• Home
    • About Hollywood Yesterday
      • Privacy
    • Old Hollywood Book Reviews
      • Audrey Hepburn in Words and Pictures
      • Ball of Fire (Lucille Ball)
      • I Know Where I’m Going (Katharine Hepburn)
      • In Such Good Company (Carol Burnett)
      • Joan Crawford A Talent for Living
      • Unsinkable (Debbie Reynolds)
    • Contact Joi (“Joy”)
    • Quotes from Old Hollywood’s Stars
  • Actresses
    • Agnes Moorehead
    • Angie Dickinson
    • Ann Miller
    • Audrey Hepburn
      • Audrey Hepburn Quotes
      • Breakfast at Tiffany’s
      • My Fair Lady
    • Ava Gardner
      • Ava Gardner Quotes
    • Barbara Stanwyck
      • Barbara Stanwyck Quotes
    • Betty Grable
    • Carole Lombard
    • Debbie Reynolds
    • Doris Day
    • Dorothy Dandridge
    • Elizabeth Taylor
      • Elizabeth Taylor Quotes
    • Fay Wray
    • Georgia Hale
    • Ginger Rogers
    • Glenda Farrell
    • Gloria Grahame
    • Grace Kelly
    • Greta Garbo
    • Hattie McDaniel
      • Hattie McDaniel Facts
      • Hattie McDaniel Quotes
    • Helen Hayes
    • Ingrid Bergman
    • Jayne Mansfield
    • Judy Garland
    • Katharine Hepburn
      • Katharine Hepburn Quotes
      • Katharine Hepburn: What’s Not to Love?
    • Lana Turner
    • Lauren Bacall
      • Lauren Bacall Facts & Trivia
      • Lauren Bacall Quotes
    • Lucille Ball
      • I Love Lucy
      • Lucille Ball Quotes
    • Marilyn Monroe
    • Maureen O’Hara
    • Marion Davies
    • Mary Pickford
    • Mildred Davis
    • Mitzi Gaynor
    • Olivia de Havilland
    • Rita Hayworth
    • Shirley Temple
    • Vera-Ellen
    • Veronica Lake
    • Vivien Leigh
  • Actors
    • Abbott and Costello
    • Barry Fitzgerald
    • Bob Hope
    • Boris Karloff
    • Buster Keaton
    • Cary Grant
    • Charlie Chaplin
    • Clark Gable
    • Dean Martin
    • Desi Arnaz
    • Dick Powell
    • Edward G. Robinson
    • Elvis Presley
    • Frank Sinatra
    • Fred Astaire
    • Gene Kelly
    • George Sanders
    • Glenn Ford
    • Harold Lloyd
    • Humphrey Bogart
    • James Dean
    • Jerry Lewis
    • James Stewart
    • John Wayne
    • Laurel and Hardy
    • Ray Milland
  • Movie Reviews
    • Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein
    • Critic’s Choice
    • El Dorado
    • Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941)
    • Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein
    • Gilda
    • Grand Hotel
    • Lured
    • Rio Bravo
    • Sanctuary (1961)
    • Seven Brides for Seven Brothers
    • The Bat
    • The Haunted Castle (Silent)
    • The Major and the Minor
    • The Naked Spur
    • The Prince and The Showgirl
    • The Stooge
    • The Little Princess
    • The Quiet Man
    • The Violent Men
    • The White Sister
    • Top Hat
    • We’re in the Money

Hollywood Yesterday

Golden Age of Hollywood

You are here: Home / Katharine Hepburn / Katharine Hepburn: 24 Fast Facts About a Fascinating Legend

Katharine Hepburn: 24 Fast Facts About a Fascinating Legend

November 15, 2019 By Joi

Katharine Hepburn, The Philadelphia Story Promotional Pic

“I’m a personality as well as an actress. Show me an actress who isn’t a personality, and you’ll show me a woman who isn’t a star.” ~ Katharine Hepburn

Katharine Houghton Hepburn was born on May 12, 1907, in Hartford, Connecticut. Her mother, Katharine, was known for being a very strong-willed and highly intelligent woman who was very much interested in women’s rights. Her father, Thomas, was a doctor. They encouraged their children to always speak their mind and to stand up for themselves.

When it came to Katharine… it took!

