Katharine Houghton Hepburn (May 12, 1907 – June 29, 2003) was an American actress of film, stage and television. Hepburn's career as a Hollywood leading lady spanned over 60 years. She was known for her headstrong independence, spirited personality and outspokenness, cultivating a screen persona that matched this public image, and regularly playing strong-willed, sophisticated women. Her work was in a range of genres, from screwball comedy to literary drama, and she received four Academy Awards for Best Actress—a record for any performer. In 1999, Hepburn was named the greatest female star of classic Hollywood cinema by the American Film Institute.
SELECTED FILMOGRAPHY
Little Women (1934)
Alice Adams (1936)
Stage Door (1938)
The Philadelphia Story (1941)
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1968)
The Lion in Winter (1969)
On Golden Pond (1982)
10 FUN FACTS!
Hepburn graduated from Bryn Mawr College in 1928, with a degree in history and philosophy.
Over the course of her acting career, she made nine films with Spencer Tracy. She never watched Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1968) because it was Tracy's last film.
She was nearly decapitated by an airplane propeller when she was rushing about an airport, avoiding the press.
Hepburn was a leading contender for Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with the Wind (1940). She later served as Maid of Honor at Vivien Leigh's and Laurence Olivier's wedding.
She was the aunt of actress Katharine Houghton, who portrayed her character's daughter in Guess Who's Coming to Dinner.
Meryl Streep beat her in the number of Oscar nominations when she received her 13th Oscar nod for Adaptation (2002). However, Hepburn still reigns as the only 4-time Oscar recipient for acting.
When Cate Blanchett won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for The Aviator (2005), Hepburn became the first previous Oscar winner to become an Oscar-winning movie role.
She is a descendant of "Eleanor of Aquitaine", whom she portrayed in The Lion in Winter (1969).
Despite her success at the Oscars, she never attended an Academy Awards ceremony as a nominee. Her only appearance was at The 46th Annual Academy Awards to present the Irving Thalberg Award to her friend Lawrence Weingarten.
On the first day of filming On Golden Pond, she gave Henry Fonda a Fedora hat which had belonged to Spencer Tracy.