Actress Katharine Hepburn died Sunday, leaving behind six decades worth of classic screen appearances that redefined America’s image of a leading lady. She was 96.
Hepburn died Sunday at 2:50 p.m. at her home in Old Saybrook, said Cynthia McFadden, a friend of Hepburn and executor of her estate. Hepburn, who had been in declining health in recent years, died of old age and was surrounded by family, McFadden said. Her publicist, Freya Matston also confirmed her death to NBC affiliate WVIT-TV in Hartford.
“It’s been a sad day, but a celebration of her life as well,” McFadden said.
“I think every actress in the world looked up to her with a kind of reverence and a sense of ’oh boy, if only I could be like her,”’ actress Elizabeth Taylor said in a statement.
President Bush and first lady Laura Bush, who are staying this weekend at their Texas ranch, expressed their condolences to Hepburn’s family.
“Katharine Hepburn delighted audiences with her unique talent for more than six decades,” Bush said. “She was known for her intelligence and wit and will be remembered as one of the nation’s artistic treasures.”
U.S. Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., said Hepburn was “a unique and shining star who lit up the silver screen for generations of Americans and people worldwide.”
During her a 60-year career, she won a record four Academy Awards and was nominated 12 times, which stood as a record until Meryl Streep surpassed her nomination total in 2003. Her Oscars were for “Morning Glory,” 1933; “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner,” 1967; “A Lion in Winter,” 1968; and “On Golden Pond,” 1981.
Despite her success, Hepburn always felt she could have done more.
“I could have accomplished three times what I’ve accomplished,” she once said. “I haven’t realized my full potential. It’s disgusting.”
But, she said, “Life’s what’s important. Walking, houses, family. Birth and pain and joy — and then death. Acting’s just waiting for the custard pie. That’s all.”
Hepburn, the product of a wealthy, freethinking New England family, was forthright in her opinions and unconventional in her conduct.
She dressed for comfort, usually in slacks and sweater, with her red hair caught up in a topknot. She married only once, briefly, and her name was linked to Howard Hughes and other famous men, but the great love of her life was Spencer Tracy. They made nine films together and remained close companions until Tracy’s death in 1967.
From stage to screenHer Broadway role in “Warrior’s Husband” brought a movie offer from RKO, and she went to Hollywood at $1,500 a week to star opposite John Barrymore in the 1932 film “A Bill of Divorcement.” The lean, athletic actress with the well-bred manner became an instant star. The voice Tallulah Bankhead once likened to “nickels dropping in a slot machine” became one of Hollywood’s most-imitated.
Hepburn’s third movie, “Morning Glory,” brought her first Oscar, but her film career later waned after a theater chain owner branded her and other stars “box-office poison.”
Undaunted, Hepburn acquired the rights to a comedy about a spoiled heiress, and, after it was rewritten for her, took it to the New York stage. “The Philadelphia Story” was a hit.
She returned to Hollywood for the 1940 film version, which featured James Stewart and Cary Grant. Once again she was a top star.
Her first film with Tracy was “Woman of the Year,” in 1942. Legend has it that when they met she commented, “I’m afraid I’m a little big for you, Mr. Tracy.” His reply: “Don’t worry, I’ll cut you down to size.”
Tracy never divorced his wife, who outlived him by 15 years; Hepburn, though she led a PBS tribute to Tracy in 1986, rarely mentioned their private relationship. In one interview, she discussed their special screen magic, saying they represented “the perfect American couple.”
Classic roles
After leaving MGM in 1951, Hepburn divided her time between the stage — she appeared in Shaw’s “The Millionairess” and Shakespeare’s “As You Like It” — and film. She coolly braved a jungle for “The African Queen” and did her own balloon flying in the low-budget “Olly Olly Oxen Free.”
She co-starred with Taylor and Montgomery Clift in “Suddenly Last Summer,” with Jason Robards Jr. in “Long Day’s Journey into Night,” with Laurence Olivier in the TV movie “Love Among the Ruins” and with Henry Fonda in “On Golden Pond,” which won both of them Oscars.
She coaxed the ailing Tracy back onto the set for their roles as wealthy, liberal parents faced with the interracial marriage of their daughter in “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner.” Tracy died before the film’s release.
She was born in Hartford, Conn., on May 12, 1907, one of six children of Dr. Thomas N. Hepburn, a noted urologist and pioneer in social hygiene, and Katharine Houghton Hepburn, who worked for birth control and getting the vote for women.
Young Kate was educated by tutors and at private schools, entering Bryn Mawr in 1924. After graduating, she joined a stock company in Baltimore.
She had various health problems in later years, including hip replacement surgery and tremors similar to Parkinson’s disease.
In a 1990 interview, she told The Associated Press: “I’m what is known as gradually disintegrating. I don’t fear the next world, or anything. I don’t fear hell, and I don’t look forward to heaven.”
“There comes a time in your life when people get very sweet to you,” she said in another interview. “I don’t mind people being sweet to me. In fact, I’m getting rather sweet back at them.
“But I’m a madly irritating person, and I irritated them for years. Anything definite is irritating — and stimulating. I think they’re beginning to think I’m not going to be around much longer. And what do you know — they’ll miss me, like an old monument. Like the Flatiron Building.”
No memorial service
McFadden said that according to Hepburn’s wishes, there will be no memorial service and burial will be private at a later date.
The lights will dim on Broadway at 8 p.m. Tuesday in her honor, said Patricia Armetta-Haubner, a spokeswoman for the League of American Theaters and Producers.
Hepburn is survived by a sister, Margaret Hepburn Perry; a brother, Dr. Robert Hepburn; and 13 nieces and nephews.