance receiving and giving love? - What blocks you from expressing affection? A Different Perspective May overlook personal boundaries or self‑care. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Affection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affection/) [Affection Terrible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affection-terrible-1550608/) [Born](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/born/) [Enormous Need](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enormous-need-1659234/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Need Affection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/need-affection-449680/) [Terrible Need](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terrible-need-1550610/) ## Related quotes > [I was born with a enormous need for affection.. And a terrible need to give it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-was-born-with-a-enormous-need-for-affection-and-a-terrible-need-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I was born with an enrmous need for affection, and a terrible need to give it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audrey-hepburn/i-was-born-with-an-enrmous-need-for-affection-and-a-terrible-need-to/) [Audrey Hepburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audrey-hepburn/) > [“Dogs know we need to give affection as much as they need to receive it. They were the first therapists; they've been in practice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/dogs-know-we-need-to-give-affection-as-much-as-they-need-to-receive/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [How terrible the need for God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roethke/how-terrible-the-need-for-god/) [Theodore Roethke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roethke/) > [When young we have a vivid sense of basic values like trust and warm-heartedness, which we tend to neglect in today's competitive world as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/when-young-we-have-a-vivid-sense-of-basic-values-like-trust-and-warm/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [I need to give affection and love, because without that, I wither. I need to give that love to someone. Without that, I'm rudderless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/les-dawson/i-need-to-give-affection-and-love-because-without-that-i-wither-i/) [Les Dawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/les-dawson/) > [“Desire for a person is not the same thing as having that unique appreciation and need for them, nor is affection. Desire waxes and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-sankovitch/desire-for-a-person-is-not-the-same-thing-as-having-that-unique/) [Nina Sankovitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-sankovitch/) > [Though men in the mass forget the origins of their need, they still bring wolfhounds into city apartments, where dog and man both sit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loren-eiseley/though-men-in-the-mass-forget-the-origins-of-their-need-they-still/) [Loren Eiseley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loren-eiseley/) > [“Old men need affection as they need the sun.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/old-men-need-affection-as-they-need-the-sun/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [I have a great need for affection from an audience. I don't know whether this is because I had such a tough life when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eartha-kitt/i-have-a-great-need-for-affection-from-an-audience-i-don-t-know/) [Eartha Kitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eartha-kitt/) > [Unfortunately, life is unfair and not all babies are brought into the world with the same amount of anticipation and affection, as others. No…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cjoybell-c/unfortunately-life-is-unfair-and-not-all-babies-are-brought-into-the/) [CJoybell C](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cjoybell-c/) > [The possibility of my presidential candidacy emerged spontaneously in public opinion polls. For my part, I noticed people's affection when I was doing work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-bachelet/the-possibility-of-my-presidential-candidacy-emerged-spontaneously-in/) [Michelle Bachelet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-bachelet/) > [“It is to build a house with affection, even as if your beloved were to dwell in that house.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kahlil-gibran/it-is-to-build-a-house-with-affection-even-as-if-your-beloved-were-to/) [Kahlil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kahlil-gibran/) > [Needs cause motivation. Deep-rooted desires for esteem, affection, belonging, achievement, self-actualization, power, and control motivate us to push for what we want and need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorii-myers/needs-cause-motivation-deep-rooted-desires-for-esteem-affection/) [Lorii Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorii-myers/) > [My team and I have reunited two elements that coexist with diffiulty: respect and affection, because when they love you they don't respect you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shakira/my-team-and-i-have-reunited-two-elements-that-coexist-with-diffiulty/) [Shakira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shakira/) ## More by Audrey Hepburn > [Water is life, and clean water means health.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audrey-hepburn/water-is-life-and-clean-water-means-health/) [Audrey Hepburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audrey-hepburn/) > [I don't bite you know ... unless it's called for,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audrey-hepburn/i-don-t-bite-you-know-unless-it-s-called-for/) [Audrey Hepburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audrey-hepburn/) > [I don't need a bedroom to prove my womanliness. I can convey just as much sex appeal picking apples off a tree or standing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audrey-hepburn/i-don-t-need-a-bedroom-to-prove-my-womanliness-i-can-convey-just-as/) [Audrey Hepburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audrey-hepburn/) > [You can only hope to get a combination of happy work and a happy life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audrey-hepburn/you-can-only-hope-to-get-a-combination-of-happy-work-and-a-happy-life/) [Audrey Hepburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audrey-hepburn/) > [Always be a first-rate version of yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audrey-hepburn/always-be-a-first-rate-version-of-yourself/) [Audrey Hepburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audrey-hepburn/) > [True beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audrey-hepburn/true-beauty-in-a-woman-is-reflected-in-her-soul/) [Audrey Hepburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audrey-hepburn/) > [For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audrey-hepburn/for-lovely-eyes-seek-out-the-good-in-people/) [Audrey Hepburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audrey-hepburn/) > [Promise me one thing: don't take me home until I'm drunk - very drunk indeed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audrey-hepburn/promise-me-one-thing-don-t-take-me-home-until-i-m-drunk-very-drunk/) [Audrey Hepburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audrey-hepburn/) > [ It's sad if people think that's (homemaking) a dull existance, \[but\] you can't just buy an apartment and furnish it and walk away. It's… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audrey-hepburn/it-s-sad-if-people-think-that-s-homemaking-a-dull-existance-but-you/) [Audrey Hepburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audrey-hepburn/) > [I love people who make me laugh. I honestly think it's the think I like the most, so laugh, It cures a multitude of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audrey-hepburn/i-love-people-who-make-me-laugh-i-honestly-think-it-s-the-think-i/) [Audrey Hepburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audrey-hepburn/) > [My