1907-05-12 Hartford, Connecticut, USA
Katharine Houghton Hepburn (May 12, 1907 – June 29, 2003) was an American actress of film, stage, and television. She holds the record for the being the most Oscar winning actor, with 4 Best Actress wins out of 12 nominations. She has also won an Emmy Award out of a total 5 Emmy nominations, two Tony Awards and eight Golden Globes. Ranked as the greatest female star in the history of American cinema by the American Film Institute, she was known for her sophisticated, headstrong and outspoken screen persona. Apart from her acclaimed acting and distinctive voice, her impact extended to fashion as well as she helped make wearing pants more socially acceptable for women. Raised in Connecticut by wealthy progressive parents, Hepburn turned to acting after university. After a rocky start on stage, she made her way to Hollywood by starring in A Bill of Divorcement (1932) alongside John Barrymore, which instantly brought her praise. A few early film successes, including her first Academy Award, for Morning Glory (1933) were not enough as she endured a string of flops. Apart from being voted "box office poison", her rocky relationship with the press and tomboyish fashion choices made her incredibly unpopular. She arranged with playwright Philip Barry to write a play with her in mind, one that smoothed over her prickly public image. This play, The Philadelphia Story, turned out to be a huge success on Broadway. Securing the film rights for herself with the help of Howard Hughes, Katharine Hepburn sold them to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer on the condition that she reprise her leading role as Tracy Lord. The 1940 film was a hit and revived her flagging career, even earning her a third Academy Award for Best Actress nomination. Throughout her six-decade career, Hepburn's filmography covered a range of genres, including screwball comedies, period dramas, and adaptations of works by top American playwrights. She co-starred with screen legends like Cary Grant, Humphrey Bogart, John Wayne, Laurence Olivier and Henry Fonda. Her most successful pairing was with Spencer Tracy, with whom she made multiple hit pictures. The last of their 9 films together was Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967), which was completed shortly before Tracy's death. Her many performances on the stage included plays by Shakespeare and Shaw, and a Broadway musical. She passed away from cardiac arrest on 29 June 2003 at her family home in Connecticut and since then, has been honored with several memorials.
 |
True Blue | (Archive Footage) | 2024-09-03 |
 |
Call Me Kate | Self (archive footage) | 2023-05-12 |
 |
Hannibal Hopkins et Sir Anthony | Self (archive footage) | 2021-03-26 |
 |
Yellowface: Asian Whitewashing and Racism in Hollywood | (archive footage) | 2019-10-13 |
 |
Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood | Self (archive footage) | 2018-07-27 |
 |
Becoming Cary Grant | Self (archive footage) | 2017-05-23 |
 |
In Search of Tracy Lord | Self (archive footage) | 2017-11-07 |
 |
Katharine Hepburn: The Great Kate | Self - Interviewee (archive footage) | 2014-03-02 |
 |
Embracing Chaos: Making The African Queen | Self / Rose Sayer (archive footage) | 2010-03-23 |
 |
Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff | Self (archive footage) | 2010-05-05 |
 |
Smash His Camera | Self (archive footage) | 2010-07-30 |
 |
Cary Grant: A Class Apart | Self (archive footage) | 2004-06-01 |
 |
Broadway's Lost Treasures II | Coco Chanel (segment "Coco") | 2004-10-26 |
 |
Cole Porter in Hollywood: True Love | Self (Archive Footage) | 2003-12-15 |
 |
Complicated Women | Self (archive footage) | 2003-05-06 |
 |
Bogart: The Untold Story | Self (archive footage) | 1997-01-05 |
 |
The Line King: The Al Hirschfeld Story | Self (voice) (uncredited) | 1996-09-27 |
 |
The Good, The Bad, and the Beautiful | Self (archive footage) | 1996-03-17 |
 |
Katharine Hepburn: On Her Own Terms | Self | 1996-10-04 |
 |
Legends in Light: The Photography of George Hurrell | Self | 1995-01-16 |
 |
This Can't Be Love | Marion Bennett | 1994-03-13 |
 |
Love Affair | Ginny | 1994-10-21 |
 |
One Christmas | Cornelia Beaumont | 1994-12-19 |
 |
Tennessee Williams: Orpheus of the American Stage | Mrs. Venable (archive footage) | 1994-12-19 |
