News culture With four Oscars for Best Actress, she is the biggest star of all time in Hollywood
Katharine Hepburn, who died in 2003, is considered the greatest legendary actress in American cinema. As the 96th Academy Awards approach, let’s find out together who won the four Best Actress statuettes.
Hepburn, future star
Katharine Houghton Hepburn was born on May 12, 1907 in Hartford, Connecticut. She grew up in a large family (she is the second of six children) and enjoyed an education that was conducive to freedom of expression. His parents want their children to be sufficiently “trained” before entering professional life, so they introduce them to various disciplines, including swimming, but also wrestling and even golf. Katharine also loves the cinema and even puts on small plays with her friends, which she offers for 50 cents. The funds are then donated to the Navajo Indians. Like her parents, who are committed to the well-being of the population, she ensures that her actions serve the interests of people in need of help.
On March 30, 1921, the young girl discovered her brother Tom lifeless while they were at a friend’s house in New York. Suicide or an experiment gone wrong, no one knows. Devastated by this terrible event, Katharine Hepburn completely shuts down and becomes suspicious. She quits her school, stays away from people and takes private lessons. It wasn’t until 1924 that she agreed to attend Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania at her mother’s suggestion. At this institution she rediscovered her love of plays and decided to become an actress after graduating with a degree in history and philosophy. The beginnings are extremely delicate and the difficulties for the young woman multiply. Delays, bad lines, various blunders, murderous criticism… Hepburn really isn’t spared. Through sacrifice and hard work, she returned to the stage and had success on Broadway in 1932. She was 25 years old at the time.
The revelation
After several appearances, Katharine Hepburn was discovered by the world of cinema and made her first appearance in the 1932 film Heritage. It was a revelation! She becomes a star in the eyes of the audience and producers. She appears in several feature films and, when everything goes well, decides to take on a challenge: success in the theater. The bet is unsuccessful, the fault of a harsh critic and a director who makes her uncomfortable. After a short journey through the desert, she returned to success in 1934 with Ephemeral Glory (first Oscar) and Secret Desires in 1935.
Fate knocks on her door again when she meets famous actor Spencer Tracy. In “Woman of the Year,” the couple burst onto the screen and begin an off-camera relationship. Although the time was happy, Hepburn had to deal with her companion’s drinking problem and managed to get him to stop drinking. But the old demons return as soon as his partner leaves for filming and he finally disappears in 1967, consumed by this evil. Katharine Hepburn and her companion will have starred in several films together. With no fewer than four Oscars, she holds the record in the Oscar category for Best Actress.
