Katharine Hepburn (not to be confused with Audrey Hepburn) is one of the most famous American actresses in Hollywood's Golden Age. During her long acting career spanning six decades, the actress has received 13 nominations and four Oscar wins - a world record to date. Along with her multifaceted artistic talent and wide range of roles, Katharine Hepburn became famous for scandals and high-profile headlines in the newspapers caused by her behavior that went against the established traditional views of old Hollywood.
Childhood and adolescence Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Hepburn was born into a large family on May 12, 1907 in Hartward, Connecticut, USA. The actress has English and Scottish roots. Her mother, suffragette, Katherine Martha Houghton, was a women's rights activist. The active position of the mother and independence from other people's opinions influenced Catherine's character from an early age: she learned to openly express what she did not agree with. The actress's father devoted his life to the medical field, worked as a doctor in the field of urology and supported his wife.
Catherine grew up an active child. She loved active sports and was happy to devote her time to swimming, gymnastics and ice skating, and later tennis and golf were added to the hobby. Already at a young age, Katherine had a fearless character and was temporarily expelled from school for smoking and violating curfews. Later, she even confessed to swimming naked in the middle of the night: "If you obey all the rules, you will miss all the fun."
When Catherine was 13 years old, the Hepburn family was overtaken by misfortune. Her older brother hanged himself on the sheet. Apparently, it was an accident, as, as a 15-year-old teenager, he enjoyed scaring his family with such dangerous stunts. This fatal tragedy had a very strong impact on the psyche of young Catherine - she closed herself off. Over the next few years, she even celebrated the birthdays of her deceased brother in place of her own. Later in an interview, the actress admitted that the loss of her beloved brother influenced the decision to connect life with an acting career, although initially Katharine Hepburn wanted to become a doctor. After her studies, she moved away from her family to devote herself entirely to acting. Her siblings called her "Aunt Kat".
In 1928, Katharine Hepburn graduated from Bryn More College, where she first played in theatrical productions of an educational institution.
Career in theater, cinema and four "Oscars"
Katharine Hepburn's first acting experience was in the theater industry, performing various roles in plays and productions since 1928. After a successful debut on the stage of the theater, the actress decided to try her hand at the world of the film industry. On the big screen, the actress first appeared in the movie "The Divorce Bill" in 1932, and two years later, Katharine Hepburn won her first Oscar for Best Acting in the drama "Early Glory", which tells the story of a young woman, Eve, who came from the provinces. for the sake of building an acting career.
The second "Oscar" to the actress was brought by the play in the dramatic comedy of 1967 "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?". The plot of the film revolves around two families of strict views. The main character, Joan's girlfriend, introduces her parents to her chosen one, a successful doctor named John. It would be easy to get the approval of loved ones, if not for one "but": John is black. In the film, Katherine played the role of Joan's mother.
The third Oscar was awarded to the actress for the portrayal of the istric character on the screen - the intriguing queen Alienor, eager to take power from her husband, King Henry II (performed by Peter O'Toole) in the production of the play "The Lion in Winter" (1968).
Finally, the fourth "Oscar" in the career of Katharine Hepburn got thanks to her work in the touching drama "On the Golden Pond", which tells about the relationship between different generations of the same family. The actress played the role of Ethel Thayer, wife of her 80-year-old husband Norman Thayer.
The total number of films with the participation of Katharine Hepburn in various genres exceeds 50. Many films in which the actress starred were included in the list of "100 best films of all time". The actress did not leave the theater stage on Broadway until the mid-1980s.
In the famous film adaptation of the American novel Gone with the Wind, Catherine could play Scarlett. However, she could not get the role, and the image of the capricious Miss O'Hara went to Vivien Leigh.
Atypical Hollywood actress
In addition to her arrogant behavior, Katharine Hepburn stood out among other actresses of the time by refusing to make up, unwilling to participate in photo shoots, giving interviews and autographs.
The actress very often replaced fashionable feminine dresses with trousers. Katherine used her almost irreplaceable piece of clothing for decades, until pants became popular with all women. Once, back in the early 30s, dressers secretly stole her trousers from the actress's dressing room. Katharine Hepburn walked around the studio in her underwear, refusing to wear anything until her favorite wardrobe item was returned.
Personal life of Katharine Hepburn
At the age of 21, the aspiring actress married a prominent fiancé, Ludlow broker Ogden Smith, whom they had known for a long time. Ludlow charmed Katherine and rather hastened to call her in marriage. He really was in love and gave Katherine any support. Ludlow did everything to ensure that she was happy and did not know the lack of money. Catherine even forced her husband to change his last name from Smith to Ludlow, because she did not want to be "Catherine Smith" - after all, a singer already existed with that name. The marriage lasted 6 years, after which the couple decided to divorce and remained friends. There were no children from the marriage.
The actress no longer tied the knot with anyone, but was seen in other relationships. Thanks to an unusual courtship involving an airplane (when Howard landed on a field where Katherine was playing golf), engineer and aviation pioneer Howard Hughes eventually managed to win Katherine's heart, but not for long - after three years they parted.
The next, and the main love of Katharine Hepburn's life, was the actor Spencer Tracy. Initially, Spencer disliked her, calling her "unfeminine." However, later the relationship of the actors went beyond the film set. Despite the fact that Spencer was married, Katherine became his "unofficial" favorite life companion for the next 27 years until his death in 1967. Katherine changed next to him: selfish and self-confident, she became timid, shy and caring. After Spencer passed away, Katharine Hepburn was devastated. In an interview, the actress admitted that she was never able to watch the film with his last participation, "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?"
In the mid-90s, Katherine retired from acting for health reasons, being already at a rather old age. The legendary actress passed away at the 97th year of her life at her home in Old Saybrook, Connecticut, USA. For her great creative contribution to the field of theatrical activity, on the day of Katharine Hepburn's funeral, all the lights of Broadway where she played were extinguished.