Katharine often credited her parents for instilling in her a very strong sense of independence, confidence, and zero hesitation to speak her mind or stand up for herself.

Katharine Hepburn is one of the most talented AND fascinating individuals I’ve ever studied and researched. If you aren’t yet a fan, please get to know her better, watch more of her films, and read her quotes and interviews. She was one in a billion.

Below are 24 Fast Facts About the Great Lady:

Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn

  • When she was 14, Katharine found her much beloved brother Tom hanging by the neck in their aunt’s attic. They had been visiting her when the accident or suicide happened….it was never really proved whether it was, in fact, a suicide or if Tom had been pulling a stunt that went horribly wrong. The family believed it was the latter, as the young boy was known for stunts. His death coupled with the fact that she discovered him, haunted Katharine for years. Probably all of her life.
  • She never watched Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner because it was (her much loved partner) Spencer Tracy’s last film.
  • Was nominated 12 times for the Best Actress Academy Award and won four times. Personally, I think she should have also won for her role as Alice Adams (1935)
  • She actually walked around the studio in her underwear in the early 1930s when the costume department stole her slacks from her dressing room. They wanted her to wear more “ladylike” clothing, but she stood her ground – refusing to put anything else on until they were returned!
  • Was a leading contender for the role of Scarlett O’Hara in Gone With the Wind.
  • She did all her own stunts because she felt that the stunt women never stood up straight enough.
  • Served as Maid of Honor at Vivien Leigh’s and Laurence Olivier’s wedding.
  • Was in a loving relationship with Spencer Tracy from 1943 all the way to his death in 1967.
  • In the 1993 TV documentary Katharine Hepburn: All About Me, she stated that she did not suffer from Parkinsons.  “Now to squash a rumor. No, I don’t have Parkinson’s. I inherited my shaking head from my grandfather Hepburn. I discovered that whiskey helps stop the shaking. Problem is, if you’re not careful, it stops the rest of you too. My head just shakes, but I promise you, it ain’t gonna fall off!“.
  • She is the only 4-time Oscar recipient for acting.
  • Her mother’s maiden name was Houghton. Each of Her and Thomas’ six children were given Houghton for their middle names.
  • Made nine films with Spencer Tracy.
  • When Cate Blanchett won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for The Aviator in 2004, Hepburn became the first previous Oscar winner to become an Oscar-winning movie role.
  • Was a natural redhead.
  • Her favorite actress was Bette Davis.
  • While she, at times, may have come across as difficult, much of it was simply the result of having a strong personality in a world (Hollywood) where many tried to hide or “curb” their true selves for one more “agreeable.” Miss Hepburn didn’t care too much if anyone found her agreeable or not!
  • Was a big fan of John Gilbert and Greta Garbo.
  • She became very, very fond of Christopher Reeve when they worked on Broadway’s “A Matter of Gravity.” She even told him that she wanted him to take care of her when she retired. His reply was heart-breakingly ironic, “Miss Hepburn, I don’t think I’ll live that long.”.
  • While she appeared delicate, she was actually very athletic – she was an avid golfer, tennis player, and swimmer. She also loved to ride her bicycle.
  • Suffered from pyrophobia (fear of fire).
  • 1939 is considered to be the greatest year in classic American cinema by many film historians. Ironically, Katharine Hepburn did not appear in a single film in 1939. She was on stage playing Tracy Lord in “The Philadelphia Story,” a story which, made into a film, proved to be her comeback after (INSANELY) being branded as box-office poison.
  •  According to Katharine, on the night Spencer Tracy died, he had gotten up in the middle of the night to get a glass of milk. She followed him to the kitchen but heard a glass shatter and then a loud thud before she got there. She found the legendary actor (and great love of her life) dead on the floor, having suffered a massive heart attack.
  • Often called her role as the title character in Alice Adams (1935) her favorite.
  • She and Walter Brennan are the only actors to win 3 Oscars on 3 consecutive nominations.


