Katharine Hepburn

Lore & Background

Katharine Houghton Hepburn was born on May 12, 1907, in Hartford, Connecticut, the second of six children. Her parents were Thomas Norval Hepburn, a urologist, and Katharine Martha Houghton Hepburn, a feminist campaigner. Both fought for social change: Thomas helped establish the New England Social Hygiene Association, and the elder Katharine headed the Connecticut Woman Suffrage Association and campaigned for birth control. As a child, Hepburn joined her mother on 'Votes For Women' demonstrations. She was a tomboy who called herself Jimmy, cut her hair short, and was taught by her father to swim, run, dive, ride, wrestle, and play golf and tennis. In March 1921, at age 13, she discovered the body of her older brother Tom, who died from an apparent suicide; the family denied it was suicide. The incident made her nervous and moody, and she used Tom's birthday as her own for many years. She attended Bryn Mawr College, graduating with a degree in history and philosophy in June 1928.

Reader's Guide

Hepburn's significance lies in her six-decade career and her role in reshaping popular perceptions of women. She shunned the Hollywood publicity machine and refused to conform to societal expectations, wearing pants before it was fashionable and living independently after a brief early marriage. Her screen persona—strong-willed, sophisticated, and independent—matched her public image and influenced changing views of women in 20th-century America. She made a notable comeback by buying out her RKO contract and acquiring the film rights to The Philadelphia Story, which she sold on condition she star. Her partnership with Spencer Tracy spanned 26 years and nine films at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Later in life, she acted in Shakespearean productions and literary roles, finding a niche playing mature, independent women such as in The African Queen. She received three more Academy Awards for Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, The Lion in Winter, and On Golden Pond. In the 1970s, she began appearing in television films, which later became her focus. She made her final screen appearance at age 87 and died in 2003 at age 96.

Did You Know?

• Hepburn won a record four Academy Awards for Best Actress, for Morning Glory (1933), Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967), The Lion in Winter (1968), and On Golden Pond (1981).
• She discovered the body of her older brother Tom in March 1921, after an apparent suicide; the family maintained it was an experiment gone wrong.
• She bought out her contract with RKO Radio Pictures and acquired the film rights to The Philadelphia Story, selling them on condition she star.
• Hepburn was a tomboy who called herself Jimmy, cut her hair short, and reached the semi-final of the Connecticut Young Women's Golf Championship.