Katharine Hepburn was born May 12, 1907 in Connecticut, to parents, who were
themselves, non-traditional in nature. They were confirmed
atheists in a time when it was unheard of, with her mother leading the Suffragette
movement, and her father fighting to institute safe sex
education.
Naturally,
Katharine was influenced heavily by her parents, and it showed.
She arrived in Hollywood in 1932, after a few years of stage work.
She had already developed a reputation back east as being difficult, if
not downright obnoxious.
RKO
signed the twenty two year old Katharine to a limited contract, where
she actually called the shots. For her first picture, A Bill of Divorcement,
she bargained her way up to $1500 per week, with a three week guarantee.
Katharine
stuck her nose up at the Hollywood community, refusing to pander to the
typical publicity mill. She wore pants in public, and didn't rely
on feminine wiles to talk business in the boys club.
Naturally,
people in Hollywood developed an immediate dislike for her, but they
also didn't quite understand her, which makes one wonder how she ever
managed to get so far ahead. While she had some success on the
stage, critics weren't bowled over by her. Even many of her films, which
may be regarded as classics today, were dismal failures in when they
were released.
Her
co-star in Bill of Divorcement was the renowned actor, John Barrymore.
Rumors of their failure to get along are legendary today, which
culminated in the classic quip by John, when Katharine swore she would
never play another scene with him again. "But my dear, you
never have!"
One
of her first friends was Laura Harding. They spent a great deal of
time with each other, leading to gossip about a lesbian affair.
Hepburn denies the rumor to this day, but the story continues to be a
part of her mystique.
Her
second role in Hollywood was as Eva Lovelace in Morning Glory. The
story about stage struck, but plucky young woman who pushes her way to
the top, seemed custom made for the actress, and she was excellent in
the role. Her win confirmed that if Hollywood didn't like her,
people on the east coast did, and they kept her around, putting her in
several thought-provoking films.
Her
next nomination came in 1935 for Alice Adams. The film was also a
box office failure, unable to attract the attention of middle American
audiences, however it was a huge hit with critics, and other urban
cinephiles. The Oscar ultimately went to Bette
Davis that year, for her substandard role in Dangerous. It was
payback for Davis, who lost the previous year for Of Human
Bondage.
By
the mid thirties, after a series of flops, including films which are
regarded as classics today, Bringing Up Baby and
Holiday, Hepburn was
starting to lose her clout in Hollywood. An article was released
that named Katharine Hepburn, along with Greta Garbo, Marlene Dietrich,
Joan Crawford, and a host of others, as being box office poison.
This resulted in RKO cutting up her contract.
Hepburn
seemed to shrug it off by heading back to east to work on the stage in
a community that seemed to appreciate her talents. There she
appeared on stage in The Philadelphia Story. The play was a hit,
and Hepburn bought up the film rights. Later, she sold them to
Louis B. Mayer and MGM studios, cutting herself a deal which included a
share of the profits.
Box
office poison was no longer a term that critics could use, as the Philadelphia
Story launched her incredible comeback. The film, released in
1940, and co-starring Jimmy Stewart and Cary Grant, became an instant
classic, and was nominated for several Oscar's, including Best Picture,
and Best Actress for Hepburn. Jimmy Stewart won the award for Best
Actor. The success of the project convinced MGM to take Hepburn
under their wing, giving her the terms and conditions that she asked
for. The legendary Katharine Hepburn was about to be born.
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