Filed Under: Katharine Hepburn Tagged With: Katharine Hepburn, Katharine Hepburn facts

Beautiful Marilyn Monroe Canvas Set (Amazon link)


Comments have been temporarily disabled, spam was completely out of hand! I am looking for a better plugin than the one I had and hope to have comments back soon. If you have something you want to say in the meantime, my e-mail address is available on the blog. Thanks!~ Joi ("Joy")

Comments

  1. Ann says

    December 26, 2008 at 12:15 pm

    Please help us spread the word! The Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center and Theater will be opening this summer (2009) in Hepburn’s beloved seaside town of Old Saybrook, Connecticut.
    We’d love it if you’d link to us on your site.
    For more information go to our website at:
    http://www.katharinehepburntheater.org
    We also have a Facebook page at:
    http://apps.facebook.com/causes/178598?recruiter_id=17660434

  2. Joi says

    December 30, 2008 at 3:33 pm

    That’s exciting! I’ll create a post and a link asap.
    I’ve never been to Old Saybrook, Connecticut, but it must be gorgeous.

Welcome to Hollywood Yesterday!

Maureen O'Hara, Makeup Picture

Maureen O’Hara
My name is Joi (“Joy”) and I created Hollywood Yesterday as my personal tribute to Old Hollywood. It’s my effort to help keep the stars from Old Hollywood, Classic Television, and Old Radio Shows alive and shining forever. Old Hollywood was positively magical and I see no reason for the magic to ever die.

Be warned, I am (by nature) overtly positive, I never take anything too seriously, I say extraordinary so often you’d think I invented the word, and I overuse exclamation points to distraction. I’m perpetually over-caffeinated.. we’ll blame that.

Read more about Hollywood Yesterday (and see my personal favorites) here!

Old Hollywood Actresses

Lena Horne, Meet Me in Las Vegas

See the Old Hollywood Actresses page for the index of Classic Hollywood Actresses and Classic TV Actresses.

Old Hollywood Actors

Henry Fonda, Behind the Scenes The Grapes of Wrath

See the Old Hollywood Actors page for the index of Old Hollywood and Classic TV actors.

Old Hollywood Book Reviews

Mean...Moody...Magnificent! by Christina Rice

I love reading old Hollywood biographies and memoirs as much as I love watching classic movies, and that’s truly saying something!

To see my Old Hollywood book reviews, please see the index listed here: Book Reviews.

Pictures of the Day

Maureen O'Hara, The Parent Trap

Maureen O’Hara

The Old Hollywood & Classic TV Pictures of the Day are published as regularly as possible. If I miss a few days, please just know that the husband, daughters, sons-in-law, grandbabies, and/or my cats were demanding my attention. I’ll be honest, nothing comes before any of them! Not even Maureen O’Hara or Henry Fonda.

Priorities, y’all.

Movie Collections on Amazon

  • Email
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Recent Posts

  • Yvonne De Carlo: Beautiful Picture from The Captain’s Paradise
  • Natalie Wood, A Life by Gavin Lambert: A MUST Read for Fans of the Legendary Actress
  • Marlene Dietrich’s ABC’s: One of the Most Delightful Books I’ve Seen in Some Time!
  • Gregory Peck, Audrey Hepburn, and William Wyler, Behind the Scenes of Roman Holiday
  • Beautiful Jeanette MacDonald: BOTD in June 18, 1903
  • Upcoming Old Hollywood Book Reviews… So Many Wonderful Books to Tell You About!
  • James Cagney and Edward Woods in The Public Enemy (1931)
  • Marilyn Monroe, Niagara Wardrobe Test (She Passed!)

Movie Night, ANY Night…

John Wayne, Robert Mitchum, and Arthur Hunnicutt in El Dorado
Have movie night ANY night with Prime Video on Amazon:  Prime Video (Amazon link)

Thank You for Visiting!

Paulette Goddard and Charlie Chaplin, Modern Times
Thank you so much for visiting Hollywood Yesterday! You truly HONOR me with your presence. ~ Joi (“Joy”)

Olivia de Havilland

Olivia de Havilland, The Adventures of Robin Hood

My main goal with Hollywood Yesterday is to keep the names, faces, and films of the stars that mean so much to me shining brightly. When I’m guilty of focusing more time on my personal favorites (such as Olivia de Havilland) than other stars, I hope you’ll forgive me. I am, by all indications, very human!

Also, please know that I try to keep my posts (except for book reviews) short and to the point, so you can enjoy the pictures, grab the information, and get back to your life. I don’t appreciate anything that’s overly wordy, so I don’t want to do that to others. For better or worse, I write as I talk, so if you ever feel like you’re reading the words of someone who’s a cross between Lucy Ricardo, Daisy Duck, and a Jerry Lewis character, that’s just because you are!

