“Who is Katharine Hepburn? It took me a long time to create that creature.”
Katharine Hepburn was many things. An actress during the golden age of Hollywood. A fierce personality, who was known to speak her mind. A great beauty who was revered and idolised. A activist, who always stood up for herself and others.
Among these, she was also slew of other things. Impossible to define or to categorise, Hepburn lived as a legend. Her four Academy Award wins still hold the record, and her refusal to play by the rules of the Hollywood fame machine set the scene for modern actresses to create their own independence.
Katharine broke onto the scene herself, and by only her third film, she was an Academy Award winning actress. She diverted the usual ‘starlet’ path, and forged her own career, buying scripts for herself and producing films. She was a Shakespeare enthusiast, and often appeared on Broadway, as well as choosing to act in small budget productions.
Considered one of the greatest actresses of her time, Hepburn acted until she was 87 years of age. She died after a long struggle with illness in 2003. She would have been 103 today.
Happy birthday, Katharine Hepburn. You were one hell of a woman.
“Life is to be lived. If you have to support yourself, you had bloody well find some way that is going to be interesting. And you don’t do that by sitting around wondering about yourself.”
“If you want to sacrifice the admiration of many men for the criticism of one, go ahead, get married.”
“Love has nothing to do with what you are expecting to get – only with what you are expecting to give – which is everything.”
“Once a crowd chased me for an autograph. “Beat it”, I said, “go sit on a tack!” “We made you”, they said. “Like hell you did”, I told them.”
“It’s bloody impractical. “To love, honor, and obey”. If it weren’t, you wouldn’t have to sign a contract.”
“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.”
“I never realized until lately that women were supposed to be inferior.”
“I always wanted to be a movie actress. I thought it was very romantic. And it was.”
“As one goes through life one learns that if you don’t paddle your own canoe, you don’t move.”
“I find a woman’s point of view much grander and finer than a man’s.”
“At my age, you don’t get much variety – usually some old nut who’s off her track.”
“I’ve made forty-three pictures. Naturally I’m adorable in all of them.”
“Life can be wildly tragic at times, and I’ve had my share. But whatever happens to you, you have to keep a slightly comic attitude. In the final analysis, you have got not to forget to laugh.”
