Katharine Hepburn (1907 – 2003) Stage and Screen Actress, Author, 4-Time Oscar Winner, Feminist

Post author By Steven Wood Collins
Post date November 26, 2021
20 Comments on Katharine Hepburn (1907 – 2003) Stage and Screen Actress, Author, 4-Time Oscar Winner, Feminist

Katharine with Jimmie Stewart

The American Film Institute ranks Katharine and Humphrey Bogart (1899 – 1957) as the greatest screen legends in the history of cinema. The Philadelphia Story (1940), which starred Katharine, Jimmie Stewart (1908 – 1997) and Cary Grant, is currently ranked #44 in the AFI list of the greatest films ever made.

James Hepburn (1534 – 1578), 4th Earl of Bothwell, married Mary, Queen of Scots (1542 – 1587) after his acquittal of the accusation that he murdered her second husband, Lord Darnley (Henry Stuart, 1st Duke of Albany). After less than a month of conjugal bliss, the marriage effectively ended when James took flight to Denmark to avoid captivity that would have surely resulted in his execution for high treason. He later died in the captivity of Frederick II of Denmark (1534 – 1588) without ever again seeing his wife after their final embrace 11 years earlier. He reportedly had gone quite mad well before his death in Dragsholm Castle.

Rightly sensing Mary’s senior claim on the English throne may not survive the Tudor monarchy, Frederick imprisoned Lord Bothwell to both his contemporary and future political advantage. His daughter Anne would later marry Mary’s first son James I & VI Stuart, father of James II & VII Stuart, KG (1633 – 1701) . James succeeded Elizabeth I Tudor, Queen of England & Ireland (1533 – 1603) to unite Scotland, England, and Ireland under Stuart monarchy for the first time. Anne bore him two heirs, one of which, Charles I, succeeded him as sovereign of the United Kingdom.

Aviation pioneer and film producer Howard Hughes (1905 – 1976) dated Katharine for a while during a nadir in her film career. He helped her to pull out of it when he bought her the The Philadelphia Story film rights. As a result, her career took off again with the blockbuster success of the movie and her subsequent Oscar nomination for Best Actress for her stellar performance in the starring role. Co-star Jimmie Stewart won the 1941 Best Actor Oscar for his performance.

Katharine and her contemporary screen actors starred in movies during the so-called Golden Age of Hollywood. Including Spencer Tracy (1900 – 1967), her on- and off-screen partner for 26 years, they garnered a raft of Oscar nominations and awards. John Huston (1906 – 1987) regularly directed their roles in blockbuster movies he scripted, such as The Treasure of Sierra Madre and The African Queen – two of my all-time favorite films.

Related ancestral blog articles

List of Katharine Hepburn movies in order

16 Academy Award “Oscar” Winners

AFI Top Women Actors of All Time

1. Katharine Hepburn (1907 – 2003)

2. Bette Davis (1908 – 1989)

6. Marilyn Monroe (1926 – 1962)

7. Elizabeth Taylor (1932- 2011)

10. Joan Crawford (1905 – 1977)

Katharine Houghton Hepburn
Birth 12 May 1907 in Hartford, Hartford, Connecticut, United States
Death 29 Jun 2003 in Fenwick, Connecticut, United States

Ancestry.com citation/Lineages

17th cousin 2x removed POWELL-WHITNEY-TOUCHET-HOLLAND-FITZALAN-MOWBRAY-HOWARD-WOOD-COLLINS
18th cousin 2x removed HOUGHTON-MORE-MACDONALD-STEWART-DE LA HAY-TATE-CHANDLER-SIMMONS-COLLINS
19th cousin 1x removed HOUGHTON-GARLINGHOUSE-SPAULDING-WITTER-MORGAN-VAN NUYS-TERHUNE-BANTA-BRINKERHOFF-OUTWATER-COLLINS
17th cousin 4x removed SINCLAIR-PAINE-TRIPP-OUTWATER-COLLINS

