Born on May 12, 1907 in Hartford Connecticut, Katharine Hepburn was an iconic American actress of film, television and stage. She was educated at the Kingswood-Oxford School before going onto to attend Bryn Mawr College. She received a degree in history and philosophy in 1928, the same year she had her debut on Broadway after landing a big part in Night Hostess.
Hepburn got her start in small speaking parts on Broadway and participated in summer stock companies until she received good notices for her performance in The Warrior’s Husband. She became the talk of New York City and began to get noticed in Hollywood. An RKO scout was so impressed with her physicality in the role that he asked her to do a screen test. Her film career was launched alongside legendary actor John Barrymore and director George Cukor.
In 1933, Hepburn won her first of four Academy Awards for Best Actress in Morning Glory and in the same year appeared in a screen adaptation of Little Women, which broke box office records. By 1938, she was a bona fide star and appeared in critically acclaimed comedies Bringing Up Baby and Stage Door. In 1940, she had one of her biggest hits, The Philadelphia Story, directed by Cukor and co-starring Cary Grant and James Stewart. On June 29, 2003, Hepburn died of natural causes in old Saybrook, Connecticut. She was 96 years old.
