"About Katharine Hepburn, by me, Alyssa (the creator of this myspace).
Katharine Hepburn was born on May 12, 1907-and not Novemer 8, 1909. She would've been 100, (although it says 99 as her age). She was Born in Hartford Connecticut-22 Hudson Street-then opposite the Hartford Hospital, where her father was a surgeon. She was the second of 6 children to Thomas and Katharine Hepburn. The first was Tom, whom she was closest with. She found him hanging in their aunts attic in New York when she was 14. No one in the Hepburn family spoke of this, and it was never really known how or why this had happened. The other children were much younger than Kate (Dick, Bob, Marion, and Peg). She even reffered to them as her kids sometimes.
In 1928, she graduated from Bryn Mawr college, and married her ONLY husband Ludlow Ogden Smith (Luddy; she made him change his name to S. Ogden Ludlow so she would'nt be another Kate Smith). She divorced him in 1934, although they remained friends until he died. It's not commonly known that she was married to Luddy, being that she spoke negativly about marriage. She never had kids however, and said she would've made a bad mother.
After she graduated, she went to Hollywood, in hopes of becoming a famous actress. She started by getting small parts on Broadway and elsewhere. Eventually, after a few screen tests, she landed her first role in a movie, alongside the legendary John Barrymore, in A Bill Of Divorcement (1932).
During the filming of the movie "Sylvia Scarlett", Hepburn met Howard Hughes. The story goes that Hughes was on the set visiting Cary Grant, and the two were introduced to eachother. Hughes liked Katharine so much, that he followed her until she agreed to go out with him. The affair between the to lasted until about 1941, and is featured in the movie The Aviator.
In the late 30's, Hepburn's career was going downhill, and at one point she got the title "Box Office Poison". After this, Hepburn decided to take a break, and she went back to Connecticut. Soon, she went back to Broadway, as Tracy Lord in The Philadelphia Story (1939). When the play was turned into a movie, it was said that Howard Hughes bought the movie rights for Katharine. Originally, Kate wanted Spencer Tracy and Clark Gable, but instead, she got Cary Grant and James Stewart (remember, this was before Kate and Spence met). This movie turned her career around, and sort of saved her. It put her back on the map.
Now enter Spencer Tracy. If you know the name Katharine Hepburn, you probably know the name Spencer Tracy. The two met on the set of Woman of The Year, the first of nine films they made together. The others were Keeper of The Flame (1942), Without Love (1945), The Sea Of Grass (1947), State of The Union (1948), Adam's Rib (1949), Pat and Mike (1952), Desk Set (1957), and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967). They fell in love, and were together until his death in 1967. He was married, although he and his wife were seperated, and before he and Kate had met, so don't think she had caused this. She didn't mind at all, and wasn't interested in marrying him anyway. He died only A few weeks after the movie Guess Who's Coming To Dinner was completed. Katharine never watched this movie. She also didn't attend his funeral, out of respect for his wife, and family. She helped carry the casket to the hearse, and followed in her car for a few blocks, before driving off. The odd thing about it all was that she never really knew how Spencer had felt about her, although she said, "I can only say that if [Tracy] hadn't liked me, he wouldn't have hung around. as simple as that. He wouldn't talk about it, and I diddn't talk about it. It is called love."
Katharine Hepburn is a screen legend. She ranks number 1 in AFI's "50 Greatest Movie Legends". She also ranks number 68 in Empire Magazines "The Top 100 Greatest Movie Legends of All Time" list, number 14 in Premiere Magazines "Greatest Movie Stars of All Time", 2nd greatest movie star of all time, by Entertainment Weekly (number 1 in their online poll), is in the Guinness World Records book, for "Most 'Best Actress' Oscars Won" (4), and used to hold the record of most oscar nominations, with 12 (outbeat by Meryl Streep, who holds 14).
Katharine Hepburn Lived a full, exciting, and fascinating life. She lived to be 96. She died in her Fenwick home, in Connecticut, where she stayed most of her life, and was, in fact, one of her favorite places. She once said "Fenwick is and always have been my other paradise". She died on June 29, 2003.
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