Wait. What did I just admit to?? 

Barbara Stanwyck Quotes

Another personal absolute favorite of mine is Barbara Stanwyck. Not only was she beautiful and outrageously talented, she was exceptionally bright, charismatic, and colorful. This growing collection of Barbara Stanwyck Quotes will give you an idea of just how colorful she was!

Old Hollywood Movies

Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire Top Hat Cheek to Cheek

There’s nothing quite like watching a movie from the Golden Age of Hollywood. Whether it’s a Musical, Western, Comedy, Romance, Film Noir, or Drama – if it’s on, I’m not too far away… with popcorn and raspberry tea in hand and a couple of cats nearby.

Below are a few Old Hollywood movie reviews I’ve done on the blog. There are, as you’d imagine, a lot more to come. – Joi (“Joy”)

We’re in the Money (Joan Blondell, Glenda Farrell)

The Naked Spur (James Stewart, Janet Leigh)

The Prince and the Showgirl (Marilyn Monroe, Laurence Olivier)

The White Sister (Helen Hayes, Clark Gable)

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (Howard Keel, Jane Powell, Russ Tamblyn, Julie Newmar)

Rio Bravo (John Wayne, Dean Martin, Angie Dickinson, Ricky Nelson, Walter Brennan)

El Dorado (John Wayne, Robert Mitchum, James Caan, Charlene Holt, Michele Carey)

Rio Grande (John Wayne, Maureen O’Hara)

Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein (What is it With Me and These Movies??)

The Stooge (Jerry Lewis’ favorite Lewis and Martin Movie… for good reason.)

Critic’s Choice (Hilarious movie starring Bob Hope and Lucille Ball)

To Please a Lady (Clark Gable and Barbara Stanwyck team up in a fast track movie)

Grand Hotel (Joan Crawford, Greta Garbo, John Barrymore, Lionel Barrymore)

Hearts Divided (Marion Davies, Dick Powell)

The Quiet Man (John Wayne, Maureen O’Hara, Barry Fitzgerald)

More Old Hollywood Movie Reviews

Classic Hollywood Books & Biographies (Reviews)

Maureen O'Hara's Autobiography 'Tis Herself

‘Tis Herself by Maureen O’Hara
I Know Where I'm Going (Katharine Hepburn Biography) and Princess

I Know Where I’m Going: Katharine Hepburn

 

Debbie Reynolds Unsinkable
Unsinkable: A Memoir by Debbie Reynolds

 

Ginger Rogers Autobiography - Ginger: My Story

Ginger by Ginger Rogers
Love, Lucy by Lucille Ball

Love, Lucy by Lucille Ball
Vitagraph by Andrew A. Erish
Vitagraph by Andrew A. Erish
More Old Hollywood Book Reviews!

Dorothy Dandridge

Dorothy Dandridge Carmen Jones Poster

Getting to Know the Gorgeous and Talented Dorothy Dandridge

My Lucy Obsession

Lucille Ball

Find out just how much I (truly) Love Lucy in the Lucille Ball category. I’m warning you, I call it an obsession for a very good reason…

Legalities…

Aside from pictures of books I review, I do not claim to have taken any of the pictures on this website, nor do I own the pictures – the ones of the stars or the affiliate (product) pictures.  Other, far more talented photographers than me have the credit for the beautiful photos you see. If you would like credit for a photograph or would like one removed, please e-mail me (joitsigers@gmail.com).

Movie posters and promotional photos are used in the belief that they qualify for the Fair Use law. Fair use is a doctrine in the law of the United States that permits limited use of copyrighted material without having to first acquire permission from the copyright holder. Fair use is one of the limitations to copyright intended to balance the interests of copyright holders with the public interest in the wider distribution and use of creative works by allowing as a defense to copyright infringement claims certain limited uses that might otherwise be considered infringement.

When you click through an affiliate (product, book, dvds..) link, I earn a small portion of the money you spend IF you purchase anything. This does not cost you any extra money, of course. This is how I am able to work from home and support my cats! – Joi (“Joy”)

Copyright © 2022 | Audrey Hepburn Posters | Ava Gardner Posters