 |
That's Entertainment! III | (archive footage) | 1994-07-01 |
 |
Katharine Hepburn: All About Me | Self | 1993-01-18 |
 |
The Man Upstairs | Victoria Brown | 1992-12-06 |
|
Fonda on Fonda | Self (voice) | 1992-01-13 |
 |
Night of 100 Stars III | Self | 1990-05-21 |
|
Broadway's Dreamers: The Legacy of the Group Theatre | Self | 1989-06-26 |
 |
Cary Grant: A Celebration of a Leading Man | Self (archive footage) | 1988-06-05 |
 |
The Making of a Legend: Gone with the Wind | Self (archive footage) | 1988-10-01 |
 |
Laura Lansing Slept Here | Laura Lansing | 1988-03-06 |
 |
Bacall on Bogart | Self | 1988-03-13 |
 |
James Stewart: A Wonderful Life | Self | 1988-11-22 |
 |
Michael Jackson: The Legend Continues | Self | 1988-01-02 |
 |
Happy 100th Birthday, Hollywood | Self | 1987-05-18 |
 |
The Spencer Tracy Legacy: A Tribute by Katharine Hepburn | Self – Host | 1986-03-09 |
 |
Mrs. Delafield Wants to Marry | Margaret Delafield | 1986-03-30 |
 |
Grace Quigley | Grace Quigley | 1985-05-17 |
 |
George Stevens: A Filmmaker's Journey | Self | 1985-03-03 |
 |
On Golden Pond | Ethel Thayer | 1981-12-04 |
 |
The Corn Is Green | Miss Lilly Moffat | 1979-01-29 |
 |
Olly, Olly, Oxen Free | Miss Pudd | 1978-08-11 |
 |
That's Entertainment, Part II | (archive footage) | 1976-05-16 |
 |
Brother, Can You Spare a Dime? | Self (archive footage) | 1975-08-06 |
 |
Rooster Cogburn | Eula Goodnight | 1975-11-01 |
 |
Love Among the Ruins | Jessica Medlicott | 1975-03-06 |
 |
That's Entertainment! | (archive footage) (uncredited) | 1974-06-21 |
 |
A Delicate Balance | Agnes | 1973-11-12 |
 |
The Glass Menagerie | Amanda Wingfield | 1973-12-16 |
 |
Hollywood: The Dream Factory | Self (archive footage) | 1972-01-10 |
 |
The Trojan Women | Hecuba | 1971-05-01 |
 |
Directed by John Ford | Self | 1971-09-06 |
 |
The Madwoman of Chaillot | Contessa Aurelia | 1969-10-12 |
 |
The Lion in Winter | Eleanor of Aquitaine | 1968-10-30 |
 |
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner | Christina Drayton | 1967-12-11 |
 |
The Big Parade of Comedy | Tracy Lord (archive footage) | 1964-09-02 |
 |
Long Day's Journey Into Night | Mary Tyrone | 1962-10-09 |
 |
Hollywood: The Selznick Years | Self (voice) (uncredited) | 1961-12-31 |
 |
Suddenly, Last Summer | Violet Venable | 1959-12-22 |
 |
Desk Set | Bunny Watson | 1957-08-02 |
 |
The Rainmaker | Lizzie Curry | 1956-12-13 |
 |
The Iron Petticoat | Captain Vinka Kovalenko | 1956-09-01 |
 |
Summertime | Jane Hudson | 1955-06-21 |
 |
The African Queen | Rose Sayer | 1952-01-07 |
 |
Pat and Mike | Patricia "Pat" Pemberton | 1952-06-13 |
 |
The Costume Designer | Self (archive footage) | 1950-07-13 |
 |
Adam's Rib | Amanda Bonner | 1949-11-18 |
 |
State of the Union | Mary Matthews | 1948-04-30 |
 |
The Sea of Grass | Lutie Cameron Brewton | 1947-04-25 |
 |
Song of Love | Clara Wieck Schumann | 1947-10-09 |
 |
Undercurrent | Ann Hamilton | 1946-11-11 |
 |
Without Love | Jamie Rowan | 1945-03-22 |
 |
Twenty Years After | (archive footage) | 1944-01-01 |
 |
Dragon Seed | Jade Tan | 1944-07-20 |
 |
Keeper of the Flame | Christine Forrest | 1943-04-01 |
 |
Stage Door Canteen | Katharine Hepburn | 1943-06-24 |
 |
Woman of the Year | Tess Harding | 1942-02-05 |
 |
Women in Defense | Narrator (voice) | 1941-12-24 |
 |
A New Romance of Celluloid: The Miracle of Sound | Self | 1940-10-24 |
 |
The Philadelphia Story | Tracy Lord | 1940-12-05 |
 |
Cavalcade of the Academy Awards | Self (archive footage) | 1940-07-31 |
 |
Bringing Up Baby | Susan Vance | 1938-02-18 |
 |
Holiday | Linda Seton | 1938-05-26 |
 |
Stage Door | Terry Randall | 1937-10-08 |
 |
Quality Street | Phoebe Throssel | 1937-03-26 |
 |
A Woman Rebels | Pamela 'Pam' Thistlewaite | 1936-11-06 |
 |
Mary of Scotland | Mary Stuart | 1936-07-28 |
 |
Break of Hearts | Constance Dane Roberti | 1935-05-31 |
 |
Sylvia Scarlett | Sylvia/Sylvester Scarlett | 1935-12-25 |
 |
Alice Adams | Alice Adams | 1935-08-23 |
 |
Spitfire | Trigger Hicks | 1934-03-08 |
 |
The Little Minister | Barbara 'Babbie' | 1934-12-28 |
 |
Christopher Strong | Lady Cynthia Darrington | 1933-03-09 |
 |
Little Women | Jo | 1933-11-24 |
 |
Morning Glory | Eva Lovelace | 1933-08-18 |
 |
A Bill of Divorcement | Sydney Fairfield | 1932-09-28 |
 |
Early Directors on Directing |
