Katharine Hepburn was an iconic American actress who appeared in over 50 feature films, starting with 1932’s Bill of Divorcement. She was also a rebellious woman who took control of her career and was active politically and socially. Despite facing difficulties in her career, she became a Hollywood darling after starring in The Philadelphia Story and had a successful on-screen partnership and romance with Spencer Tracy. She received numerous Academy Award nominations and won four Oscars throughout her career. She continued to act until the 1990s before withdrawing from public life due to her health. She passed away in 2003.
Katharine Hepburn (1907-2003) is an iconic figure of American cinema. She is well remembered for being an excellent actress, appearing in over 50 feature films, starting with 1932’s Bill of Divorcement. Katharine Hepburn was also an extraordinary woman who took control of her career at a time when most women weren’t talking openly about their lives. Katharine Hepburn has been active politically and socially and has never been afraid to disrupt the status quo.
Katharine Houghton Hepburn was born to a doctor and suffragette, into a well-established East Coast family. As a young girl, she was encouraged to speak her mind and be physically active, and was homeschooled. Her education continued at Bryn Mawr, and it was in college that she began to explore the possibility of an acting career, appearing in many productions there.
Katharine Hepburn continued to appear in Broadway shows after college, attracting the attention of film studios in the early 1930s. With her third film, Morning Glory, she won her first Academy Award. Even in her early years in Hollywood, Katharine Hepburn was a rebellious actress, often appearing in pants when they were still socially frowned upon for women. She also did not participate in the endless rounds of press conferences, interviews and other sundries expected of actresses, and she returned to Broadway in 1934.
Katharine Hepburn met a difficult reception, thanks to her growing reputation for hubris, and after being largely abandoned by Broadway audiences, she returned to California to make an assortment of commercially unsuccessful films, though she did receive a nomination at the Oscar for Alice Adams (1935) . Her declining box office sales led to a reluctance to cast her in major films, and Katharine Hepburn returned to Broadway again, where she starred in a 1938 production of The Philadelphia Story. This turned out to be the breaking point of her career, as the show became a huge hit and she negotiated her contract for the theatrical version of the film. Katharine Hepburn insisted on choosing the director and co-stars for the film, and when it was released in 1940, she became, once again, a Hollywood darling. It was around this time that she met Spencer Tracy, with whom she had a highly successful on-screen partnership, as well as a romance that lasted until her death.
In the 1950s, Katharine Hepburn began taking on more mature roles and evolved considerably as an actress. She received a number of Academy Award nominations for her work in many films, including The African Queen (1951), The Rainmaker (1956) and Long Day’s Journey Into Night (1962). In the 1960s, she took fewer film roles so she would have more time to spend with Spencer Tracy, who was very ill. They made Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, their last film together, in 1967, for which she later won an Academy Award. In 1968, with The Lion in Winter, Katharine Hepburn takes home another Oscar.
Katharine Hepburn continued to star in a variety of films until the 1990s when she withdrew from public life due to her growing health frail. When she passed away in 2003, most of the film world mourned the passing of a Hollywood legend.
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