Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Hepburn Graceful, charming, hilarious, self-confident, hard-working, determined, outrageous
Katharine Hepburn has been gathering adjectives for years, adding them to her image with carelessness and calculation. In an era of changing roles for women, Katharine Hepburn was able to use her influence on the American film to stand out as an early role model of the modern American woman. She had the essence of the successful adventuress: no mater the challenge, she survived in tact with her sense of humor in good working order. Born on May 12, 1907 in Hartford, Connecticut, Katharine had the good fortune to be born to her well-to-do parents, Katharine and Thomas Hepburn, who believed in freedom of thought and put no obstacles in their daughter 's way. Both were active in the fight for many social and medical reforms for women: the vote, prostitution, white slavery, teen-age pregnancy, venereal disease, domestic hygiene, birth control; topics that were not discussed in polite private conversation, much less publicly. Although opposed by conservative neighbors, the Hepburns were eventually praised for their forward thinking (Anderson, 93). Their lesson to their daughter, Katharine, was clear: do what you know is right, even if you are out of step with the popular morals of the time. If you are right, the times will catch up with you. This attitude was instilled in her from birth and is evident in her "do what is right for you" personality. In her book Me, Katharine Hepburn wrote that her character is the power behind the throne, the thing that gives her common sense and the strength to keep going through the rough times. And that her character is a gift from her parents. When thinking about her background it is easy to understand why she chose and was successful in her roles involving family ties; she was the member of an extraordinary family that she was very close with. Her family life was not wealthy, but as a successful surgeon, her father
Cited: Anderson, Christopher. Young Kate. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1988. Classic Movies. 2006. thegoldenyears.org. 26 Feb.2007 Hepburn, Katharine. Me: Stories of My Life. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1992 Katharine Hepburn. 2005. Reel Classics. 28 Feb.2007 Katharine Hepburn. 2003. Silent Sam Productions. 27 Feb. 2007 Katharine Hepburn. 2007.Time Warner. 28 Feb. 2007 Katharine Hepburn Filmography.2007.amazon.com. 27 Feb. 2007