Katharine Hepburn

Katharine Hepburn
Studio publicity photograph, c. 1941
Born	Katharine Houghton Hepburn (1907-05-12)May 12, 1907 Hartford, Connecticut, U.S.
Died	June 29, 2003(2003-06-29) (aged 96) Fenwick, Connecticut, U.S.
Alma mater	Bryn Mawr College
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1928–1994
Spouse	Ludlow Ogden Smith ​ ​ (m. 1928; div. 1934)​
Partner	Spencer Tracy (1941–1967, his death)
Relatives	See Houghton family
Awards	Full list

Katharine Houghton Hepburn (May 12, 1907 – June 29, 2003) was an American actress. Her career lasted 66 years. She is thought of as one of the top screen actresses in movie history. She was nominated for 12 Academy Awards, winning four.

Hepburn was born in Hartford, Connecticut and went to Bryn Mawr College. She got her degree in 1928 and started on Broadway that same year.

In 1932 she got a role in the George Cukor movie A Bill of Divorcement, with John Barrymore. She was very successful in the early 1930s, but then she became unpopular. She became popular again with the movie The Philadelphia Story. In 1942 she starred in Woman of the Year with Spencer Tracy. They made eight more movies together, including Adam's Rib and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner. They also had an off-screen romance that lasted until Tracy's death in 1967, but they never married because Tracy did not want to divorce his wife. Before this, Hepburn was married to Ludlow Ogden Smith from 1928 to 1934, and also had relationships with Leland Hayward and Howard Hughes.

Her autobiography, Me: Stories of My Life, came out in 1991. She died on June 29, 2003 at 2:50 p.m., at Fenwick, the Hepburn family home, in Old Saybrook, Connecticut. She was 96.

Stage work

• These Days - 1928
• Art and Mrs. Bottle - 1930
• The Warrior's Husband - 1932
• The Lake - 1933
• The Philadelphia Story - 1939
• Without Love - 1942
• As You Like It - 1950
• The Millionairess - 1952
• The Merchant of Venice; Measure for Measure; The Taming of the Shrew - 1955, On tour in Australia with the Old Vic
• The Merchant of Venice; Much Ado About Nothing - 1957, Stratford, Connecticut Shakespeare Theatre
• Antony and Cleopatra, Twelfth Night - 1960, Stratford, Connecticut Shakespeare Theatre
• Coco - 1969
• A Matter of Gravity - 1976
• The West Side Waltz - 1981

Filmography

1930s A Bill of Divorcement (1932) Christopher Strong (1933) Morning Glory (1933) -- Academy Award for Best Actress Little Women (1933) Spitfire (1934) The Little Minister (1934) Break of Hearts (1935) Alice Adams (1935) Sylvia Scarlett (1936) Mary of Scotland (1936) A Woman Rebels (1936) Quality Street (1937) Stage Door (1937) Bringing Up Baby (1938) Holiday (1938)	1940s The Philadelphia Story (1940) Woman of the Year (1942) Keeper of the Flame (1942) Stage Door Canteen (1943) Dragon Seed (1944) Without Love (1945) Undercurrent (1946) The Sea of Grass (1947) Song of Love (1947) State of the Union (1948) Adam's Rib (1949)
1950s The African Queen (1951) Pat and Mike (1952) Summertime (1955) The Rainmaker (1956) The Iron Petticoat (1956) Desk Set (1957) Suddenly Last Summer (1959)	1960s A Long Day's Journey into Night (1962) Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967) -- Academy Award for Best Actress The Lion in Winter (1968) -- Academy Award for Best Actress The Madwoman of Chaillot (1969)
1970s The Trojan Women (1971) A Delicate Balance (1974) Rooster Cogburn (1975) Olly Olly Oxen Free (1978)	1980s On Golden Pond (1981) -- Academy Award for Best Actress The Ultimate Solution of Grace Quigley (1985) 1990s Love Affair (1994)

Further reading

• Katharine Hepburn on IMDb