FAB PEDIGREE

Wiki

SOURCES

Academy Award for Best Actress Wiki
James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell Wiki
Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley Wiki
Frederick II of Denmark Wiki
Anne of Denmark Wiki
Charles I Wiki
AFI’s 100 Years…100 Stars Wiki
Sir Alastair Buchan-Hepburn of Smeaton Hepburn, 7th Baronet

YouTube videos

The Most Beautiful Movie Star – Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Hepburn reads a letter she wrote to Spencer Tracy
Katharine Hepburn’s only Academy Awards appearance
Katharine Hepburn Winning Best Actress 1982
Katharine Hepburn and Barbra Streisand tie for Best Actress
76th Academy Awards In Memoriam – Oscars 2004 – Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Hepburn Movies
Suddenly Last Summer – 1959 – Movie Trailer
Without Love
Keeper of the Flame
The Glass Menagerie
Holiday ~ 5th Avenue Anti-Stuffed Shirt Club

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Katharine’s books

Me: Stories of My Life
The Making of The African Queen, or: How I went to Africa with Bogart, Bacall and Huston and almost lost my mind
Katharine Hepburn Once Said…: Great Lines to Live By
Little Me
Katharine Hepburn’s World of Stories With *

* *

Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Hepburn: A Remarkable Woman
An Affair to Remember: The Remarkable Love Story of Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy
Kate: The Life of Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Hepburn: Rebel Chic
Katharine Hepburn: An Independent Woman
The Films of Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Hepburn: Star As Feminist
Katharine Hepburn: A Stylish Life
Katharine Hepburn: A Life in Pictures
I Know Where I’m Going: A Personal Biography of Katharine Hepburn

The Patricians, A Genealogical Study – Ebook Editions US$5.95

Author at Harrod’s Deli – London

Steven Wood Collins (1952 – ) Antiquarian, Genealogist, Novelist

Tags katharine hepburn

By Steven Wood Collins

I spent most of my life unaware of my ancestral heritage. Sure, I knew of the personal history of my more immediate relatives; but beyond that, I never had any inkling as to my ancestral heritage. Then one day many years ago my sister said to me, “I sometimes wonder about our family background.” And so my quest to discover our genealogical roots commenced.

I started building my family tree with the very basic relationships, going back in time from my grandparents, one ancestor at a time. That initial effort proved to be the hardest part of the pursuit, mainly due to my lack of expertise as a novice genealogical researcher. As I gained familiarity with the databases and how to efficiently mine them, my progress gained ever-increasing momentum. Today, The Patricians! tree (Ancestry.com) contains nearly 120,000 individuals, stretching over 135 generations, 5,800 of which are my direct ancestors in a genealogical sense.

During this trek back in time, I encountered fascinating figures in both history and obscurity. This blog contains many stories about their genealogical relationship to me (and many of you). By far and away, as a student of history, the historically obscure individuals are of particular interest to me. I cite Baron “Blue Beard” Montmorency-Laval de Rais (1405 – 1440) as an example of a historically maligned personage whose real contribution to history, as both a playwright and hero of France, has yet to be properly recognized. Another example is Earl Edward de Vere (1550 – 1604), who’s yet to gain widespread recognition as the actual author of the body of literary work wrongly ascribed to William Shakespeare (1564 – 1616).

My life-long interest in international economics and finance continues unabated. I primarily demonstrate this professional involvement as a contributor to the Long Room, the members-only international finance professionals' forum hosted by the Financial Times of London.

I'm an avid recreational scuba diver who enjoys traveling to exotic dive sites. My love of the sea and marine life gives me an unbounded appreciation and support of “green” issues, especially those devoted to the conservation of endangered species and coral reefs.

He continually posts results of his personal genealogical research to his Goodreads Authors Blog. Entitled The Patricians - The Ancestral Heritage of Steven Wood Collins, the work represents thousand of hours of his research efforts and related commentary.

View Archive