Katharine Houghton Hepburn (May 12, 1907 – June 29, 2003) was an American actress whose career as a Hollywood leading lady spanned six decades. She was known for her headstrong independence, spirited personality, and outspokenness, cultivating a screen persona that matched this public image, and regularly playing strong-willed, sophisticated women. She worked in a varied range of genres, from screwball comedy to literary drama, which earned her various accolades, including four Academy Awards for Best Actress—a record for any performer.
Raised in Connecticut by wealthy, progressive parents, Hepburn began to act while at Bryn Mawr College. Favorable reviews of her work on Broadway brought her to the attention of Hollywood. Her early years in film brought her international fame, including an Academy Award for Best Actress for her third film, Morning Glory (1933), but this was followed by a series of commercial failures culminating in the critically lauded box office failure Bringing Up Baby (1938). Hepburn masterminded her comeback, buying out her contract with RKO Radio Pictures and acquiring the film rights to The Philadelphia Story, which she sold on the condition that she be the star. That comedy film was a box office success and landed her a third Academy Award nomination. In the 1940s, she was contracted to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, where her career focused on an alliance with Spencer Tracy. The screen partnership spanned 26 years and produced nine films.
Hepburn challenged herself in the latter half of her life as she tackled Shakespearean stage productions and a range of literary roles. She found a niche playing mature, independent, and sometimes unmarried women such as in The African Queen (1951), a persona the public embraced. Hepburn received three more Academy Awards for her performances in Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967), The Lion in Winter (1968), and On Golden Pond (1981). In the 1970s, she began appearing in television films, which later became her focus. She made her final screen appearance at the age of 87. After a period of inactivity and ill health, Hepburn died in 2003 at the age of 96.
Hepburn famously shunned the Hollywood publicity machine, and refused to conform to societal expectations of women. She was outspoken, assertive, athletic, and wore pants before it was fashionable. She married once, as a young woman, but thereafter lived independently. A 26-year affair with her co-star Spencer Tracy was hidden from the public. With her unconventional lifestyle and the independent characters she brought to the screen, Hepburn came to epitomize the "modern woman" in 20th-century America and influenced changing popular perceptions of women. In 1999, she was named the greatest female star of classic Hollywood cinema by the American Film Institute.
Early life and education
Katharine Houghton Hepburn was born on May 12, 1907, in Hartford, Connecticut, the second of six children. Her parents were Thomas Norval Hepburn (1879–1962), a urologist at Hartford Hospital, and Katharine Martha Houghton Hepburn (1878–1951), a feminist campaigner. Both parents fought for social change in the United States: Thomas Hepburn helped establish the New England Social Hygiene Association, which educated the public about venereal disease, while the elder Katharine headed the Connecticut Woman Suffrage Association and later campaigned for birth control with Margaret Sanger.[2] As a child, Hepburn joined her mother on several "Votes For Women" demonstrations. The Hepburn children were raised to exercise freedom of speech and encouraged to think and debate on any topic they wished.[4] Her parents were criticized by the community for their progressive views, which stimulated Hepburn to fight against barriers she encountered. Hepburn said she realized from a young age that she was the product of "two very remarkable parents", and credited her "enormously lucky" upbringing with providing the foundation for her success. She remained close with her family throughout her life.
The young Hepburn was a tomboy who liked to call herself Jimmy and cut her hair short. Thomas Hepburn was eager for his children to use their minds and bodies to the limit and taught them to swim, run, dive, ride, wrestle, and play golf and tennis. Golf became a passion of Hepburn's; she took daily lessons and became very adept, reaching the semi-final of the Connecticut Young Women's Golf Championship. She loved swimming in Long Island Sound, and took ice-cold baths every morning in the belief that "the bitterer the medicine, the better it was for you". Hepburn was a fan of films from a young age and went to see one every Saturday night. She would put on plays and perform for her neighbors with friends and siblings for 50 cents a ticket to raise money for the Navajo people.
