Born on May 12, 1907 in Hartford, Connecticut, Katherine Houghton Hepburn was the daughter of a doctor and a suffragette. Her mother was an early advocate for birth control and worked side by side with crusader, Margaret Sanger in her early campaigns for women’s’ reproductive rights. Kate was raised to speak and develop her mind to it highest potential, both of which she most certainly did!
She was a tomboy and very close to her brother, Tom who, at the age of 14, accidentally hung himself while practicing a hanging trick their father had taught him. It was Kate who found him and she was devastated both by the discovery and his loss. For many years afterward she used his birthday, November 8, as her own. Most of her early schooling took place at home. She did, however, attend Bryn Mawr College, and it was there where the acting bug bit her and wouldn’t let go.
After graduating college, she appeared in small roles in Broadway plays and elsewhere. It was in the film “A Warrior’s Husband” in 1932 that Katherine got her first starring role as Antiope, an Amazon princess. She was then cast in “A Bill of Divorcement” later that same year opposite John Barrymore. After this film, RKO signed her to a contract and she made five films between 1932 and 1934. For her performance in the third, “Morning Glory,” she won her first Academy Award. Her fourth film, “Little Women” in 1933 was the most successful picture of its day.
After a few years of ups and downs she returned to Broadway to star in “The Philadelphia Story” and her star rose to its pinnacle and never stopped shining. She made eight films with Spencer Tracy over a 25 year period and their off screen romance lasted for just as long, ending with his death in June of 1967. She died at the age of 96 in June of 2003, leaving a film legacy that spanned more than sixty years.
What are some of YOUR favorite Katherine Hepburn films? Please share