first big mission for UNICEF in Ethiopia was just to attract attention, before it was too late, to conditions which threatened the whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audrey-hepburn/my-first-big-mission-for-unicef-in-ethiopia-was-just-to-attract/) [Audrey Hepburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audrey-hepburn/) > [I was born with an enrmous need for affection, and a terrible need to give it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audrey-hepburn/i-was-born-with-an-enrmous-need-for-affection-and-a-terrible-need-to/) [Audrey Hepburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audrey-hepburn/) > [If my world were to cave in tomorrow, I would look back on all the pleasures, excitements and worthwhilenesses I have been lucky enough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audrey-hepburn/if-my-world-were-to-cave-in-tomorrow-i-would-look-back-on-all-the/) [Audrey Hepburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audrey-hepburn/) > [I've always had- how shall I say it? -the prize at the end. My whole life shows that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audrey-hepburn/i-ve-always-had-how-shall-i-say-it-the-prize-at-the-end-my-whole-life/) [Audrey Hepburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audrey-hepburn/) > [I am not beautiful. My mother once called me an ugly duckling. But,listed separately, I have a few good features.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audrey-hepburn/i-am-not-beautiful-my-mother-once-called-me-an-ugly-duckling-but/) [Audrey Hepburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audrey-hepburn/) [Explore all 213 Audrey Hepburn quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audrey-hepburn/) ## More Affection quotes > [My team and I have reunited two elements that coexist with diffiulty: respect and affection, because when they love you they don't respect you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shakira/my-team-and-i-have-reunited-two-elements-that-coexist-with-diffiulty/) [Shakira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shakira/) > [Needs cause motivation. Deep-rooted desires for esteem, affection, belonging, achievement, self-actualization, power, and control motivate us to push for what we want and need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorii-myers/needs-cause-motivation-deep-rooted-desires-for-esteem-affection/) [Lorii Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorii-myers/) > [“It is to build a house with affection, even as if your beloved were to dwell in that house.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kahlil-gibran/it-is-to-build-a-house-with-affection-even-as-if-your-beloved-were-to/) [Kahlil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kahlil-gibran/) > [In this choice of inheritance we have given to our frame of polity the image of a relation in blood; binding up the constitution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/in-this-choice-of-inheritance-we-have-given-to-our-frame-of-polity/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [I, measuring his affections by my own, Which then most sought where most might not be found, Being one too many by my weary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-measuring-his-affections-by-my-own-which-then-most-sought-where/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [There are a number of qualities which are important for mental peace, but from the little experience I have, I believe that one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/there-are-a-number-of-qualities-which-are-important-for-mental-peace/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [A lost love. Deny it who will, ridicule it, treat it as mere imagination and sentiment, the thing is and will be; and women…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/a-lost-love-deny-it-who-will-ridicule-it-treat-it-as-mere-imagination/) [Dinah Maria Murlock Craik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/) > [Affection! Affection is false.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-i/affection-affection-is-false/) [Elizabeth I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-i/) > [We are a spectacular, splendid manifestation of life. We have language. . . . We have affection. We have genes for usefulness, and usefulness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/we-are-a-spectacular-splendid-manifestation-of-life-we-have-language/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [Listen, I have a great affection and respect for Joe Biden. I think he's been a great vice president. He's taken on a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-axelrod/listen-i-have-a-great-affection-and-respect-for-joe-biden-i-think-he/) [David Axelrod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-axelrod/) > [The still affection of the heart Became an outward breathing type, That into stillness past again, And left a want unknown before; Although the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-lord-tennyson/the-still-affection-of-the-heart-became-an-outward-breathing-type/) [Alfred Lord Tennyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-lord-tennyson/) > [I am persuaded that there is no affection of the human heart more exquisitely pure, than that which is felt by a grateful son…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-more/i-am-persuaded-that-there-is-no-affection-of-the-human-heart-more/) [Hannah More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-more/) > [If you live in a material universe where acquiring things is very important to you, then family is an absolute deterrent to maintaining that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-taylor-gatto/if-you-live-in-a-material-universe-where-acquiring-things-is-very/) [John Taylor Gatto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-taylor-gatto/) > [Our sweetest experiences of affection are meant to be suggestions of that realm which is the home of the heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/our-sweetest-experiences-of-affection-are-meant-to-be-suggestions-of/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [“Georgia O’Keeffe moved to rural New Mexico, from which she would sign her letters to the people she loved, “from the faraway nearby.” It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/georgia-o-keeffe-moved-to-rural-new-mexico-from-which-she-would-sign/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) [Browse all 2,465 Affection quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affection/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I was born with an enormous need for affection, and a terrible need to give it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Audrey Hepburn" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audrey-hepburn/i-was-born-with-an-enormous-need-for-affection-and-a-terrible-need-to/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Affection" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audrey-hepburn/i-was-born-with-an-enormous-need-for-affection-and-a-terrible-need-to/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/799/audrey-hepburn-1706_affection_i-was-born-with-an-enormous-need-for-aff_324524.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/799/audrey-hepburn-1706_affection_i-was-born-with-an-enormous-need-for-aff_324524.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/799/audrey-hepburn-1706_affection_i-was-born-with-an-enormous-need-for-aff_324524.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I was born with an enormous need for affection, and a terrible need to give it.” — Audrey Hepburn", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Audrey Hepburn", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audrey-hepburn/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I was born with an enormous...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audrey-hepburn/i-was-born-with-an-enormous-need-for-affection-and-a-terrible-need-to/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audrey-hepburn/i-was-born-with-an-enormous-need-for-affection-and-a-terrible-need-to/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```