Katharine Hepburn

Highest Rated: 100% Desk Set (1957)

Lowest Rated: 17% The Sea of Grass (1947)

Birthday: May 12, 1907

Birthplace: Hartford, Connecticut, USA

"I'm a personality as well as an actress," Katharine Hepburn once declared. "Show me an actress who isn't a personality, and you'll show me a woman who isn't a star." Hepburn's bold, distinctive personality was apparent almost from birth. She inherited from her doctor father and suffragette mother her three most pronounced traits: an open and ever-expanding mind, a healthy body (maintained through constant rigorous exercise), and an inability to tell anything less than the truth. Hepburn was more a personality than an actress when she took the professional plunge after graduating from Bryn Mawr in 1928; her first stage parts were bits, but she always attracted attention with her distinct New England accent and her bony, sturdy frame. The actress' outspokenness lost her more jobs than she received, but, in 1932, she finally scored on Broadway with the starring role in The Warrior's Husband. She didn't want to sign the film contract offered her by RKO, so she made several "impossible" demands concerning salary and choice of scripts. The studios agreed to her terms, and, in 1932, she made her film debut opposite John Barrymore in A Bill of Divorcement (despite legends to the contrary, the stars got along quite well). Critical reaction to Hepburn's first film set the tone for the next decade: Some thought that she was the freshest and most original actress in Hollywood, while others were irritated by her mannerisms and "artificial" speech patterns. For her third film, Morning Glory (1933), Hepburn won the first of her four Oscars. But despite initial good response to her films, Hepburn lost a lot of popularity during her RKO stay because of her refusal to play the "Hollywood game." She dressed in unfashionable slacks and paraded about without makeup; refused to pose for pinup pictures, give autographs, or grant interviews; and avoided mingling with her co-workers. As stories of her arrogance and self-absorption leaked out, moviegoers responded by staying away from her films. The fact that Hepburn was a thoroughly dedicated professional -- letter-perfect in lines, completely prepared and researched in her roles, the first to arrive to the set each day and the last to leave each evening -- didn't matter in those days, when style superseded substance. Briefly returning to Broadway in 1933's The Lake, Hepburn received devastating reviews from the same critics who found her personality so bracing in The Warrior's Husband. The grosses on her RKO films diminished with each release -- understandably so, since many of them (Break of Hearts [1935], Mary of Scotland [1936]) were not very good. She reclaimed the support of RKO executives after appearing in the moneymaking Alice Adams (1935) -- only to lose it again by insisting upon starring in Sylvia Scarlett (1936), a curious exercise in sexual ambiguity that lost a fortune. Efforts to "humanize" the haughty Hepburn personality in Stage Door (1937) and the delightful Bringing Up Baby (1938) came too late; in 1938, she was deemed "box-office poison" by an influential exhibitor's publication. Hepburn's career might have ended then and there, but she hadn't been raised to be a quitter. She went back to Broadway in 1938 with a part written especially for her in Philip Barry's The Philadelphia Story. Certain of a hit, she bought the film rights to the play; thus, when it ended up a success, she was able to negotiate her way back into Hollywood on her own terms, including her choice of director and co-stars. Produced by MGM in 1940, the film version was a box-office triumph, and Hepburn had beaten the "poison" label. In her next MGM film, Woman of the Year (1942), Hepburn co-starred with Spencer Tracy, a copacetic teaming that endured both professionally and personally until Tracy's death in 1967. After several years of off-and-on films, Hepburn scored another success with 1951's The African Queen, marking her switch from youngish sophisticates to middle-aged character leads. After 1962's Long Da

