Katharine Hepburn

Born May 12, 1907, in Hartford, Connecticut, Katharine Houghton Hepburn was the daughter of Thomas Norval Hepburn and Katharine Martha Houghton. A Bryn Mawr College graduate, she launched her career in summer stock before marrying Ludlow Ogden Smith in 1928. She shared a significant relationship with Spencer Tracy, opposite whom she appeared in nine films. Her autobiography, "Me: Stories of My Life," was published in 1991.

Film credits include "The Philadelphia Story," "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner," "The African Queen," "On Golden Pond," "The Lion in Winter," "Stage Door," "Morning Glory," "Pat and Mike," "Suddenly, Last Summer," and "Bringing Up Baby." Among her television credits: "The Glass Menagerie," "One Christmas," "This Can't Be Love," "Love Among the Ruins," "The Man Upstairs," and "The Corn Is Green."

She won four Oscars for Best Actress in a Leading Role: "Morning Glory" in 1934, "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" in 1968, "The Lion in Winter" in 1969, and "On Golden Pond" in 1982. A Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Special Program - Drama or Comedy followed for "Love Among the Ruins" in 1975. At the 1968 Cannes Film Festival, she took Best Actress for "Long Day's Journey Into Night." She received a star on the Walk of Fame in 1960 and was a Kennedy Center Honoree in 1990.

Broadway theater marquees were dimmed in her honor on July 1, 2003.