Hepburn, Katharine

Hepburn, Katharine,1907–2003, American actress, b. Hartford, Conn. She made periodic stage appearances from 1928 on and debuted in the first of her 43 films in 1932; in her early roles she was usually cast as rather brittle, one-dimensional characters. With the classic romantic comedyThe Philadelphia Story(1940), she softened her image and began playing more interesting women who were also more evenly matched to their romantic partners. Hepburn also established her lifelong image as a high-spirited, intelligent, witty, idiosyncratic, and sophisticated woman, a persona mirrored in her private life. InWoman of the Year(1942) she found her ideal leading man (and life partner) in SpencerTracy, whose solidity balanced her sophistication in a total of nine comedies spanning 25 years. Their other films includeState of the Union(1948),Adam's Rib(1949), andPat and Mike(1952)。

Hepburn won four Academy Awards, forMorning Glory(1933),Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?(1967),The Lion in Winter(1968), andOn Golden Pond(1981). Among her other outstanding films areLittle Women(1933),Alice Adams(1935),Stage Door(1937),Bringing Up Baby(1938),The African Queen(1951),The Rainmaker(1956),Long Day's Journey into Night(1962), andThe Trojan Women(1970)。为电视她Love among the Ruins(1975), in which she costarred with LaurenceOlivier, and several other productions. Later stage appearences includeCoco(1969) andThe West Side Waltz(1981).

See her autobiographical writings,The Making of The African Queen(1987) andMe(1991); A. Edwards,A Remarkable Woman(1985); G. Kanin,Tracy and Hepburn(1988); B. Leaming,Katharine Hepburn(1995); A. S. Berg,Kate Remembered(2003); W. J. Mann,Kate: The Woman Who Was Hepburn(2006);Katharine Hepburn: All about Me(television documentary, 1993).

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