Katharine Hepburn
May 12, 1907 — June 29, 2003 — Fenwick, Connecticut
Katharine Hepburn was an American actress whose career spanned more than six decades and earned her a record four Academy Awards for Best Actress, making her the most decorated performer in the history of the Oscars and cementing her legacy as one of Hollywood's greatest stars.
A Force From the Start
Born May 12, 1907 in Hartford, Connecticut, Katharine Houghton Hepburn grew up in a progressive, well-to-do family. Her mother was a suffragette and her father was a doctor; she was raised to speak her mind, a quality that defined both her life and her screen persona. She studied at Bryn Mawr College and moved into theatre after graduating, making her Broadway debut in 1928. Hollywood came calling quickly, and her screen debut in A Bill of Divorcement (1932) immediately established her as a distinctive presence — angular, confident, and dressed in trousers at a time when that alone was enough to unsettle audiences. Her Oscar for Morning Glory (1933) came just one year into her film career.
Comeback and Reinvention
By the late 1930s, Hollywood exhibitors had declared her "box office poison" — too abrasive, too independent, too difficult for mass audiences. She responded by buying out her own contract and returning to Broadway, starring in The Philadelphia Story in 1939 and negotiating the rights so that no film could be made without her. The film version (1940) was a massive hit and revived her career spectacularly. Her partnerships with Cary Grant and Spencer Tracy became legendary; she and Tracy made nine films together over 27 years in what is one of Hollywood's great creative and romantic relationships. Unlike the youthful tragedy of some of her contemporaries, Hepburn's career deepened with age — much as Audrey Hepburn (no relation) would later find her greatest resonance beyond the screen in humanitarian work.
Did You Know?
Katharine Hepburn shared her very first Best Actress Oscar win in 1969 with Barbra Streisand — the only time in Academy Award history that two performers tied for the prize in a competitive category. Hepburn won for The Lion in Winter; Streisand for Funny Girl. Hepburn refused to attend the ceremony, sending a message that she didn't believe in competitive awards for art.
A Record That Stands
Her four Best Actress wins — for Morning Glory (1933), Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967), The Lion in Winter (1968), and On Golden Pond (1981) — remain the record in Academy history for either actor or actress. Her final Oscar came at age 74, nearly five decades after her first. She died June 29, 2003 at her home in Fenwick, Connecticut, at the age of 96. Famously private, she spent decades avoiding the press and rarely attended public ceremonies. The American Film Institute ranked her the greatest female screen legend of classical Hollywood cinema — a title that, given the competition, is not a close call.