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Highest Rated Movies

Filmography

Movies

		Credit
No Score Yet	Katharine Hepburn: The Great Kate	Actor	—	2014
No Score Yet	The Hidden Army: Women in World War II	Narrator	—	1999
No Score Yet	The Line King: The Al Hirschfeld Story	Actor	—	1996
No Score Yet	Katharine Hepburn: On Her Own Terms	Actor	—	1996
No Score Yet	Women of Substance: Katharine Hepburn	Actor	—	1996
No Score Yet	One Christmas	Cornelia Beaumont	—	1994
30%	Love Affair	Ginny	—	1994
No Score Yet	The Man Upstairs	Victoria Browne	—	1993
No Score Yet	Fonda on Fonda	Actor	—	1992
No Score Yet	Katharine Hepburn: All About Me	Actor	—	1992
No Score Yet	Michael Jackson - The Legend Continues	Actor	—	1989
No Score Yet	Laura Lansing Slept Here	Laura Lansing	—	1988
No Score Yet	Bacall on Bogart	Actor	—	1988
No Score Yet	Spencer Tracy Legacy	Host	—	1987
No Score Yet	Mrs. Delafield Wants to Marry	Margaret Delafield	—	1986
No Score Yet	Grace Quigley (The Ultimate Solution of Grace Quigley)	Grace Quigley	—	1985
No Score Yet	George Stevens: A Filmmaker's Journey	Herself	—	1984
No Score Yet	Storytime Classics: Katharine Hepburn's World of Stories	Actor	—	1983
93%	On Golden Pond	Ethel Thayer	—	1981
No Score Yet	The Corn Is Green	Miss Moffat	—	1978
No Score Yet	Olly Olly Oxen Free	Miss Pudd	—	1978
60%	That's Entertainment, Part 2	Actor	—	1976
44%	Rooster Cogburn	Eula Goodnight	—	1975
No Score Yet	Love Among the Ruins	Jessica Mendicott	—	1975
No Score Yet	The Glass Menagerie	Amanda Wingfield	—	1973
75%	A Delicate Balance	Agnes	—	1973
No Score Yet	The Trojan Women	Hecuba	—	1971
20%	The Madwoman of Chaillot	Countess Aurelia	—	1969
92%	The Lion in Winter	Eleanor Of Aquitaine	$18.7K	1968
71%	Guess Who's Coming to Dinner	Christina Drayton	—	1967
94%	Long Day's Journey Into Night	Mary Tyrone	—	1962
65%	Suddenly, Last Summer	Mrs. Violet Venable	—	1959
100%	Desk Set	Bunny Watson	—	1957
No Score Yet	The Iron Petticoat	Vinka Kovelenko	—	1957
No Score Yet	The Rainmaker	Lizzie Curry	—	1956
94%	Summertime	Jane Hudson	—	1955
90%	Pat and Mike	Patricia "Pat" Pemberton	—	1952
71%	Road to Bali	Rose Sayer	—	1952
98%	The African Queen	Rose Sayer	—	1951
100%	Adam's Rib	Amanda Bonner	—	1949
80%	State of the Union	Mary Matthews	—	1948
No Score Yet	Song of Love	Clara Wieck Schumann	—	1947
17%	The Sea of Grass	Lutie Cameron Brewton	—	1947
No Score Yet	Undercurrent	Ann Hamilton	—	1946
No Score Yet	Without Love	Jamie Rowan	—	1945
No Score Yet	Dragon Seed	Jade Tan	—	1944
No Score Yet	Stage Door Canteen	Stage Door Canteen Star	—	1943
No Score Yet	Keeper of the Flame	Mrs. Christine Forrest	—	1942
92%	Woman of the Year	Tess Harding	—	1942
No Score Yet	Women In Defense	Actor	—	1941
100%	The Philadelphia Story	Tracy Lord	—	1940
100%	Holiday	Linda Seton	—	1938
93%	Bringing Up Baby	Susan Vance	—	1938
95%	Stage Door	Terry Randall	—	1937
67%	Quality Street	Phoebe Throssel	—	1937
No Score Yet	A Woman Rebels	Pamela Thistlewaite	—	1936
No Score Yet	Mary of Scotland	Mary Stuart	—	1936
82%	Sylvia Scarlett	Sylvia Scarlett	—	1935
No Score Yet	Break of Hearts	Constance Dane Roberti	—	1935
94%	Alice Adams	Alice Adams	—	1935
No Score Yet	The Little Minister	Barbara	—	1934
No Score Yet	Spitfire	Trigger Hicks	—	1934
94%	Little Women	Jo March	—	1933
70%	Morning Glory	Eva Lovelace	—	1933
No Score Yet	Christopher Strong	Lady Cynthia Darrington	—	1933
No Score Yet	A Bill of Divorcement	Sydney Fairfield	—	1932

