Quick Facts
- NAME: Katharine Hepburn
- OCCUPATION: Film Actress, Theater Actress
- BIRTH DATE: May 12, 1907
- DEATH DATE: June 29, 2003
- EDUCATION: Bryn Mawr College
- PLACE OF BIRTH: Hartford, Connecticut
- PLACE OF DEATH: Old Saybrook, Connecticut
Best Known For
Katharine Hepburn was an actress known as a spirited performer with a touch of eccentricity in films such as The African Queen and On Golden Pond.
Katharine Hepburn. (2012). Biography.com. Retrieved 02:22, Feb 08, 2012 from http://www.biography.com/people/katharine-hepburn-9335828
Katharine Hepburn [Internet]. 2012. http://www.biography.com/people/katharine-hepburn-9335828, February 08
" Katharine Hepburn." 2012. Biography.com 08 Feb 2012, 02:22 http://www.biography.com/people/katharine-hepburn-9335828
' Katharine Hepburn', Biography.com,(2012) http://www.biography.com/people/katharine-hepburn-9335828 [accessed Feb 08, 2012]
" Katharine Hepburn," Biography.com, http://www.biography.com/people/katharine-hepburn-9335828 (accessed Feb 08, 2012).
Katharine Hepburn [Internet]. Biography.com; 2012 [cited 2012 Feb 08]. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/katharine-hepburn-9335828.
Katharine Hepburn, http://www.biography.com/people/katharine-hepburn-9335828 (last visited Feb 08, 2012).
Katharine Hepburn, http://www.biography.com/people/katharine-hepburn-9335828 (last visited Feb 08, 2012).
Synopsis
Born on May 12, 1907, in Hartford, Connecticut, Katharine Hepburn became an unlikely Hollywood star in the 1930s with her beauty, wit, and the eccentric strength with which she imbued each character in a career that lasted five decades.
Quotes
"If you always do what interests you, at least one person is pleased."
Profile
(born May 12, 1907, Hartford, Connecticut, U.S.—died June 29, 2003, Old Saybrook, Connecticut) indomitable American stage and film actress, known as a spirited performer with a touch of eccentricity. She introduced into her roles a strength of character previously considered to be undesirable in Hollywood leading ladies. As an actress she was noted for her brisk upper-class New England accent and tomboyish beauty.
Hepburn's father was a wealthy and prominent Connecticut surgeon, and her mother was a leader in the woman suffrage movement. From early childhood, Hepburn was continually encouraged to expand her intellectual horizons, speak nothing but the truth, and keep herself in top physical condition at all times. She would apply all of these ingrained values to her acting career, which began in earnest after her graduation from Bryn Mawr College in 1928. Scoring her first major Broadway success in The Warrior's Husband (1932), she was invited to Hollywood by RKO Radio Pictures.
Hepburn was an unlikely Hollywood star. Possessing a distinctive speech pattern and an abundance of quirky mannerisms, she earned unqualified praise from her admirers and unmerciful criticism from her detractors. Unabashedly outspoken and iconoclastic, she did as she pleased, refusing to grant interviews, wearing casual clothes at a time when actresses were expected to exude glamour 24 hours a day, and openly clashing with her more experienced coworkers whenever they failed to meet her standards. She nonetheless made an impressive movie debut in A Bill of Divorcement (1932) and went on to win an Academy Award for her third film, Morning Glory (1933). Her much-publicized return to Broadway, in The Lake (1933), proved to be a flop. And while moviegoers enjoyed Hepburn's performances in homespun entertainments such as Little Women (1933) and Alice Adams (1935), they were largely resistant to historical vehicles such as Mary of Scotland (1936), A Woman Rebels (1936), and Quality Street (1937). Hepburn recovered some lost ground with her sparkling performances in the comedies Bringing Up Baby (1938) and Holiday (1938), but it was too late: a group of leading film exhibitors had already written off Hepburn as “box office poison.”
Undaunted, Hepburn accepted a role written specifically for her in Philip Barry's 1938 Broadway comedy The Philadelphia Story, which proved to be a hit. She purchased the motion picture rights to the play and was able to jump-start her Hollywood career by starring in the 1940 film version. She continued to make periodic returns to the stage (notably as the title character in the 1969 Broadway musical Coco), but Hepburn remained essentially a film actor for the remainder of her career. Her stature increased as she chalked
GetGlue
-
Celebrate Black History with BIO and GetGlue
All February, check in daily to BIO Black History on GetGlue to unlock stickers, videos, and more!
profile name: Katharine Hepburn profile occupation:
Your Connections
Sign in with Facebook to see how you and your friends are connected to famous icons.
Profile Connections
Included In These Groups
-
Sparks On The Set
View groupMost people get to know their co-workers well...and sometimes working together can even lead to romance. Just like in the office, many Hollywood stars find romance at work—or rather, on the set. Some of the most famous couples in Hollywood history met while making a film, including Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor, Joanne Woodward and Paul Newman, and Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt. Here's a look at the famous actors and actresses whose chemistry set off sparks on the set.
Sparks On The Set 57 people in this group
-
Famous Taureans 451 people in this group
-
Famous Actresses 555 people in this group
More from Shmoop
Shmoop will make you a better lover (of literature, US history, music, life...) Check out: Lively Learning Guides, Teacher Resources, and Shmoop Biography.
More from Shmoop.com
Barack Obama
Black History
African-American Firsts: Athletes
Don Cornelius
I Survived...
I Survived... Beyond and Back
Jamie Foxx
Magic Johnson
Tina Turner
I Survived



