Rise to Fame
She got her first Oscar for Morning Glory in 1933, which was supposed to be the start of something. By 1938, the Independent Theatre Owners of America had declared her 'box office poison' alongside Garbo and Dietrich. The verdict didn't stick. Playwright Philip Barry wrote The Philadelphia Story with her in mind. Howard Hughes bought the film rights as a gift to her, she sold the package to MGM at a profit, and demanded cast approval. The 1940 film broke records at Radio City Music Hall. The trade group that labeled her poison reportedly sent a telegram: 'Come on back, Katie. All is forgiven.'
In the Spotlight
She won four Academy Awards for Best Actress across five decades, which the AFI capped off by naming her the greatest female screen legend in 1999. None of that is as interesting as what she kept quiet. For 26 years she maintained an affair with Spencer Tracy, a married man who reportedly never stopped drinking and wouldn't divorce his wife. When Tracy died in 1967, she didn't attend his funeral out of respect for his family. His wife Louise told her she'd always thought Hepburn was 'just a rumour.' She never remarried and won her fourth Oscar at 74.
Side Notes
She wore trousers to the studio when female stars were expected in gowns, refused press interviews, and earned the nickname 'Katharine of Arrogance' from the trade press. Her mother was a prominent suffragist, which probably explains the general disdain for anyone else's rules. She briefly dated Howard Hughes in the late 1930s. In her will, she left her four Oscars to charity, requested no funeral, and reportedly asked that part of her Connecticut estate be preserved for public use.
Final Chapter
Per her instructions, no funeral or memorial service was held. Her biographer A. Scott Berg published Kate Remembered shortly after her death, drawing on her own accounts of the Spencer Tracy affair. The intersection of East 49th Street and 2nd Avenue in New York was renamed 'Katharine Hepburn Place.' Her four Oscars and memorabilia were bequeathed to charity. Bryn Mawr College launched the Katharine Houghton Hepburn Center in 2006, dedicated to both Hepburn and her mother.