QUOTES FROM Katharine Hepburn CHARACTERS

Linda Seton says: And if, when he comes back, he wants to sell peanuts, oh, how I'll believe in those peanuts!

Jo March says: I like good strong words that mean something.

Tracy Lord says: I'm going crazy. I'm standing here solidly on my own two hands and I'm going crazy.

C.K. Dexter Haven says: The moon is also a goddess, chaste and virginal.

Tracy Lord says: Oh, stop using those foul words.

Amanda Bonner says: All I'm saying is, there's lots of things a man can do, and in society's eyes it's all hunky-dory. A woman does the same thing--the same thing mind you--and she's an outcast.

Eleanor Of Aquitaine says: I rode bare-breasted all the way to Damascus. Louis was livid and I damn near died of windburn, but the troops were dazzled.

Eleanor Of Aquitaine says: I'd hang you from the nipples, but you'd shock the children.

Seth Lord says: What most wives fail to realize is that their husbands philandering has nothing whatever to do with them.

Tracy Lord says: Then what has it to do with?

Seth Lord says: A reluctance to grow old, I think. I suppose the best mainstay a man can have as he gets along in years is a daughter. The right kind of daughter.

Tracy Lord says: So I'm to be examined, undressed, and generally humiliated at 15 cents a copy.

Vinka Kovelenko says: Here's to world peace.

Maj. Chuck Lockwood says: to world peace it is.

Maj. Chuck Lockwood says: To world peace it is.

Vinka Kovelenko says: You dare to drink to that openly?

Maj. Chuck Lockwood says: - I don't think anybody heard me.

Maj. Chuck Lockwood says: I don't think anybody heard me.

Maj. Chuck Lockwood says: Keep your flaps down this is a short runway. You're amazing.

Vinka Kovelenko says: That is because American woman are superficial. They are interested chiefly in their polish and false busoms.

Maj. Chuck Lockwood says: Yeah, they're inclined to make mountains into molehills.

Ethel Thayer says: Listen to me, mister. You're my knight in shining armor. Don't you forget it. You're going to get back on that horse, and I'm going to be right behind you, holding on tight, and away we're gonna go, go, go!

Cornelia Beaumont says: If you're ever asked to choose between youth and money, take the money.

Terry Randall says: Oh, darling, youâ??re sweet... I wish you were going to be there to hold my hand.

Terry Randall says: Oh, darling, you're sweet... I wish you were going to be there to hold my hand.

Kaye Hamilton says: Iâ??ll be there... (Terry looks at her) ...in spirit.

Kaye Hamilton says: I'll be there... [Terry looks at her] ...in spirit.

Kaye Hamilton says: I felt the same way a year ago. I felt like running and hiding from everyone... But after youâ??re through that opening speech, thereâ??s a thrill youâ??ll never forget. Itâ??s a thrill that can only come once.

Kaye Hamilton says: I felt the same way a year ago. I felt like running and hiding from everyone... But after you're through that opening speech, there's a thrill you'll never forget. It's a thrill that can only come once.

Terry Randall says: I canâ??t figure out whether itâ??s thrill or agony.

Terry Randall says: I can't figure out whether it's thrill or agony.

Kaye Hamilton says: It's both.

Jean Maitland says: Do you mind if I ask you a personal question?

Terry Randall says: Another one?

Jean Maitland says: Are those trunks full of bodies?

Terry Randall says: (indicating trunks on either side of open one) Just thoseâ??but I donâ??t intend to unpack them.

Terry Randall says: [indicating trunks on either side of open one] Just those but I don't intend to unpack them.

