Katharine Houghton Hepburn was born on May 12, 1907 in Hartford, Connecticut. She was the daughter of Katharine Houghton and Dr. Thomas Hepburn. She was the second oldest of her siblings, which consisted of Dick, Tom, Bob, Marion and Peg Hepburn. Tom was the oldest, and he commit suicide very young by hanging himself by a curtain. Kate found him, and she was very upset.
But her life went on, and she attended Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania, where she did some theatrical productions. After college, she got into the broadway business, where she got discovered by director George Cukor. Her first film was A Bill of Divorcement , which she co-starred with John Barrymore. Her second film was Christopher Strong, not one of her most memorable movies but still a good one. But then she did Morning Glory with Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. , and won her first Oscar.
Perhaps one of the most worst movies Kate did was Spitfire, which was a mistake from the start. She played an uneducated mountain girl, and the public hated it. The only reason Kate did the movie was to star in a theatrical production called The Lake, and how horrible that was. She messed up her lines and everything. Then the she quit, and the director took most of her money.
Bringing Up Baby was one of Kate's classics, with Cary Grant, but at the time it wasn't. Kate was labeled "box office poison" and the public didn't want to see her movies. She thought this was the last of her, until she starred in a play called The Philadelphia Story . Shortly after, Howard Hughes,a man Kate had a little bit of a relation ship with, bought the rights for the movie The Philadelphia Story and gave them to her. So, she got to star in it and choose who she wanted for actors. She got Cary Grant and Jimmy Stewart. The film was a success, and she was nominated for an Oscar, but lost to Ginger Rogers for Kitty Foyle . Stewart won an Oscar though, his only one throughout his acting career.
In 1942, Kate starred in a movie called Woman of the Year with Spencer Tracy, which started a 25-year relationship with the two. Spencer became the love of her life, but the never married because Spencer was already married himself! But don't get the wrong idea, he was seperated from his other wife, but didn't file a divorce due to his strong catholic beliefs.
In the 1940's Kate did a lot of movies with Spencer, and one of there most memorable one was Adam's Rib , which the two played lawyers fighting on the same case. The film was a smash, and the public loved it. It is still loved by many others today.
In the 1950's, Kate did a film with Humphrey Bogart called The African Queen , one of Kate's best films. She was nominated for an Oscar, but lost.
Kate and Spencer did many films together, 9 in all. They are one of the most memorable partners in film history. The last movie they did together was Guess Who's Coming to Dinner which also starred Kate's niece Katharine Houghton and Sidney Poitier. Shortly after they were done filming, Spencer died at the age of 67. Kate was very devastated, and didn't even show up at the funeral. She won her second Oscar for the movie though.
After Spencer's death, Kate did many television movies in the 1970's. In 1968, she did a movie called The Lion in Winter , which she won her third Oscar. In 1981, Kate did a movie with Henry Fonda called On Golden Pond , which she won her fourth Oscar. She is the only woman to win four Oscars for Best Actress.
Kate also did many television movies in the 1980's and early 90's. In 1995, she stopped filming, and stayed at her home in New York City, but now presently lives in Old Saybrook, Connecticut, at the age of 95. She does have many health problems, but she still vacuums the rug! She will never be forgotten, she is the Goddess of the Silver Screen!