Katharine Hepburn dies, aged 96

Katharine Hepburn has died in her home in Old Saybrook. She was 96-years-old.

Katharine Hepburn was as strong and independent a woman as Hollywood had ever seen. She was tough, smart a brilliant actress who brought her strength and character to every role. She was born in 1909.

Her father a pioneering doctor, her mother a suffragette. She entered summer stock after college to pursue a career in acting. After starring in a number of Broadway shows, she signed with RKO pictures and won her first Oscar as best actress in 1933's "Morning Glory."

Hepburn established her fierce independence as an artist early in her career. She jumped from RKO to MGM in a 1937 dispute over what roles she would play.

In 1939, she starred in the film version of the Broadway play "The Philadelphia Story". Katharine Hepburn was married in 1928, and divorced six years later.

She never remarried.

But in 1942, she began her long on-and-off screen association with Spencer Tracy in "woman of the year." Tracy and Hepburn teamed up during the forties and fifties in such great films as "State of the Union," "Adam's Rib," and "Pat and Mike."

In between her movies with Tracy, Hepburn starred with Humphrey Bogart in 1952's "The African Queen." Tracy and Hepburn were together again for 1967's "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner," about wealthy, liberal parents whose daughter announces that she wants to marry a black man.

Hepburn's performance won her a second Oscar. In 1981 Heburn received her fourth academy award for her performance in what became her favorite film, "On Golden Pond". Hepburn was considered by many the first lady of American film.


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