This woman was admired during her lifetime and is still admired - it was not for nothing that she was awarded four Oscars. However, not only acting has served such an interest in the personality of Catherine Houghton, but also her natural charisma, femininity and charm.
These qualities passed to her by the family, which included aristocrats from the English and French royal houses.
Biography
Katharine Houghton Hepburn was born in 1907 in Hartford, Connecticut. Her father was a famous surgeon, her mother raised six children. She was a supporter of the feminist movement and advocated for women's rights.
Catherine graduated from high school in her native Hartford, and then became a student at Bryn More College. In this educational institution, they gave a very versatile education. Foreign languages, humanities and natural sciences, mathematics and physics were taught there. Katherine eagerly absorbed knowledge, and also found time for sports: she was engaged in figure skating, tennis, played golf well. And, of course, she studied in a theater studio.
It was the stage that attracted her most, and over time, the theater ousted other interests from her life. So after college, she went to Baltimore to become a stage actress. She then went to New York and played there on Broadway.
A celebrity of that time, the actress Frances Robinson-Duff, helped her master the acting skills. She praised her ward and predicted a stellar future for her. As time has shown, Francis was not mistaken.
Karin had an artistic talent, was pretty, had the will to achieve a goal, and this was important for an aspiring actress. Soon she was noticed by the director of the production of "The Warrior's Husband", and invited to the role of Antiope in this performance. Catherine did an excellent job of the role, and it helped her to believe in herself.
In 1934, she moved to California to conquer Hollywood. She auditioned for various roles, but the auditions were unsuccessful. They say that sometimes bad luck brings good luck - so it happened with the young actress. During one of the auditions, she was noticed by playwright Phil Barry. He liked her aristocratic appearance, unusual manners and peculiar accent so much that he wrote the play "The Philadelphia Story" especially for the young actress.
The rehearsals took quite a long time, there were many alterations, director Robert Sinclair supervised the whole process.
And finally, in 1939, the premiere of the performance took place, which was a stunning success. Apart from moral satisfaction, the Philadelphia Story brought a lot of profit to all the participants. Spectators all over the country have watched this performance 670 times.
Catherine Houghton became famous, but not only. She realized that this production could still make a profit, and managed to buy out the rights to the work. Producer Howard Hughes helped her to do this. Subsequently, he will still play a role in the life of the actress.
When the applause of the acclaimed performance died down, Katherine decided to move on to more serious roles. Fortunately, theaters in the capital at this time began to stage plays by Shakespeare, and Houghton was invited to several leading roles in these productions. Her portfolio includes works in The Merchant of Venice, The Taming of the Shrew, Twelfth Night and other performances. The actress devoted almost ten years to this hobby.
And then came the period of musical performances, which was a real test for Catherine. However, she did an excellent job with the role of Coco Chanel in the musical Coco, as well as in West Side Waltz.
Film career
Haughton's debut as a film actress took place in 1932, in the film "The Divorce Bill."
Despite the fact that the theater was the real love of the actress, she was also very successful in cinema: in 1933 she was awarded her first Oscar for her role in the film Early Glory.
In addition, she had eight more Oscar nominations, innumerable nominations for other prestigious awards. The second Best Actress award went to Katherine after Guess Who's Coming to Dinner? (1968). The next year - another "Oscar" for the role of Eleanor in the film "The Lion in Winter". The fourth statuette was waiting for her in 1982 - it was an award for her role in the film "On the Golden Pond".
However, not everything in her life was so rosy: in 1938, she experienced a real failure after a role in another comedy. As a vulnerable and emotional person, she was very upset about her failure, but there was nothing she could do.
The same "Philadelphia Story" unexpectedly brought her back to life: she decided to play the role of Tracy Lord in the film version of the play. The film received high marks from viewers, critics and an Oscar nomination for the actress herself.
After this success, Katherine's career failures were no longer - she starred in many films, and each work was more successful than the previous one.
Personal life
Katherine was married once: her childhood friend Ludlow Ogden Smith became her chosen one. The young family lived in New York: her husband worked as a broker, and Catherine played in the theater.
They divorced in 1934 - after Katherine decided to go to Hollywood. Ludlow regretted the divorce, and kept in touch with her for a long time.
The actress did not marry again, but she had affairs with many celebrities. With billionaire Howard Hughes, they even lived together for a while, but something did not grow together, and the couple broke up.
Catherine's last and strongest love was the actor Spencer Tracy, whom she met on the set. Spencer was married and had no intention of leaving his wife.
After the death of her beloved, Katherine led a reclusive lifestyle and only occasionally starred in films in age roles. The actress died in 2003 on her family estate.
