My earliest memory of this feisty woman, that I would come to know as Katharine Hepburn,
came as I watched Little Women. I found her to be fascinating. She was unlike other
actresses of her time. She was loud, opinionated and utterly charming all the while.
I soon found that I was not alone in my opinions. Millions more adored her too.

Katharine’s parents taught her to be independent, to discuss the deep issues and to
speak her mind. They lived by those same principals. They lived in a stately home in
Connecticut where her father, Dr. Thomas Hepburn was a successful urologist. Her mother
Katharine (Kit) was heavily involved in women’s suffrage and family planning issues
Mrs. Hepburn co-founded Planned Parenthood. Their dinners were loud and informative.
Her parents encouraged lively debates nightly among her five brothers and sisters.

Her brother Tom Hepburn was two years older, the eldest child in the family. When
Katharine was fifteen years old she found him hanging in the barn. She was never able
to believe he had committed suicide. Years later she would admit to being two years
younger than she had always claimed to be. She had taken her brother Tom’s birth date
as her own to honor him. It was an event that she never recovered from entirely.
Dr. Hepburn insisted on his children being athletic. Katharine excelled at sports.
She was adept at swimming, golf, tennis and figure skating. She once won a bronze medal
in Figure skating from the Madison Square Garden figure skating club. Swimming and golf
were sports she remained involved in heavily throughout her life. She would continue to
swim in the frigid waters in Connecticut until well into her eighties. Sometimes
breaking the ice to do so. She believed it kept her healthy.

While attending Bryn Mawr College, she met her future husband, Ludlow (”Luddy”) Ogden Smith.
They married in 1928 when she finished college. She had achieved degrees in history and
philosophy. That same year she landed a bit part on Broadway in Night Hostess. As an
aspiring actress, she did not want to be know as Kate Smith. There was already a entertainer
with that name. She demanded that her husband change his name. He became S. Ogden Ludlow.
In the end Katharine decided to use her Maiden name. Their marriage was rocky from the start.
Katharine would later say that marriage is an unnatural state. She is known to have once
quipped, “Women and Men should live separately and visit often.” She believed every word to
be true. They divorced six years after they married. Katharine would never marry again.

The four Oscars and twelve nominations she earned throughout her extensive career are proof
of how much she was loved as an actress. One would never believe that in the early stages of
her career she was blacklisted and labeled “box office poison”. Ever resilient, Katharine
left Hollywood and return to Broadway until she could stage a comeback. Upon her return, she
auditioned for a major film titled, A Bill Of Divorcement. In true Hepburn fashion, she
demanded an outlandish $1,500 per week for film work. She had been earning just eighty dollars
a week. After seeing her screen test, studio executives agreed to her demands.

In the 1930’s, with backing from her ex-boyfriend Howard Hughes, she bought the rights to a
play she had starred in. Her performance in that film, The Philadelphia Story would bring her
an Oscar nomination. Women of the time just didn’t do such things as that. Women didn’t buy
stories and have them made; they dutifully did as they were told.

Defying tradition was the norm for Ms. Hepburn. She was outspoken in defense of herself,
but also in defense of others. If she saw something that was unfair, she made sure to voice
her opinion. She was gifted with a classic patrician beauty, and was a favorite with directors
in spite of what they considered to be her loud mouth.

In 1942 she fell in love with Spencer Tracy. It was a controversial affair. He was a married
man. They met while starring in the film Woman Of The Year. Their relationship would last
until his death thirty years later. His strict Roman Catholic beliefs prevented him for divorcing
his wife. It was agreed that they would be as discreet as possible out of respect for his wife.
Katharine was content to be the love of his life. They would go on to become the most beloved
couple in film, starring together in nine movies throughout their careers. Spencer Tracy is said
to be the only person in her life that could quiet her. She literally sat at his feet gazing up
at him as he spoke. Their chemistry on screen and off was captivating to see. Even the many critics
who condemned them were won over by their deep affection for each other.

Just days after completing the film Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner, Spencer Tracy died. Out of respect
for his wife and family, she did not attend his funeral. Ms. Hepburn always maintained that she
never watched the film. It was just too painful.

Men loved this beautiful woman on the screen. Women admired her strength. They wanted to be as
brash as she was. Her ability to not worry what others thought of her was envied. She wore pants
almost exclusively long before it was the fashion to do so. Her reputation as an often-cantankerous
star never bothered her. It was, in her opinion, very near sighted to object to strong women
speaking their mind. It would not be possible for her to be any less; she was raised to be just as
she was. She wouldn’t apologize for it.

Ms. Hepburn once said of her early ambition: “I didn’t have any desire to be an actress or to
learn how to act. I just wanted to be famous.” The limelight thrilled her. Yet she wasn’t known
to steal it. She often stood up for lesser-known actors. On the set of Adam’s Rib, she refused a
close-up because the other female lead should have been featured. Her generosity was legendary.
In an interview with Christopher Reeve he stated, “She used to say to me, “Be fascinating, Christopher,”
and I’d say, “Well, that’s easy for you. The rest of us have to work at it.” She was fascinating to
everyone who knew her.

In all the years of televised Oscar award shows, she only appeared once. To give a lifetime
achievement award away. If she was the winner, someone else always accepted for her. One such
award stayed in the paper bag that she suggested storing it in, on her living room table for over
ten years. It meant little to her to be accepted in such a way. She would have been more impressed
by an award for her character, not her acting.

While she was always somewhat reclusive away from cameras she became more so as she aged.
Her home in Old Saybrook, Connecticut became her haven. Friends were frequently invited in,
but Katharine rarely left home. Her gardens, hobbies and friends became her only outlets.
She was also an avid painter and sculptor. A bust she sculpted of Spencer Tracy was used in
their last film together.

She had never wanted to have children. She believed that she would have been a terrible mother.
Her siblings gave her nieces and nephews; they adored her and visited often. Several of them have
followed in her footsteps and are actors today.

She was 96 years old when she died of natural causes. In honor of her extensive theater work,
the bright lights of Broadway were dimmed for an hour. Lauren Bacall said of her friend; “Time
with her was more than time well spent. A little bit with her was worth days and weeks and months
with somebody else.”

Annie Thomas-Burke

This tribute is the property of Worth Remembering Publishing © 2006.

This tribute is shown as an example of a four page tribute.
written by Scribe Services Owner, Annie Thomas-Burke for
Worth Remembering Publishing books titled, Women Worth Remembering.