Katharine Hepburn

Katharine Houghton Hepburn (May 12, 1907 – June 29, 2003) was an iconic star of American film, television and stage, widely recognized for her sharp wit, New England gentility and fierce independence. A screen legend, Hepburn holds the records for the most Oscars (4) and also Best Actress nominations (12). Hepburn won an Emmy Award in 1975 for her lead role in Love Among the Ruins, and was nominated for four other Emmys and two Tony Awards during the course of her more than 70-year acting career. In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked Hepburn the greatest actress of all time. Hepburn had a famous and long-time romance with Spencer Tracy, both on- and off-screen.

Hepburn's legacy

Hepburn died on June 29, 2003, at 2:50 p.m., at Fenwick, the Hepburn family home, in Old Saybrook, Connecticut. She was 96. In honor of her extensive theater work, the bright lights of Broadway were dimmed for an hour.

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June 29 - 2003 - Old Saybrook - Connecticut

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Her autobiography, ', was published in 1991. The book Kate Remembered, by A. Scott Berg, was published just 13 days after her death. It documents the friendship between the actress and Berg. The book bills itself as an authorized biography, but that has been called into question by the New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/16/books/16KAKU.html?ex=1124856000&en=4ae490f223501d48&ei=5070. Berg was also criticized for inserting himself into the book too much, including by a columnist for the Hartford Courant. New York Post columnist Liz Smith called the book a "self-promoting fakery," and suggested that Hepburn "would have despised it and his betrayal of her friendship." http://entertainment.myway.com/celebgossip/lizsmith/id/08_04_2003.html

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1991 - Kate Remembered - New York Times - Hartford Courant - New York Post - Liz Smith

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Hepburn's professional legacy is today carried on within her family. Hepburn's niece is actress Katharine Houghton, who appeared with her in Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967). Hepburn's grandniece is actress Schuyler Grant; the two appeared together in the 1988 television movie Laura Lansing Slept Here.

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Katharine Houghton - Guess Who's Coming to Dinner - Schuyler Grant - 1988 - Laura Lansing Slept Here

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In 2004, in accordance with Hepburn's wishes, her personal effects were put up for auction with Sotheby's in New York. Hepburn had meticulously collected an extraordinary amount of material relating to her career and place in Hollywood over the years, as well as personal items such as a bust of Spencer Tracy she sculpted herself and her own oil paintings. The auction netted several million dollars, which Hepburn willed mostly to her family and close friends.

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2004 - Sotheby's - Sculpted - Paintings

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