In March 1921, Hepburn, 13, and her 15-year-old brother Tom were visiting New York, staying with a friend of their mother's in Greenwich Village over the Easter break. On March 30, Hepburn discovered the body of her adored older brother dead from an apparent suicide. He had tied a curtain tie around a beam and hanged himself. The Hepburn family denied it was suicide and maintained that Tom's death must have been an experiment that had gone wrong. The incident made the teenage Hepburn nervous, moody, and suspicious of people. She shied away from other children, dropped out of Oxford School (now Kingswood-Oxford School) and was tutored privately. For many years she used Tom's birthday (November 8) as her own. It was not until her 1991 autobiography, Me: Stories of My Life, that Hepburn revealed her true birth date.
In 1924, Hepburn was admitted to Bryn Mawr College. She initially agreed to attend the institution to satisfy her mother, who had studied there, but ultimately found the experience to be unfulfilling. It was the first time she had been in school for several years, and she was self-conscious and uncomfortable with her classmates. She struggled with the scholastic demands of university, and once was suspended for smoking in her room. Hepburn was drawn to acting, but roles in college plays were conditional on good grades. Once her marks had improved, she began performing regularly. She performed the lead role in a production of The Woman in the Moon in her senior year, and the positive response it received cemented Hepburn's plans to pursue a theatrical career. She graduated with a degree in history and philosophy in June 1928.
Hepburn arrived in California in July 1932, at 25 years old. She starred in A Bill of Divorcement opposite John Barrymore, but showed no sign of intimidation.[49] Although she struggled to adapt to the nature of film acting, Hepburn was fascinated by the industry from the start. The picture was a success and Hepburn received positive reviews. Mordaunt Hall of The New York Times called her performance "exceptionally fine ... Miss Hepburn's characterization is one of the finest seen on the screen". The Variety review declared, "Standout here is the smash impression made by Katharine Hepburn in her first picture assignment. She has a vital something that sets her apart from the picture galaxy." On the strength of A Bill of Divorcement, RKO signed her to a long-term contract. George Cukor became a lifetime friend and colleague—he and Hepburn made ten films together.
Hepburn's only marriage was to Ludlow Ogden Smith, a socialite-businessman from Philadelphia whom she met while a student at Bryn Mawr. The couple wed on December 12, 1928, when she was 21 and he was 29. Smith changed his name to S. Ogden Ludlow at her behest so that she would not be "Kate Smith", which she considered too plain.[33] She never fully committed to the marriage and prioritized her career. The move to Hollywood in 1932 cemented the couple's estrangement. Hepburn filed for divorce in Yucatán on April 30, 1934, and it was finalized on May 8. Hepburn often expressed her gratitude toward Smith for his financial and moral support in the early days of her career, and in her autobiography she called herself "a terrible pig" for exploiting his love. The pair remained friends until his death in 1979.
The most significant relationship of Hepburn's life was with Spencer Tracy, her co-star in nine films. In her autobiography, she wrote, "It was a unique feeling that I had for [Tracy]. I would have done anything for him." Lauren Bacall, a close friend, later wrote of how "blindingly" in love Hepburn was with the actor. The relationship has subsequently been publicized as one of Hollywood's legendary love affairs.
Hepburn and Tracy met at MGM in 1941, when they were to begin filming Woman of the Year, when she was 34 and he was 41. Tracy was initially wary of Hepburn, unimpressed by her dirty fingernails and suspecting that she was a lesbian, but Hepburn said she "knew right away that [she] found him irresistible". Tracy remained married throughout their relationship. Although he and his wife, Louise, had been living separate lives since the 1930s, there was never an official split and neither party pursued a divorce. Hepburn did not interfere.
