Katharine Hepburn

Katharine Hepburn

Katharine Houghton Hepburn

Katharine Houghton Hepburn was an American actress. She was born on May 12, 1907 in Hartford, Connecticut,

 United States. She got four Academy Awards for Best Actress. In 1999, Hepburn was named by the American Film Institute as the greatest female star in Hollywood history. Known for her headstrong independence and spirited personality. Her father Thomas Norval Hepburn was a urologist at Hartford Hospital and mother Katharine Martha Houghton was a feminist campaigner. Her parents also fought for social change in America.

Hepburn was started acting in college plays. The lead role in a production of "The Woman in the Moon" and the positive response it received secured Hepburn's plans to pursue a theatrical career. She graduated with a degree in history and philosophy in June 1928.  After four years in the theatre she moved towards Hollywood. Her early years in the film industry were marked with success. She also got an Academy Award for her third picture "Morning Glory"  in 1933 which was followed by many commercial failures. In 1938 she was labeled as "box office poison". In the 1940s she was contracted to Metro Goldwyn Mayer and allianced with Spencer Tracy. This partnership worked for 25 years and produced nine movies.

She found a role playing middle-aged spinsters which suited her such as in" The African Queen" in 1951. She won three Oscars for her work in movies like "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" in 1967, "The Lion in Winter" in 1968 and "On Golden Pond" in 1981. She was outspoken, assertive, athletic, and wore trousers before it was fashionable for women. She married with Ludlow Ogden Smith but lived independently. A 26-year affair with her co-star Spencer Tracy was hidden from the public. After a period of inactivity and ill health she died in 2003 at the age of 96 on June 29, 2003 at Fenwick, Connecticut, United States.