Jean Maitland says: I was just thinking if the room got too crowded, we could live in the trunks.

Jean Maitland says: When does your baggage get here? (It already fills the room)

Jean Maitland says: When does your baggage get here? [It already fills the room]

Terry Randall says: (opening one of several trunks) Iâ??m expecting the bulk of it in the morning.

Terry Randall says: [opening one of several trunks] I'm expecting the bulk of it in the morning.

Jean Maitland says: We could leave the trunks here and sleep in the hall. Thereâ??s no use crowding the trunks.

Jean Maitland says: We could leave the trunks here and sleep in the hall. There's no use crowding the trunks.

Terry Randall says: (taking out furs) I donâ??t know what weâ??re going to do when the wolf hounds arriveâ??I hope you donâ??t mind animals. (tosses fur on bed)

Terry Randall says: [taking out furs] I don't know what we're going to do when the wolf hounds arrive. I hope you don't mind animals. [tosses fur on bed]

Jean Maitland says: (picking up fur) Oh, not at all. Iâ??ve roomed with a great many of them before.

Jean Maitland says: [picking up fur] Oh, not at all. I've roomed with a great many of them before.

Terry Randall says: Yes, I can see that. (as she unpacks fur coat)

Terry Randall says: Yes, I can see that. [as she unpacks fur coat]

Jean Maitland says: (smelling the fur she picked up) Fresh killed?

Jean Maitland says: [smelling the fur she picked up] Fresh killed?

Terry Randall says: Yes, I trapped them myself.

Terry Randall says: How expensive are your rooms?

Mrs. Orcutt says: Thirteen dollars if you share a room, with a girlâ??in advance.

Mrs. Orcutt says: Thirteen dollars if you share a room, with a girl in advance.

Terry Randall says: Well, that seems rather highâ??isnâ??t there some reduction by the week?

Terry Randall says: Well, that seems rather high isn't there some reduction by the week?

Cast of Play says: (Girls in living room giggling)

Cast of Play says: [girls in living room giggling]

Mrs. Orcutt says: It is thirteen dollars a week.

Terry Randall says: Oh, my mistake.

Charlie Allnut says: You can't do that!

Rose Sayer says: How do you know? You never tried it.

Charlie Allnut says: Well yeah, but I never tried shooting myself in the head neither.

Eula Goodnight says: I fear not what man can do to me.

Ethel Thayer says: "Sometimes you have to look hard at a person, and realize he's doing the best he can."

Ethel Thayer says: Sometimes you have to look hard at a person, and realize he's doing the best he can.

Eleanor Of Aquitaine says: In a world were carpenters get resurrected anything is possible

Eleanor Of Aquitaine says: In a world were carpenters get resurrected, anything is possible.

Susan Vance says: There *is* a leopard on your roof and it's my leopard and I have to get it and to get it I have to sing.

Tracy Lord says: Put me in your pocket, Mike.

David Huxley says: But Susan, you can't climb in a man's bedroom window!

Susan Vance says: I know, it's on the second floor!

Eleanor Of Aquitaine says: Of course he has a knife, he always has a knife, we all have knives! It's 1183 and we're barbarians! How clear we make it. Oh, my piglets, we are the origins of war: not history's forces, nor the times, nor justice, nor the lack of it, nor causes, nor religions, nor ideas, nor kinds of government, nor any other thing. We are the killers. We breed wars. We carry it like syphilis inside. Dead bodies rot in field and stream because the living ones are rotten. For the love of God, can't we love one another just a little - that's how peace begins. We have so much to love each other for. We have such possibilities, my children. We could change the world.

Susan Vance says: I've got my head. I've lost my leopard!

Terry Randall says: The calla lilies are in bloom again.

Ethel Thayer says: Come here, Norman. Hurry up. The loons! The loons! They're welcoming us back.

Rose Sayer says: "Nature,? Mr. Allnut, is what we are put into this world to rise above.

Rose Sayer says: "Nature, Mr. Allnut, is what we are put into this world to rise above.