Final years and death
Hepburn stated in her eighties, "I have no fear of death. Must be wonderful, like a long sleep." Her health began to deteriorate not long after her final screen appearance, and she was hospitalized in March 1993 for exhaustion. In the winter of 1996, she was hospitalized with pneumonia. By 1997, she had become very weak and was speaking and eating very little, and it was feared she would die. She showed signs of dementia in her final years. By 2000, she was regarded by her niece to be a "private person". In July 2001, she was admitted to a hospital for pneumonia and a urinary tract infection. In May 2003, an aggressive tumor was found in Hepburn's neck. The decision was made not to medically intervene, and she died from cardiac arrest on June 29, 2003, at the Hepburn family home in Fenwick, Connecticut. She was buried in Cedar Hill Cemetery in Hartford. Hepburn requested there be no memorial service.
Hepburn's death received considerable public attention. Many tributes were held on television, and newspapers and magazines dedicated issues to the actress. American president George W. Bush said Hepburn "will be remembered as one of the nation's artistic treasures". In honor of her extensive theatre work, the lights of Broadway were dimmed for the evening of July 1, 2003.
In 2004, in accordance with Hepburn's wishes, her belongings were put up for auction with Sotheby's in New York City. The event garnered $5.8 million, which Hepburn willed to her family.
If you want to read a lot more, go here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katharine_Hepburn#Career
- SERVES
- 6
- COOK TIME
- 1 Hr 45 Min
If you're looking to spend a cozy night indoors with a meal that'll fill your belly with old world comfort, then you'll love our Old-Fashioned Stuffed Cabbage. This stuffed cabbage recipe features hearty ground beef, tomato sauce, and rice to make this a dinner recipe you'll love coming to the table for. We've carefully crafted this recipe so that it produces rolls just like Grandma used to make, so they're sure to be a hit at the dinner table tonight. This is the best stuffed cabbage roll recipe we've ever had, and we know you'll love it!
As a bonus, this is also a super easy recipe. All you have to do is combine your favorite ingredients, make your cabbage rolls, and then let the whole thing cook in the oven until bubbly and delicious. We even have a great tip below for preparing your cabbage leaves without steaming them. It will save you time, and it couldn't be simpler. Be sure to check it out!
- 1 large cabbage, cored
- 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes, not drained
- 3 tablespoons light brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 cup cooked rice, cooled
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- Preheat oven to 350º. Coat a 9- x 13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
- In a large saucepan, bring 1 inch of water to a boil over high heat. Place cabbage in water, cored-side down; cover pan, and reduce heat to low. Steam 20 minutes, or until cabbage leaves pull apart easily. Drain and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, combine tomatoes and their juice, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce and lemon juice; mix well and set aside. In a large bowl, combine ground beef, rice, onion, egg, salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons tomato mixture; mix well.
- Place 1 cup tomato mixture in bottom of prepared baking dish. Peel a cabbage leaf off the head and cut off thick stem. Place 1/4 cup meat mixture in center of leaf. Starting at core end, make a roll, folding over sides and rolling loosely. Place seam-side down in baking dish; repeat with remaining cabbage leaves and meat mixture. Spoon remaining tomato mixture evenly over top of cabbage rolls and cover.
- Bake 1-1/4 hours. Uncover and cook 10 additional minutes, or until beef is no longer pink.
- Instead of steaming the cabbage, an easy way to peel the leaves is to core the cabbage, freeze it overnight, thaw it completely, then peel away...easily!
1921 – Deborah Kerr, Scottish actress (d. 2007)
- Many other cultures chewed gum made from the resin of the mastic tree, from plants, grasses, and other resins.
- In 1848, John B. Curtis developed and sold the first commercial chewing gum, which was called “The State of Maine Pure Spruce Gum.”
- Around 1850, a gum made from paraffin wax was developed and surpassed the spruce gum in popularity.
- December 28, 1869, William Semple filed an early patent on chewing gum, patent number 98,304.
- Studies show chewing gum helps improve memory, reduce stress, and increase alertness.
- Chewing sugar-free gum improves overall oral hygiene while also helping to curb cravings and improving digestion.
