Katharine Hepburn

Born: 12 May 1907
Where: Hartford, Connecticut
Died: 29 June 2003

Katharine's screen career spanned more than six decades, nominated for 12 Academy Awards, she won more Oscars than any other actor, for Morning Glory (1933), Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967), The Lion in Winter (1968), and On Golden Pond (1981).

She scored her first major success on Broadway in The Warrior's Husband, not long after graduating in 1928 from Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania with a degree in drama.

A short-lived marriage to broker and socialite Ludlow Smith ended in 1934. She later remarked: "I don't believe in marriage. It's bloody impractical to love, honour and obey. If it weren't, you wouldn't have to sign a contract."

She went on to have a series of relationships, including a three year affair with reclusive millionaire Howard Hughes and 25-year partnership with actor Spencer Tracy, her great love.

Hepburn's third movie, Morning Glory, brought her first Oscar. A string of parts followed in Little Women, Mary of Scotland, Stage Door, Bringing Up Baby, and Holiday.

Hepburn acquired the rights to comedy The Philadelphia Story, and after it was rewritten for her, she took it to the New York stage where it was a hit. She returned to Hollywood for the 1940 film version, which featured James Stewart and Cary Grant.

Her first film with Tracy was Woman of the Year in 1942. They made nine films together, completing Guess Who's Coming to Dinner just days before his death. Tracy never divorced his wife because he was a devote Catholic but he continued to see Hepburn.

Throughout the 50s, Hepburn divided her time between the stage - appearing in The Millionairess and As You Like It - and film. She braved a jungle for The African Queen, and earned her third Oscar for her role as Elinor of Aquitaine opposite Peter O'Toole's King Henry II in The Lion in Winter.

She went on to win her fourth in 1981 opposite Henry Fonda and his daughter, Jane, in On Golden Pond.

She remained active into the 1990s, appearing in films and writing memoirs and her autobiography. In 1994 she returned to feature films for one last time to play Warren Beatty's aunt in Love Affair.