Katharine Hepburn

Katharine Hepburn (1907-2003), American actress, winner of four Academy Awards (Oscars) for Best Actress, noted for her unique combination of patrician beauty and spirited independence. Born in Hartford, Connecticut, Hepburn was educated at Bryn Mawr College. She scored a notable success on Broadway in 1932 in The Warrior’s Husband. She also appeared on stage in The Philadelphia Story (1939), As You Like It (1950), and The West Side Waltz (1981).

Shortly after making her screen debut in A Bill of Divorcement (1932), Hepburn won her first Academy Award for Morning Glory (1933). In the decade that followed she was nominated for Alice Adams (1935), The Philadelphia Story (1940), and Woman of the Year (1942), in which she co-starred with Spencer Tracy, marking the beginning of one of cinema’s great partnerships. Tracy and Hepburn went on to make nine films together, including the classic comedies Adam’s Rib (1949) and Desk Set (1957), and finishing with Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (1967), for which she won another Academy Award.

Hepburn always played feisty, independent characters, and a combination of real star charisma, formidable acting ability, and a good instinct for quality vehicles ensured that her career continued to glitter. Her later films included The African Queen (1951), Summertime (1955), and Long Day’s Journey into Night (1962), each of which brought her an Academy Award nomination. For The Lion in Winter (1968), she received a third Academy Award, sharing the prize with Barbra Streisand. Other films included The Trojan Women (1970) and On Golden Pond (1981), for which Hepburn won her fourth Academy Award. An autobiography, Me: Stories of My Life, was published in 1991.

In 1994 Hepburn starred in two television films: This Can’t Be Love (with Anthony Quinn) and One Christmas (with Henry Winkler); she also had a cameo role in Love Affair, starring Warren Beatty.